recursion

A few weeks ago, I went to see [Lost in Translation] with some friends. Jenny and Kim didn't like it because they thought it was too simplistic. I thought it was sweet (or maybe I thought looking at Scarlett Johansson was sweet).

Apparently, many Japanese are unhappy with the movie because they find it racist. Here's some articles about that:

Lost in Racism: No Votes for "Lost In Translation" (a failed attempt to deny Lost in Translation's Oscar).

Christian Science Monitor: 'Lost in Translation' doesn't translate well in Japan:

[W]hile "Lost in Translation" opened all over the world last fall, it opened in image-conscious Tokyo only last weekend. Some sources say this is deliberate. Japanese decorum on culturally sensitive matters precludes angry protest or high-volume misgivings about images that might be considered unfair or "unpleasant," to use a local reviewer's term. But it is telling that the Academy-award-winning "valentine" can be seen here only in a small 300-seat theater in Shibuya, and critics warn that the film may hurt the feelings of ordinary Japanese.

Mizuko Ito: Totally Lost in Translation.

The eXile: Sofia's A Bad Choice:

Why am I on my high horse about the awful cornered-by-an-art-bimbo scenario? Because this is exactly what spending two hours watching Lost in Translation felt like. It is truly the dumbest and most pretentious movie I have seen in at least a year – in fact, I can't remember a movie as truly stupid and pretentious as this, because it's a really special combination of stupidity and pretentiousness that I didn't know existed outside of second-rate university cafes or dorm rooms. The experience of watching Lost in Translation was one of those rare moments in my seven years with the eXile where I genuinely felt like I was working at a job, a shitty job. I even called myself up to warn myself that I'll never allow myself to make me watch a movie like this again, then hung up on myself to prove a point. That'll show me!