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The Age of Beginnings
Movie

The Age of Beginnings

1947 • Unknown

Woke Score
1
out of 10

Plot

A newly hired daily newspaper writer covering the society beat receives an assignment to cover Tokyo at night by walking and observing it. He gets into the right frame of mind by dressing the part as a vagrant with not a penny to his name. He gets into trouble ending up at the police station slammer overnight. He has no material to write about and, with his assignment unfulfilled, faces a cross editor.

Overall Series Review

The story centers on a young reporter's baptism by fire, assigned to immerse himself in the life of a vagrant in post-war Tokyo to gather material for a society piece. The struggle is purely one of professional merit against a challenging environment, culminating in his failure to produce the required article and the subsequent confrontation with his editor. The narrative evaluates the character based on his mettle and his ability to fulfill his assignment, not on any immutable characteristic or group identity. The film is a snapshot of immediate post-war social reality, not an ideological critique of a civilization or its ancestors. The environment is a secular one focused on the mechanics of journalism and the social consequences of poverty. There is no presence of modern gender or sexual ideology, as the focus is squarely on the male reporter's solitary, professional trial.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The central conflict is professional and socio-economic: a reporter must experience poverty and face his editor. The character's worth is judged on his merit and failure to produce the material, entirely separate from race or identity.

Oikophobia1/10

The setting is post-WWII Tokyo, focusing on contemporary social issues like poverty and the underclass. This is a critique of immediate conditions, not a demonization of Japanese heritage, Western values, or a promotion of civilizational self-hatred.

Feminism1/10

The core plot focuses on a male reporter's assignment, the police, and a male editor. Female characters and gender dynamics are not a feature of the central narrative. The film does not contain 'Girl Boss' tropes, anti-natalism, or the emasculation of males.

LGBTQ+1/10

The plot is entirely focused on a journalist's immersion into the city's underbelly and his subsequent arrest. There is no presence of queer theory, centering of alternative sexualities, deconstruction of the nuclear family, or gender ideology.

Anti-Theism1/10

The narrative is purely secular, concerned with a journalist's assignment, social observation, and professional failure. There is no element of hostility toward religion, specifically Christianity, and the film is grounded in a social reality rather than moral relativism.