Pat
Seiberg, Taylor Mulligan, Richard Bisso, Marcus Andersson
Summary
Jane – Chapter 4
Jane explains that
she has a new lover named Sloan Rankin, a Nebraska Film Commissioner, and they
have an odd relationship which mixes well were her exotic personality and
style. She tells us she has short, man-like brown hair, green eyes, and
small breasts. She also enjoys wearing men's boxer briefs and combat
boots. She and Sloan had a long distant relationship where they got “into
this phone sex thing” (52). When Jane and her crew finally arrived in
Nebraska they were formally introduced to Sloan although the Japanese crew
didn't look Sloan in his face as they were introduced. Sloan and Jane
have a romantic evening later after everyone is in their rooms for the night
and Sloan finds it necessary to belt out Nebraska State facts as he is having
sex with Jane. Posing as the Kansas Film Commissioner, Sloan was able to
call the Japanese office and convince them that they forgot to submit their
location permits. This gives Sloan Jane's itinerary for the month which
gives him even more opportunities to see Jane.
Jane has to make sure that the people that are on
BEEF-EX are physically attractive because these are the expectations of her
producers. “They don't want their meat to have synergistic association
with deformities. Like race. Or poverty”. Although the network keeps
insisting that they need more authenticity. While filming in Oklahoma, Oda, the
director, got into some Schnitzel that he had an allergic reaction to due to
the amount of antibiotics that are pumped into our cattle. Jane then
assumed the role of director because of the show's necessity to press on.
From here she begins to film families that are much less like the
Summer's family and more like the huge, diverse and unique family that Vern and
Grace have.
Jane is now the director of the
production of My American Wife. She wants
to teach her Japanese audience what it really is to
be an American, not just the polished versions that were showed earlier. The
result is the story of Vern and Grace and their 12 kids.
Akiko – Chapter 4
Akiko wakes up alone which is of no surprise.
She finds doing very simple tasks challenging like walking in the market
near young mothers as well as going to bed at a decent hour. We learn of
her diary of lists from which she believes can be made into poetry. As
she watches a little boy chase his hat tears well in her eyes and the audience
is left to assume that this is because of her not being able to produce
children because of the health of her ovaries but the Japanese societal
expectation that she must at some point have a child to preserve her husband's
lineage.
Akiko is getting affected by My American Wives
as she watches it. She makes the meat dishes from the tv-show, listens to the same music as in the
production, and thinks about adopting just like the woman on TV. The reason why she thinks of adopting is
because she doesn’t seem to be able to have kids on her own. She visits a
doctor who says that Akiko is doing this to herself. John gets angry when he finds
out. He doesn’t want to adopt – he wants to have his own kids.
Jane – Chapter 5
Jane continues seeing Sloan, a
musician who treats her as passive when sleeping with her. When Jane is with
Sloan, he compulsively wears two condoms because he is afraid of contracting
AIDS. Sloan asks Jane eventually if they can have unprotected sex, at which
point, Jane thinks it's because he wants a deep, meaningful relationship. She
later finds out that it was simply an experiment for Sloan.
Later, Jane goes to church to
film Miss Helen Dawes for Japanese TV. Also, Ueno tries to impregnate Jane
while in an elevator, at which point Jane ends up kicking him in the groin,
telling him to take "the right-hand elevator."
Akiko – chapter 5
Akiko explains that her marriage with "John" was arranged by
her boss at the manga publishing house. She reveals her slow decent into her
eating disorder and how it is connected with "John". When Akiko was
married to "John", she had to give up all of the things she enjoyed
and just now realizes it. After a trip to the Doctors, "John learns
of her bulimia and he comes home drunk, believing that Akiko is purposely sabotaging
their chance at having kids. Akiko replies to his assumptions by saying that
they can adopt kids like the American families in the show. This reply throws
"John into a fit of rage and he ends up shaking her and dropping her into
a China Cabernet.
Discussion questions
1. The Japanese man Joichi Ueno goes under John or Mr. Wayno in the book,
when working in the US.
“‘His name is Joichi Ueno,’ I explained to my ex-flight attendant PA. ‘That’s
pronounced ‘Wayno’. He likes to be called John.’” (41)
“‘I am Joichi Ueno,’ he announced, ‘but you can call me by my nickname.
That is ‘John.’’” (103)
Our names are in very close relation to our
bodies. Our names are our information tag telling a story about who we are and
where we come from. What our names really do is naming our bodies. What do you
think happen with foreigners´ self-image when coming to America and getting a
new name? How important are our names in connection to ourselves and our
bodies?
2. "When I returned from Japan andvisited Quam, I found that all the local
businesses from my childhood had been extirpated by Wal-Mart. If there is one
single symbol for the demise of regional American culture, it is this superstore prototype, a huge capitalist boot that stomped the moms and pops,
like soft, damp worms, to death. Don’t get me wrong. I love Wal-Mart.” (56)
Jane explains that the local businesses were
consumed by the superstore Wal-Mart. And further explains this will be the
demise of regional American culture. At the same time, she admits she loves
Wal-Mart. We tend to criticize issues that we still consume. Why do we continue
to shop at superstores like Wal-Mart even though we know they destroy small businesses?
3. “Do all Americans carry guns?” (88)
How does the Japanese perception of Americans and American culture
differ from reality? Can the same be said about the American perception about other
countries?
4.
Akiko is a product of her culture. She gave up everything she loved to
prepare to be a mother. Mothers don’t write violent manga stories.
Would Akiko be a completely different person if she lived in America? How
are the expectations of women in America compared to Japan at this time?
Contemporary connection
Connection
between Akiko’s eating disorder and present day expectations of models.
