Review: Copyright Infringement, Sex Trafficking, and the Fictional Life of a Geisha
Review: Copyright Infringement, Sex Trafficking, and the Fictional Life of a Geisha
Author: Susan Tiefenbrum
In Susan Tiefenbrum’s article, Copyright Infringement, Sex Trafficking, and the Fictional Life of a Geisha, the author writes on many subjects relevant to the course. The bulk of her article discusses the changes seen in Japanese history regarding geisha and prostitution, although she also writes on the book and pending law suit between Arthur Golden and Mineko Iwasaki, and the morality of human trafficking with specific regards to Japan and geisha.
Tiefenbrum starts her article by discussing Golden’s book, Memoirs of a Geisha, as well as some aspects of his literary style and historical content. Some facets of his writing increase the quality of the story he is telling, yet detracts from his historical sources and strays from the truth, for the sake of the story. (Tiefenbrum, 8) She discusses some historical errors, mainly regarding the lack of congruency in the culture, history, and defining of occupations in the book. Despite some of the similarities to Iwasaki’s experience as dictated in her own autobiography and the main character in Golden’s book, she adamantly declares, “The book is lies, all lies…. Golden has mixed up the well respected and highly educated geisha profession with that of common prostitutes in order to ‘spice up the story for Western audiences.’… The geisha world is not a place where you sell your body.” (Tiefenbrum, 25)
Tiefenbrum next writes on the history of Geisha and prostitutes, starting in the seventeenth century and moves all the way up to the twentieth century. Although Tiefenbrum’s article cannot be described as brief, it is certainly too short to cover three hundred years of history among other topics. Perhaps this is the reason that her depiction of Japanese history is often contradicting of itself and confusing, or it may be the poor organization used to recount the timeline of events. Either way, the
Author: Susan Tiefenbrum
In Susan Tiefenbrum’s article, Copyright Infringement, Sex Trafficking, and the Fictional Life of a Geisha, the author writes on many subjects relevant to the course. The bulk of her article discusses the changes seen in Japanese history regarding geisha and prostitution, although she also writes on the book and pending law suit between Arthur Golden and Mineko Iwasaki, and the morality of human trafficking with specific regards to Japan and geisha.
Tiefenbrum starts her article by discussing Golden’s book, Memoirs of a Geisha, as well as some aspects of his literary style and historical content. Some facets of his writing increase the quality of the story he is telling, yet detracts from his historical sources and strays from the truth, for the sake of the story. (Tiefenbrum, 8) She discusses some historical errors, mainly regarding the lack of congruency in the culture, history, and defining of occupations in the book. Despite some of the similarities to Iwasaki’s experience as dictated in her own autobiography and the main character in Golden’s book, she adamantly declares, “The book is lies, all lies…. Golden has mixed up the well respected and highly educated geisha profession with that of common prostitutes in order to ‘spice up the story for Western audiences.’… The geisha world is not a place where you sell your body.” (Tiefenbrum, 25)
Tiefenbrum next writes on the history of Geisha and prostitutes, starting in the seventeenth century and moves all the way up to the twentieth century. Although Tiefenbrum’s article cannot be described as brief, it is certainly too short to cover three hundred years of history among other topics. Perhaps this is the reason that her depiction of Japanese history is often contradicting of itself and confusing, or it may be the poor organization used to recount the timeline of events. Either way, the