Beautiful (Memoirs of a Geisha vid)

Vid
Title:	Beautiful
Creator:	castorsfate
Date:	2009 or earlier
Format:
Length:
Music:	Sarah Brightman's "Beautiful"
Genre:
Fandom:	Memoirs of a Geisha
Footage:
URL:	offline
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Beautiful is a Memoirs of a Geisha vid by castorsfate. It was reviewed by zephyrprince at the Vid Commentary LJ community on July 31, 2009.

Reactions/Reviews

• "For me, the first layer of meaning in ’s “Beautiful” is a thesis about self-worth and, unsurprisingly, beauty. Visually, the clips used in this vid alternate between footage of Sayuri as a child and her as an adult after she becomes a Geisha. The lyrics coupled with these images seem to want to say that her value is not contingent on dressing up in a certain way, wearing specific make up, or putting on a performance."
• "Writing this, I was reminded of other vids like Shati’s “Secret Asian Man” and Lierdumoa’s “How Much is that Geisha in the Window,” both of which critique the appropriation of Chinese culture in Joss Whedon’s Firefly in light of the complete lack of Chinese characters and actors, and even Giandujakiss’ Origin Stories, exploring the positions of characters of color in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For me, as a non-vidding fan, one of the thinks I admire most about vidders is their unique ability to dismantle Orientalism, racism, homophobia, mysogeny, and other forms of oppression through the nuance of this particular type of media criticism, which I believe this vid does in a very powerful way, reminding the keen observer to always be conscious of issues of race, gender and authorship when consuming media."