Vera Drake

We went to see Vera Drake on Saturday. I was under the false impression that it finished last week and so we got up early to see it. As it happens it's still on this week. There's little interest in Japan it seems, very few people were at the small, art-house place in Harborland where it's playing. But I can guarantee that everyone who saw it loved it.
It is one of the best movies I've seen for a very long time. The direction and, without exception, everyone of the acting performances were superb. Coupled with the atmosphere of working class London in the early 1950s, the film is superb. Best of all, perhaps, is the lack of any Hollywood pretension. It's unlikely that a US director would make a movie about abortion without condemning it out of hand, but of course Vera Drake makes us sympathetic to not only the poor girls who choose this unpleasant and even dangerous operation, but also with the kind hearted abortionist who sets out to help the girls for no payment and no other reason other than she knows no one else will.
There is one case of a rich girl who undergoes the 'official' method (whereby, after assessment by a psychologist, she is given a legitimate abortion) in order to create a striking contrast between those with money and those without. The other contrasts are also striking: men vs. women, young vs. old, and so on. The photography, the direction, the atmosphere, the acting, and the story are all brilliant.
In Japan, where abortion is absolutely no issue whatsoever given the cash, and where so many girls undergo this harrowing procedure, the content of the movie may seem just too basic. But it tells a compelling and true to life story. Unless you're extremely anti-abortion (and so probably male and American) this is a movie you should see.

Apparently...

Apparently, some 90% of blogs are never updated. Well this one came close.

At last we're back in Japan and, on the whole, enjoying it. I have a major tendency to worry, and with the continuing necessity to sort out our future, now is a good time to practice this tendency to an extreme degree. Being back at UMDS has turned out to be a lot more fun than it used to be. Admittedly, I only have a light teaching load, but as of this moment, it is going well and is almost enjoyable. The addition of Cash Mod to the phpBB is proving a huge success. Cash Mod means that kiddies (Japanese English for 'students') get points allocated for everything they write online. With more than 210 signed up for the class, it's hard to moderate this. I did request some teaching assistance, but, as it's not a computer class, I was turned down. Apparently, only computer classes are so terribly difficult to teach, they require assistance. This is ironic seeing as our largest computer classes are no more than 40 people.

The Zemi too is fine, although extremely boring. Only 5 people signed up this year as I didn't actively recruit (recruiting being a tad difficult from Spain). Of these, 3 turned up for the first class and resolutely proved too shy to actually speak to me for the 60 minutes I was there. The other two appeared the following week protesting ignorance (easy to believe!), but with only 5 it's difficult to be too strict. They all have blogs that are now accessible through the main university page (Zemi Page), but generally don't know what to do with them.

The main worry, however, is Rikkyo. Having been offered the job there in their brand new 'International Business Faculty', it turns out that I've accepted it even though I have gone no further than exchange a few email questions; the salary is lower; the work load is higher; the conditions even more claustrophobic with meetings until 11pm every month; and so on. Basically, a normal university and very, very far away from 'international'. Naturally, I expect a contract to be produced, and I expect some flexibility as to my pension scheme. Japanese pensions schemes are, like many things, totally fair and treat everyone equally, thus, by definition, discriminating against anyone who is unable to fit the Japanese model: i.e. almost all foreigners. Basically, to draw on a Japanese pension, you have to work in the country for some 25 years (I've heard 20, and someone once said to me it was 12, but that's the lowest bid I've had!) Anyone who doesn't, gets zilch. Nothing. Nada. Technically, a Japanese person who worked 24 years in Japan and was then struck down with some illness and unable to complete the final year would also get precisely that: sweet FA. So, naturally, I'm very reluctant to pay any more than the absolute minimum because, basically, this simply means I am paying what amounts to an extra tax.

The whole issue, however, is compounded by the way universities operate here. Even more so than in the West, everything in a university is handled by a large rule manual drawn up over time by the faculty themselves, usually during incredibly drawn out and unfocused meetings. A typical academic contract would simply be a piece of paper stating, "I promise to obey the rules" and submitting yourself to whatever rule changes may occur. This is fraught with danger and nicely open to arm twisting and other nastiness. Catbert, the evil human resources manager, would have a field day with this.

None the less, I'm off to talk to them next week. They simply cannot grasp the idea that I may not be able to stay in Japan for reasons of family, and that's the other sticking point. If we can agree on getting a contract, which includes agreement on my pension, and on the need to be international, then we have a deal. Otherwise, I think I'll be unemployed from April next year. Frankly, in the face of such parochial thinking, it doesn't really bother me that much.