1. Kabuki Theatre and Geisha Imagery in High and Popular Western Culture
Eisenstein’s grotesques;
Memoirs of the Geisha

2. Kabuki Theatre

3. Kabuki Theatre Classical Japanese theatre, dance drama.
Dates back to early 17th century.
First was all female, then became all-male theatre (onnagata, cross-dressed actors).
Late 17th-mid 19th century – the “Golden age” of Kabuki: elaborate costumes and makeup, artful performance, accent on drama; specially written plays in place of improvisation.

4. Kabuki Theatre Mask-like make-up, wigs Exaggerated body language
Codified make-up and performance
Plays based on history and legends
Traditionalism in dance and music
Special effects: revolving stage: trap doors, footbridge to the audience
Popular subject for ukiyo-e prints.

5. Make-up conveys emotions

6. Kabuki Actors

7. Expressiveness

8. “Masks,” grotesque in Ivan The Terrible (1944) by Sergei Eisenstein

9. Love, Heroism, Moral Codes

10. Dramatic Plots

11. Kabuki Theatre

12. Ivan the Terrible
Dancing scene
Emotions through make-up and lighting

13. Eonnagata (2009) by Robert Lepage
Based on the life of an 18th-cent. French cross-dressing diplomat and spy Chevalier d'Éon.
The plot and emotions are shown through costumes, make-up, and dance.
Drum music, japanese-looking props (swords, fans, etc.)

14. Memoirs of a Geisha (dir. Rob Marshall, 2005)
Based on a 1997 historical novel by Arthur Golden.
Academy awards for: best costumes, art direction, cinematography.
Controversy:
Casting;
Disrespect for geishas and maiko; stereotyping;
Inaccuracies in costumes, dances, cultural facts, and daily life details.