Bad Actress

believe it was Baudrillard who said that the simulacrum is arrived at when the distinction between representation and reality, that is, signs and what they refer to break down. They both collapse into a universal simulacrum. ....which brings up my mother. As a faithful Nisei, she has worshipped anything Japanese, positive or not. This means that as an eighty-something Japanese American, she has to shuffle, bend, and act like all "old Japanese Women" as they are portrayed in the media. Unfortunately, the media she is exposed to is the televised old movies on cable TV. She, therefore, faithfully morphs herself into, not an actual older woman, but an actress interpreting an older woman. No amount of doctors or therapists have convinced her that she doesn't have a physical cause to shuffle or drag her feet. they all agree that if she continues on her current course, she WILL experience muscle atrophy, and then she will have to drag her feet, because the muscles will be too weak. A self-fullfilling prophesy. And then....Voila!.. instant Elderly Japanese Woman. Complete with open mouth and raised eyebrows and a tilted head. Now that her muscles have already weakened, she has fallen several times and now had injured her fight arm and fractured several ribs. She now has a good reason to shuffle and hobble reciting the complete litany of "Itai, Itai" and "Erai, Erai", etc. and I have been relegated to the Bette Davis Character in "Whatever happend to Baby Jane". ) She's lucky her bird already died several years ago; you must have seen the movie to get my drift. To compound things, my mother was a classical Japanese singer who sang on the Hawaii stage for many decades. Performing was her passion. but like a lot of other Nisei, she doesn't read much Japanese, and it is limited to comics or songsheets. Again, not a complete copy of a Japanese Obasan, but enough to get by as a "copy" or "sign" which refers to an actual Obasan. She can mutter "old lady Japanese phrases" fluently, and can give a convincing "Yoisho" when getting up from a chair, but can be stymied when pressed further... like a Witness Protection Program participant. If she had adapted some beneficial traits or chosen a more positive role model I wouldn't complain.. the perfect son that I am... but in most Japanese Media, this is rare. As I wrote this, I had to take a break because I had a relevation... and a headache. But I'm back. and IT WORKED! I decided to tell my mother my whole theory about "The Act", this time I told her that it isn't working well because besides acting like an old woman, she's acting like a BAD actress acting like an old woman! Her eyes actually widened and I could almost see her mind going thru all of the negative reviews she must now be getting! There went her chances for the Kohaku! But at last something worked... for now. Stay tuned for the next episode... the faithful son, momo-taro