foreign exchangeThe new successful program shÅ pistol is a loving adaptation of the landmark 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell. While many have noted that the 2024 version shifts focus from the narrative of English navigator John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) to the brilliant Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and the arresting Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai) sharing the main bill, the The truth is that the novel does the same thing sometimes. Sure, it starts off focused on the perspective of the white male character meddling in a foreign civilization (after all, it was written in the ’70s), but as the book progresses, there are entire ps dedicated to Toranaga’s points of view. , Mariko, Yabushige (Tadanobu Asano) and her nephew Omi (Hiroto Kanai), Kiku (Yuka Kouri) and the other ladies of the Willow World, the Portuguese clergy and merchants, and even vassals who live in the service of their noble daimyos. FX shÅ pistol it simply accelerates these elements at the beginning of the narrative journey. Aside from that, FX shÅ pistol It is a fairly faithful adaptation of the book by James Clavell. Except, okay, on the one hand, uh, big difference.
For the most part, Clavell’s novel approaches 17th-century Japanese culture with reverence and empathy. However, there is a detail that the English author mentioned at the beginning of his book that reminds you that, yes, shÅ pistol was originally written in a very different time period, where there were some totally crazy stereotypes about Asian men.
In Clavell’s version shÅ pistol, John Blackthorne supposedly has the biggest penis anyone in Japan has ever seen. Blackthorne’s “Peerless Parts” are a topic of conversation in the home of Chief Mura, called Muraji (Yasunari Takeshima) on the FX show, and spark speculation about what European women might be endowed with. Later, Mura’s wife and mother ask to see Blackthorne being bathed and massaged and, well, this happens:
“Then he became erect and no matter how much I tried to prevent it from happening, the worse it got; At least that’s what he thought, but not women. His eyes widened and began to blush. “Jesus Lord the Only God, I cannot blush, but I was and this seemed to increase in size and the old woman clapped her hands in wonder and said something to which they all nodded and she shook her head in wonder and said something else to which they nodded even more.”
Mura said with enormous gravity: ‘Captain-san, Mother-san thank you, the best for your life, now die happy!’”
shÅ pistol Chapter 2 by James Clavell
The implication is that Blackthorne’s penis (probably normal size) is naturally larger than what Japanese people are used to due to the racist stereotype that Japanese men No have big penises. Well, it means that OR that John Blackthorne has a comically large penis, one that should perhaps be studied by science.
Later in the novel, Blackthorne has several romantic experiences; we are told that one lady found him “prodigal,” while another gave him a rare public honor that indicated great sexual satisfaction. And so Blackthorne’s enormous penis becomes a running joke in the book, one that might make you laugh, roll your eyes, or feel offended depending on your personal point of view.
FX shÅ gun has embraced Yabu’s love of boiling men alive and sustaining it at a time when a baby is killed as part of his father’s seppuku. We even have the comic moment at the beginning of the novel in which a naked and disheveled Blackthorne crashes through a paper wall. Those details from the book made it into the program. So why hasn’t Blackthorne’s truly incomparable “Peerless Part” done so?
“Don’t look at me to answer the question!” shÅ gun said co-creator and co-showrunner Justin Marks, laughing, after Jugo Mobile posed the question during an in-depth interview about the entire season at Winter 2024 TCA.
Marks’ co-creator, co-showrunner and wife Rachel Kondo, also laughing, admitted that it was fodder for the most raucous writers’ room chatter.
“I mean, I feel like the good thing it did for us was that it was a great, great thing for the writers’ room to laugh and enjoy and have fun,” Kondo said, before correcting herself. “Not literally enjoy“
“With all due respect to the book, I think if Clavell were alive today, he’d probably be open to some of what we’re talking about,” Marks said, inferring that he thinks Clavell would approve of the omission of the detail in 2024. “I mean, like “Writers, I think we’re always looking for new clichés to create and to find new clichés, you have to turn the page on old clichés. And I think some of those clichés are unfortunate.”
“It’s not like we were clutching pearls, like, ‘Oh my God! We can not do that!’ “It was more just a matter of, I think we can find new humor and be funnier in some ways.”
Marks also added that they are fully aware that forty years from now, there will likely be details in their adaptation that will make future audiences cringe that don’t even occur to us today.
“Without being big or serious, I think there are a lot of things we’re probably going to be gutted for in forty years on this show. And I hope so. I hope we get there.”
For now, we’ll just have to accept that in 2024, it’s probably best to cut off John Blackthorne’s problematically enormous penis. Sorry, Mura’s mom.
