WTF is wrong with that father
tradition or not, thats weird
"Something Satan would say"?
Excellent!
Edit - oh no, 'an administrator' has deleted the post that called me Satan. How disappointing. I was enjoying that.
[deleted]
I'm sure that if it were the mother bathing with them, people would be less weirded out by. Double standards, you know
shareWhen I first saw that overhead shot it was totally creepy! It made the dad look like a pedophile sitting with his legs splayed open and the young girl between them. My 5 year old daughter was very confused...I should not have to have a "birds and the bees" type talk with a 5-year old after watching a Miyazaki film!!!
shareI find this deeply sad. Ucgrad, haven't you ever splashed about in the bath with her? helped her in the changing rooms at the swimming pool or on the beach? doesn't she come in to wash her hands while you're in the tub? Is yours a household of locked doors and "don't come in!"?
Are you sure you're not teaching your five-year-old that the human body is shameful and something to be feared?
I see your point, Suzume san. I actually think it's funny that a lot of us Americans tend to point out what we think is wrong about other cultures (and even just in other homes), rather than nodding and saying "Okay, that's different than what I'm used to. I see some benefit in it, but I think it would be too uncomfortable for me to adopt in my life. So, I'll just let it go." Why do we Americans think we have everything right? There's a point where confidence turns into arrogance.
Cheers anyway though! Great movie!
The closest movies to my heart: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=46910443
Thank you, Felonius-Punk (love your handle, btw!), that's the most sensible response I've read on this strangely controversial question.
I'm British, I think we're about halfway between the two extremes. As you say, there must be a lot of variation in the way individual families behave. And London, my home town, is so culturally diverse that you could find all kinds of different mores just by going from house to house in the one street. None of these is the only right, or wrong, way to live your life. Hooray for diversity.
You can leave it to the western audience to place question marks at a very innocent and funny scene.
shareIf you by western are refering to USA then maybe yes. As far as I know we don't have that problem here in Sweden. I thought all families took baths with their children sometimes and who in their right mind would wear clothes in a bathtub.
Wouldn't it be dangerous to leave very young children alone in the bathtub? Or what do people do in USA? Do people just wait next to the bathtub while they are bathing? Seems silly in that case.
I'm asking out of curiousity by the way, I would really want to know the answer to these questions.
Again, I think it's quite common in the U.S. to bathe with "very young" children. But the older sister in this movie was not all that young.
--------
See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc
It's a big tub.
shareIt's only weird if you find the simplest thing sexual.
shareI'm getting the impression that what Americans find disturbing is not so much a Father bathing with his kids, but it being *depicted* in a movie. Especially a kids movie. Could that be right?
It is context. Remember all the fuss over one of Janet Jackson's nipples? Because it was on network TV. Meanwhile on cable (which most Americans have) there is full nudity and lots of sex.
Dude, there's something wrong with you. If you're thinking about that scene too much, it's better to see a psychiatrist.
shareOnly in modern day society is this type of behavior within family considered problematic. I am 32, and I can recall bathing with both my mother and younger brother until I was 7 or so. Such did not entice me to develop elicit feelings towards either of them, and I suspect in most cases (where there are no underlying issues involved with one) that it would not. I truly find the things that people tend to lable as "worrisome" nowadays funny when there are such bigger concerns in this world.
shareThis film was made in 1988 and obviously for Japanese audiences.
In Japan, bathing with your own children is perfectly normal. It even has open bath house, where every strangers bathes in a huge bathtub.
You watch a Japanese film and complain about the culture difference. It's like eating an apple and complain it doesn't taste like orange.
The Japanese just don't have the same issues with nudity that we have. When I was there in 2009 we stayed at a hot spring resort where our tour group was invited to visit the communal bathing pool and enjoy the volcanically heated mineral water. Once we were told that no bathing suits were allowed and that the pool was mixed-gender, not one of us shy Americans accepted the invitation, to our hosts' dismay. They were of course polite, but I'm sure they shook their heads over it in private.
'I say, you move, and you're dead!' 'And I say, I'm dead and I move...'share
Does it have to be about sex? I've got quite the squishy, doughy body after having 3 kids. My belly will never be the same, though I should do ever so many sit-ups. I'm not interested in discussing it with the children.
Also, I did bathe with my first baby a couple of times and was terrified the whole time... you ever tried to hold a soapy baby? That delicate skin slicks up like a dolphin's. Makes me cringe just thinking about it. The Japanese have the nicely designed bathrooms for the purpose, tiled floor with a drain for soaping (man it must get cold) and a big tub to soak after. I'd love a bathroom with a drain in the floor... I did mention the 3 kids.
And I like my quiet time in the shower anyway. Japanese moms must have infinite patience if they get so little alone time...