전시기의 희극영화 - <즐거운 인생(愉しき哉人生)>(1944)의 캐릭터 특징과 이데올로기적 기능을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This paper analyses Tanoshiki Kana Jinsei(1944), a film produced in the late wartime period, as a case study to uncover the traits of comedy films in this period. At that time, the Japanese government moved away from the film production policy to boost wartime morale and launched a new direction towards “national comfort”, mainly emphasizing communal life, everyday life, and cheerfulness, among others. Building on this film policy, the present study analyses the characteristics of comedy films in the wartime period, focusing on the traits of the characters, their social roles, and the ideological functions of the film, Tanoshiki Kana Jinsei. More specifically, this study analyzes how the protagonist, the Sōma family, is depicted as a model family, as well as how their influence extends to those around them and, ultimately, to the whole community. In particular, I investigate how each of Tarō Sōma, the first daughter Hideko, and the second daughter Megumi impacts others. In doing so, I reveal how the family becomes an exemplary member of the community, through the repeated uses of positive expressions, the visual depictions of a fantasy world, and their relations with other characters. While the film Tanoshiki Kana Jinsei was an entertainment film, it also served as an ideological device to accelerate community cooperation and positive thinking, in line with the historical background of the time.