This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
#1 | Back to Top01-27-2007 03:39:26 PM
- skewed_tartan
- Touga Topper
- From: El Terra De Richard Nixon
- Registered: 10-16-2006
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Edward Weston and The Rape Scene in Adolesence of Utena
Well, whaddya know I happen to be in a course that's relevant to real life! In my intro to art class we were viewing various art pieces and this one ("Cabbage Leaf" by Edward Weston) stirred a memory in me and in about two seconds I realized what it reminded me of. Remember the scene in the movie where Shiori and Touga are in bed together? And Touga begins to talk about how in childhood he was sold to a man who later raped him in a cabbage field? To me at least the movement of the sheets distinctly reminded me of that photograph, and it rather ties in nicely to the theme of the cabbage field.
So I wonder if maybe "Cabbage Leaf" was referenced in that scene or if it was just a coincidence? Though Utena has plenty of fine art references the sheets could be repersenting something else, but seeing that photograph and remembering that definitely gave me a "wow" moment. 
Last edited by skewed_tartan (01-27-2007 03:41:39 PM)
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#2 | Back to Top01-27-2007 04:27:19 PM
Re: Edward Weston and The Rape Scene in Adolesence of Utena
Holy wow. It's not part of the caps taken of the movie, but isn't there a shot where the sheets twirl up and look like that? Been a while, but you can never just write off SKU with this kind of thing, there are too many instances where they did it on purpose and we've caught them. (I love that about SKU. 
) I've often thought the movie was packed full of art references, but I've never made an attempt on them since I'm not familiar (like at all) with modern art and that's where you'd be looking there.
Anyway that is a bunch of awesome. Art is useful sometimes! 
Akio, you have nice turns of phrase, but your points aren't clear and you have no textual support. I can't give this a passing grade.
~ Professor Arisa Konno, Eng 1001 (Freshman Literature and Composition)
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#3 | Back to Top01-27-2007 04:34:17 PM
Re: Edward Weston and The Rape Scene in Adolesence of Utena
Yeah, there was a point where the sheets twisted up kinda like that, but as I recall, there's not enough of a resemblance to really say for sure whether it's a reference. I can take a screenshot when I get home.
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#4 | Back to Top01-27-2007 04:34:18 PM
Re: Edward Weston and The Rape Scene in Adolesence of Utena
My photography professor put that exact Edward Weston photo on a slide last week too! However, all the slides that caught my eye...I quickly scratched down the titles & author thinking, "That'll be great in the boob thread!" I must be missing the grander reference points here. 
Good eye, skewed_tartan! ...my prof said Weston was famous for making his normal everyday objects look "sexy" and showed several examples of veggies which looked like human bodies in the throws of passion. (the the viewer with the avid imagination!) There on the SKU bed, the sheets are there adding to the sexualization of the image, similar to the grain in the cabbage leaves. He died in 1958, so these photos have been around for a while. It wouldn't be unlikely that the creators (people in art business) would have passed his photos during some point in their lives. Direct reference, I guess we'll never know unless we get to interview those involved. Seems plausible enough!
Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that. / You forget some things, don't you? / Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.
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#5 | Back to Top01-29-2007 03:06:02 AM
- MissMocha
- Bettie Page Princess
- From: Tallahassee, Fl
- Registered: 10-19-2006
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Re: Edward Weston and The Rape Scene in Adolesence of Utena
Wow. I know this is totally random, but the way that's photographed makes me think of a woman in one of Fortuny's Delphos gowns hunched over, like she were crying or something. 
The first time you looked at her curves you were hooked
And the glances you took, took hold of you and demanded that you stay
And sunk in their teeth, bit your heart and released
Such a charge that you need another touch, another taste, another fix
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#6 | Back to Top01-29-2007 03:40:17 AM
- iruka
- Rose Smilee
- Registered: 11-11-2006
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Re: Edward Weston and The Rape Scene in Adolesence of Utena
There are some differences, but it's still similar enough for me to remember exactly what scene you had in mind. In any case it's very interesting. 
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#7 | Back to Top02-02-2007 11:09:17 AM
Re: Edward Weston and The Rape Scene in Adolesence of Utena
Cabbage + butterflies + Shiori = interesting symbolism
I think the use of that certain piece of art was a nice way to tie together some elements of the story to make it into a symbol.
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#9 | Back to Top03-16-2016 04:36:53 AM
- Decrescent Daytripper
- Best Disney Princess
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Re: Edward Weston and The Rape Scene in Adolesence of Utena
I love that scene (and maintain that the butterfly transformation was at least partly inspired by a similar transformation in Ralph Bakshi's Coonskin), and I have to believe that this isn't just a happenstance connection, but was something deliberate. I love how the series is both visually very open and often so in terms of characters or dynamics at a glance, but just overflowing with a density of information and resonance.
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