Friends! I want to share something with you- the definition of the term mono-no-aware. Have you ever learned a word that had a profound effect on the way you see the world? I hope "mono-no-aware" affects you the same way it has affected me.
This is how Christopher J. Moore defines it in his book "In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide to the Most Intriguing Words Around the World":
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An awareness and appreciation of the ephemeral beauty of the world. The seasons change, the cherry blossom gently falls, the crops are planted, grow and die. Mono-no-aware is that poignant sensation one has of time passing, of the inevitable cycle of life and death. From the noun comes the idiom mono-no-aware. Roughly translated as "enjoying the sadness of life," it's that bittersweet, vaguely poetic feeling you get around dusk, on a long train journey, looking out at the driving rain... a few autumn leaves still clinging to your coat.
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The thing I like most about Jim Jarmusch's films is that they often capture the beauty and sadness of life, particularly Down By Law. Not long after I learned the term mono-no-aware, I saw Lost in Translation and I was struck at how it captured the same essence of a Jim Jarmusch movie. The Virgin Suicides captures the same feeling. I thought about the similarity between both directors' movies and realized that both Lost in Translation and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai both focus on Japanese culture. Possible both directors stumbled upon mono-no-aware in their research? Or maybe that's why they were drawn to Japanese culture to begin with.
As I watched The Wizard of Oz tonight I was faced with the unfortunately inescapable reality that the people involved with the great movies of the 30's are all dead. I know what you're thinking, and I thought it too. "Nuh uh Ben, there are probably three Munchkins who are still alive." Yeah, true- but when you see hundreds upon hundreds of Munchkins marching around singing, just try to focus on the fact that three might still alive.
The Scarecrow's dead- his brain stopped thinking. The Tin Man's dead- his heart stopped beating. The Lion, I'm sure he faced death with... you know. The inept man behind the curtain, he's dead too although he lives on metaphorically as the current president. Dorothy, the beautiful voice, the personification of innocence, she grew old and became nothing. The animals too, Toto and the farm pigs... they're lucky if they saw V-J Day.
But they all created something beautiful, something that has lasted- something that will last at least until I'm gone too. They have significance because we are here to appreciate what they've done. The autumn leaves of these movies cling to our coats.
Mono-no-aware is not a Japanese concept- it's a human concept and learning the term helps us recognize that. Perhaps Jim and Sofia were influenced early on by The Wizard of Oz, and later on by the Japanese films- and perhaps that's why their films are appreciated across cultures.
Yes well, I have to wake up for work in five hours. It won't be enough sleep, but it will be beautiful. Good night friends.
