Ty Blog Post 5

We recently watched a little bit of the Norwegian Woods movie in class, and I thought that their portrayal of Naoko and Midori was interesting.  When reading the book, the extent to which Naoko could not express herself was obvious, but not as punctuated as it was in the movie.  The movie was able to really emphasize her silence.  In the book, you just keep reading the narration, so even though there is no dialogue, it still feels like stuff is happening.  In the movie, you are forced to watch their silence.  On top of that, her hairstyle and facial expressions remind me of a kokeshi doll.  Kokeshi dolls usually symbolize the traditional form of beauty.  Naoko's long hair and facial structure resemble the common characteristics that most kokeshi dolls have.  Midori on the other hand has shorter hair and she looks like a more modern form of beauty.  The movie's portrayal of the two women works really well, in my opinion.  The novel does not specifically describe Noako like a kokeshi doll, but the movie's portrayal of her really points out the differences between Naoko and Midori.

For reference, here's an image of two kokeshi dolls: