Armenia And Les Mis

Needed to practice backgrounds so I just put him there awsell 🤷‍♀️

why you so nervous?

would anyone like for me to ramble about how enjolras and grantaire are performing masculinity in opposite ways, with enjolras being a stereotypical "pretty boy" while grantaire is the more rugged, masculine, drunk type of typical man.

that could hint at their upbringing, with enjolras's being very obviously bourgeois, while grantaire's allows more leeway. a strong, ugly alcoholic can be found in all social classes with varying amounts, but beautiful intellectuals are usually a higher class staple.

and, to say more on the performance of masculinity thing, i would argue that both enjolras and grantaire subvert their respective stereotypes in their own ways.

enjolras rejects his wealth and works for the people, but even more importantly (in discussing gender roles), he is very much not interested in women. and not in a marius way, a way virginal and messy, but still generally heterosexual. no, enjolras devotes himself to his patria, trampling over societal expectations in the process.

i will not be touching on things such as enjolras shedding a tear over killing the artillery officer or other ways he expresses emotions, as 19th century france is still a time in which emotions were yet to be a taboo for men. and they're maybe-possibly a saint just reference.

grantaire's biggest act of defying gender roles and his stereotype is, quite clearly, his adoration of enjolras. even, if one argues against it being love (and i do believe grantaire loves enjolras, as unhealthy at most points in the brick that love is), there is no denying that such deep infatuation with a man, and not his ideals or anything, is not standard in 19th century france.

plus, to mark a thought, grantaire also makes quite a lousy nihilist. in his brick introduction, he is specifically stated not to care for ideas or himself, but to care for his friends. "his mind could live without ideals, but his heart could not live without friendship". so even presenting as a guy that does not believe in anything, grantaire fails, because he loves his friends and believes in enjolras.

Japanese character names

Not much info out there on Les Misérables 1929( Aa Mujo, Seika Shiba ), but I managed to scour some fun info about it. Specifically, character names! The movie takes place during the Meiji restoration, so stuff had to be changed I guess. Citation about name meanings are from Pinar, A. Western Literature in Japanese film (1910-1938) ISBN 978-84-490-8727-1

Valjean- Jaan Gijūrō (邪安義十) The first kanji for his name means “wicked” or “evil”.

Javert- Jashiro(蛇四郎) The first kanji is for “snake”. Snakes were traditionally percieved in Japanese Buddhism as messengers of gods, but during the Meiji Restoration, the religious reform banned beliefs and worship of ancestral gods. Subsequently, negative perceptions of snake arose, and they acquired harmful symbolism.

Bishop Myriel-nun Mitsuki (光月尼). Myriel has here been adapted into a Buddhist nun. Her first kanji means light, or illumination.

Marius-Ushigoro(牛五郎) His first kanji means “bull”, suggesting a nonconformist personality, vigor and force.

Cosette-Harue(春江) Her first kanji represents spring or puberty.

Fantine-Otsune(お常) The kanji in her name means unchanging or eternal.

I only have the most basic of kanji skills and this is all cited, so if there’s anything to add or something that seems wrong hmu :) the film itself is not housed in any archive and is believed lost. At the time it was considered by ciritcs to be populist and made as a cash-grab because of the popularity of Les Miserables in Japan at the time. Here’s some surviving stills from it.

“Give to this dog son of a wolf a human face, and the result will be Javert.”

I think a lot about the folkloric story that Victor Hugo describes (or invents) in Les Mis, that uses dogs/wolves as a metaphor for that way that Inspector Javert betrays his own social class. It feels very fairytale-like, so here’s a Lotte-Reiniger style adaptation. Many thoughts, many emotions. I may animate this eventually. (And thanks to @valvertweek for the motivation!)

Hong Kong's protestes, and the usage of 'Do You Hear the People Sing' from Les Misérables

Message from the Free HK account that I've given links to below:

"

The reason for selecting this song is to remind Hong Kongers not to lose hope, to encourage everyone to stand up, to speak up together, and to further the fight for democracy. Another purpose is to beckon every Hong Konger and the rest of the world: in acts of conscience, call out together against the high, solid wall.

[Reference to Haruki Murakami's speech in 2009: "Always on the side of the egg," in which he said, "If there is a hard, high wall and an egg that breaks against it, no matter how right the wall or how wrong the egg, I will stand on the side of the egg."]

[...]

Indeed, not everyone can go to the front line, but many truly want to give what they can for this movement. We don't know how long this fight will last, and therefore we must stay unified and not lose hope. [...]

Last but not least, a thank you to all the participants for all their work-- including the conductor, musicians, singers, recording engineers, sound engineers, sponsors for the sound and video recording venues, actors, videographers, and sponsors for recording equipment--all of whom made this video possible. Hong Kongers truly "we connect"!

[...]

