Kurosawa is one of the great modern appropriators. In his film 'Yojimbo', he takes Sergio Leone's story 'A Fistful of Dollars' and adds Japanese elements such as samurai mercenaries and a village mafia. I would like to compare the original Italian spaghetti Western, a take on Western 'cowboy' culture, to a further appropriation involving Eastern culture. How does these constant cultural filters affect the overall of the American west and the American Western hero? Does this result in a dilution? Does one director succeed more in the area of proper representation where another fails? Is there such a thing as a 'successful representation' of a time that is mostly compiled of over embellishment and tall tales? I aim to access whether Kurosawa is attempting to merely borrow Leone's story and place it in an Asian context, adding extra layers through his cultural lens, or if he is simply paying homage to a favored piece.
w/c:154
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