Although several movies that have actors from different cultures have been released, most of them do not demonstrate clear fusion of culture the way The Last Samurai does. In a snippet, The Last Samurai is predominantly about two characters from two cultures that make them alien to each other. One of the characters, Nathan Algren represents the American culture while Katsumoto represents the Japanese culture. Although the movie has scenes of battles that seemingly depict unrealistic events of real war, the intention of the movie is to compare the battle between modernism and mainstream ideals. In this case, modernism is represented by the American culture while the Japanese Samurai warriors represent mainstream ideals.
At the beginning of the movie, Algren is seemingly affected by the vagaries of the previous wars he had participated in. He was a Civil War veteran who had participated in multiple battles especially against the Indians. Unfortunately, the war had a devastating impact on him because he had resolved to heavy drinking. However, he is sought by a former commanding officer known as Colonel Bagley and is taken to Japan. He is hired as a mercenary to help train a Japanese army for the emperor (Meiji). The emperor wants to bring a shift in Japan by embracing American ideals. However, the emperor is faced with the rebellion of the Samurai warriors who are opposed to the idea of modernism. The West sees the transition as an opportunity to make more money and the US embassy becomes a point where lucrative trade arrangements are struck out.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
In his introduction to his job in Japan, Algren is told that the Samurai warriors are usually unstoppable when they use their bows and arrows. Although he accepts the task of leading the modernized Japanese army against the Samurai warriors, he clearly feels that the army will not withstand the Samurai. In the end, Algren is captured during the battle and put into prison. Luckily enough, he is not killed or subjected to adverse conditions as is the norm with most captors. The impartial treatment that Algren is subjected to is credited to Katsumoto, the leader of the Samurai warriors. Katsumoto at first says that he has kept Algren because he wants to study his enemy. Algren is apprehensive in the first instance and refuses to speak to Katsumoto but as time goes by, they begin to talk, at first more of philosophers.
Algren is even sent to a remote village where he stays in the house of a widow, Taka, whose husband surprisingly had been killed by Algren during the battle. Perhaps, this is a clear representation of a quickly forgiving culture that does not revenge. Although Taka severally complained to Katsumoto about the situation, she did not express her feelings to Algren; rather, she maintained a smile whenever she faced Algren. However, the most remarkable aspect of the movie is that Katsumoto remains the custodian of the Japanese ideals and is not wavered in ensuring that the Samurai code remains unbroken. His values and beliefs move Algren who decides to swear his allegiance to Katsumoto and the Samurai way of life. It is a clear manifestation of what really happens at the battleground; soldiers most of the time do not fight for what they believe in but fight out of loyalty.
Summarily, the movie attempts to establish the greater of the two; modernism and conservative ideals. Most of the time, people regard western ideals as being the most superior. Conventionally, most people usually abandon their way of life and adopt the western culture. On the contrary, the opposite happens in the movie. Katsumoto, who is a custodian of the Samurai way of life, convinces Algren, who is from the west, to embrace the Samurai way of life and succeeds in doing so.
