Dances From Within
Essay 2 of 5
Youth, energy, freedom, rebellion …these are the words which strike me immediately when I see this image. The picture, in a flash, captures a whole way of thinking, a way of life …. the facial expression of the boy …the leather pants …the tattoo the haircut …the other guys in the backdrop …all together spell out a whole different generation …all trying to break away from the conventional image of Japan.
My knowledge of Japan is more through friends who have been there for a while or from magazines. It is somewhere a mixed up representation - at one level is this supremely organized society - assembly lines, high tech machines everywhere, a very strong code of formality in public, everyone being polite to the other. And then there is this younger generation, which is trying to break free from that. There is this attraction to America -music, clothes, hairstyles, even McDonalds - more as it symbolizes freedom to them in a different way …freedom of the mind, of spirit and above all-doing what they want to do their own way.
The picture immediately ignites this thought process - in a way it gives a glimpse of the changing face of Japan. Its almost reflects the transition point between the past and the future.
Its very difficult to actually capture something like this in a single frame. However I feel that this photograph speaks for itself, and actually shows a whole story in that one 'Frozen Moment'.
Rita Banerji
New York City, June, 2002.This essay (c) 2002 Rita Banerji. All rights reserved. It may not be reproduced in any way without permission by the author. Printed with permission.
Essay 2 of 5