Horror author Koji Suzuki points out that unlike most American horror cinema, many Japanese stories do not end in the destruction of the antagonist.
Suzuki neglects another major reason for this difference: in the United States culture with its Puritan/Victorian Christian history, the Shadow is something to be feared and obliterated, but in Japanese culture with its Buddhist and Taoist history, the Shadow is something to be acknowledged and reconciled with (as well as protected against).
Also, American horror often focuses on the eventual triumph of American (Puritan and post-Enlightenment) values over even the most powerful of supernatural forces, with the victims almost always those who have failed to uphold American values (such as loners, people who "don't know their place", and teens having pre-marital sex). On the other hand, Japanese horror often focuses on the recognition and reconciliation with supernatural forces that can never be suppressed/eradicated by modern technology, learning, or willfulness.
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Horror author Koji Suzuki points out that unlike most American horror cinema, many Japanese stories do not end in the destruction of the antagonist.
Suzuki neglects another major reason for this difference: in the United States culture with its Puritan/Victorian Christian history, the Shadow is something to be feared and obliterated, but in Japanese culture with its Buddhist and Taoist history, the Shadow is something to be acknowledged and reconciled with (as well as protected against).
Also, American horror often focuses on the eventual triumph of American (Puritan and post-Enlightenment) values over even the most powerful of supernatural forces, with the victims almost always those who have failed to uphold American values (such as loners, people who "don't know their place", and teens having pre-marital sex). On the other hand, Japanese horror often focuses on the recognition and reconciliation with supernatural forces that can never be suppressed/eradicated by modern technology, learning, or willfulness.
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