n In Jessica Hitch’s article (“Japanese silent art show quietly hits campus,” April 23, pg. 3), she refers to Midori Sawato as “still practicing the ancient Japanese art of silent film narration.” Since when is any film presentation an ancient art? Ancient film?
The Oxford English Dictionary cites as currently used definitions of ancient, “which existed in, or belonged to, times long past, or early in the world’s history; old,” “specifically applied to the period of history before the fall of the Western Roman Empire” or “Concerning or relating to ancient times. Ancient history.”
According to Chris Fujiwara’s article about the same performance in The Boston Phoenix online edition, Orochi, the film shown, was a 1925 chambara. If the date for this art was around 1925, while that may be a long time ago, it is not “ancient” by most standards.
I push the point both because of a general amusement at the idea of “ancient film” and because I doubt that had the art of silent film narration been American or European, Hitch would have referred to it as an ancient art; “the ancient American art of silent film narration” sounds odd. Advertisements often make use of an American fascination with ancient Eastern art and culture by labeling as “ancient” methods or products of questionable antiquity. The Daily Free Press, however, should be above such knee-jerk catch phrases.
Looking forward to articles about the ancient art of Hello Kitty.
Hana Goldman
UNI ’06
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