"

[Context:]

Description of the video:

Musicians responded to a call to action and formed a 40 member orchestra and 60 plus member chorus within a short amount of time to record "Do You Hear the People Sing" in three languages (Cantonese, English, Mandarin); people from all walks of life also contributed to the production of this music video.

ENGLISH

CANTONESE

MANDARIN

Talking to people outside your fandom about your media of choice is always so interesting because after a while in fandom, you get used to the same old discourse but in real life you will be hit with some completely orginal and insane takes. I was taking about Les Misérables to some family friends over Christmas and they tried to argue that Javert was a completely unnecessary part of the plot. Like he didn’t need to be there at all. Truly a level of discourse that some of you on tumblr could only dream of coming up with

⚠️ I use a translator

To celebrate the release of Volume 2, we’re currently holding a special campaign where the entire first volume of L'Heure Bleue is available to read for free!

This manga is a pastiche work based on Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, focusing on the early days of the Friends of the ABC, and interweaves original elements with the source material.

At present, the series is only available in Japanese, and while an English edition has not yet been confirmed, we are aiming to make one a reality in the future. While reading in Japanese may be challenging, we hope this campaign gives those who are curious about the story a chance to take a peek!

Please note that the website is entirely in Japanese, but no login is required to read the free version. We are unable to verify access from outside Japan, so if you encounter any issues viewing the content, we would be very grateful if you could let us know.

To begin reading, please visit the linked page and tap the banner indicated in the image.

The free viewing period will be available until the end of April 21st, Japan time.

電子書籍ストア | BOOK☆WALKER

【期間限定　無料お試し版】-レ・ミゼラブルより- ルールブルーの友らへ 1

【期間限定　無料お試し版】19世紀フランス、パリ。 貧富の差は広がり、権力は腐敗の一途を辿る。 街角では憲兵の目をかいくぐりながら、 反政府運動が活発化していた。 救済院でボランティアをするお人好しな医学生・コンブフェールと、 積極的に学生運動を…

Not even the gods can help you with that, brother

Les Misérables used as political messaging across Asia (incomplete)

In my intro of my blog, I talk about the utilisation of Les Misérables for the purpose of giving political statements being available to search on my account. (Usually via the hashtag 'protests')

I'm just going to create a separate list (this one) compiling of information that I found which talk of certain events in countries across Asia. (as the list I have now in my intro largely limits itself to adaptations/translations only) If anybody has anything else to add, please tell me!

The following will have different levels of research be put into it. I've put a link to the post which has the most relevant information regarding to the matter for a quick link to the research, however it necessarily won't be the only informative post about it.

It's definitely a work in progress! Think of it as a blog update.

Otherwise, here's the list thus far:

1868 Armenia -> Pro-literacy movement via translation and how Les Misérables was used for political criticism and national consciousness

#1868 translation

1903 China -> Criticism of the Qing Dynasty & International relations (Western countries and influence on China)

#Su Manshu

1926 Vietnam -> Combatting the post-colonial state from the French Empire and Criticism of the Nguyễn Dynasty

#Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh and #Hồ Biểu Chánh and #Ngọn Cỏ Gió Đùa

1938 Japan -> Anti-war messaging.

#kyojinndenn

1945-9 Indonesia -> (Real world comparison to:) War of Independence / Indonesian National Revolution and the Dutch colonisation and Japanese occupation

#Indonesia independence

1955 India -> Criticism of the British colonisation and the representation of the Quit India Movement (Heavily incomplete- I need to do much more research regards to the historical background and setting)

#Kundan

1957 Malaysia -> (Real life comparison to:) Declaration of Independence (Merdeka) and ethnic & patriotic unity and the British colonisation

#Malaysia

2019 Japan -> Contemporary Japanese identity; protests and earthquakes (still largely incomplete)

#owarinaki tabiji

2019-20 Hong Kong -> Independence Protest ('dyhtps')

#Hong Kong protests

2020 Thailand -> Critiques systems of inequality, selective morality, (youth and women's) incarceration, women's rehabilitation centers. (Heavily incomplete- I haven't read the book yet nor have I researched Thailand's modern political climate regarding these themes.)

#A wish in the dark

Honourable mentions: Yang Kui (Taiwan: 1895-1945); Gezi Park Protests (Türkiye: 2013); Candlelight protest for the Impeachment of the President Park Geun-hye (S. Korea: 2016-7); Aragalaya protest (Sri Lanka: 2022).

Non-Asian shoutout: Fabrika's protest against President Mohamed Morsi's government and suppression on artistic expression (Egypt: 2013). [Context: It was in the midst of Calls for Resignation for the President.]

[These are put into 'honourable mentions' because Les Misérables was more of a mention in the protests or rebellion, rather than it being a consistent and a major factor for a cause or political belief.]

Maybes:

1996 S. Korea -> 70s-80s South Korea (Most likely a criticism of the political climate, but I haven't watched enough episodes to comment.)

#1996 Korean tv series