← Back to Directory
An Artist of the Floating World
Movie

An Artist of the Floating World

2019 • Unknown

Woke Score
1.4
out of 10

Plot

In the face of the misery in his homeland, the artist Masuji Ono was unwilling to devote his art solely to the celebration of physical beauty. Instead, he put his work in the service of the imperialist movement that led Japan into WWII.

Overall Series Review

This Japanese television movie, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, is a historical character study set in post-WWII Japan. The narrative focuses on Masuji Ono, an aging painter, as he confronts the moral burden of his past career creating imperialist propaganda and the impact it has on his family, particularly his younger daughter's marriage prospects. The film's primary themes are guilt, responsibility, self-deception, and the deep cultural chasm between the older generation, who supported the war, and the younger generation, who are eager to embrace a new, democratic, and American-influenced Japan. The plot is driven by a quest for honor and atonement as Ono attempts to ensure his family's future security by acknowledging his professional mistakes. The conflict is based on personal actions and political ideology rather than superficial identity characteristics. The cultural context is entirely authentic to 1948-1950 Japan, featuring traditional social structures, family dynamics, and a profound national struggle for a new moral identity.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The entire cast and setting are Japanese, authentic to the historical period of post-WWII Japan. The conflict is based on a man's personal political actions and moral culpability (character merit/lack thereof) regarding imperialist propaganda, not race, whiteness, or immutable characteristics.

Oikophobia2/10

The film criticizes the specific ideology of Japanese imperialism and the older generation who supported the war, which led to national ruin. The critique is internal and self-reflective, not a condemnation of fundamental Japanese culture, nor is it directed at 'Western civilization.' It portrays the necessary reckoning with a failed political system.

Feminism1/10

The gender dynamics are historically authentic to post-war Japan, centering on the traditional importance of a daughter's marriage and family reputation. The daughters' main concern is protecting their family’s honor and future. There are no 'Girl Boss' tropes, male emasculation is a consequence of the protagonist's failure, not a narrative goal, and the centrality of family is reinforced.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative focuses exclusively on the traditional nuclear family and the pressure of marriage negotiations. There is no presence of alternative sexual ideologies, deconstruction of the male-female pairing, or gender theory lecturing. Sexuality is private and normative to the historical context.

Anti-Theism2/10

The core of the conflict is one of moral responsibility, guilt, and atonement for political and ethical failings. The story's moral compass, while not explicitly religious, operates on an objective moral law (the necessity of truth and accountability) rather than promoting moral relativism. There is no hostility toward religion mentioned in the plot or themes.