Human bean: More-or-less-than-human relations

Kuvaus

This post-humanist reading of a film on human-bean-relations looks into the more-than-human relations establishing somebody as a recognized member of society, and how the traces left by more-than-human engagement may dehumanize and marginalize individuals. The paper presents how “good relations” may be care-fully made while care-full way of being in the world gives meaning and defines the humanness through humility and humane acts towards the Others. The analysis derives from a Japanese film by Naomi Kawase (2015), Sweet Bean (あん An), based on the literal work of Durian Sukegawa. The film exemplifies an alternative to the making of relations in the industrialized society that neglects care-fully build more-than-human relations through the character Tokue. For Tokue, the way to be in the world is to listen Others, to ease their way of becoming and perfecting themselves to fulfill a reason, meanwhile making meaningful relations to herself as well. This materializes in the art of preparing tasty sweet bean paste. To establish ties care-fully the sweet bean paste is prepared with great care and time, made with love. Lovelessness in the process equals with bitterness or lack of taste. While the human-bean relation engages Tokue to other humans, the signs of her long-term relation to bacteria Mycobacterium leprae declares her as less-than-human among the people. This stigmatic otherness emerges as relativity to other Others, while also excluding her from humankindness, revealing the paradigmatic characteristics of forming good or meaningful relations in the more-than-human world.

Aikajakso	23 maalisk. 2023
Tapahtuman otsikko	Anthropology Conference 2023: Relations and beyond : conference of the Finnish Anthropological Society
Tapahtuman tyyppi	Konferenssi
Järjestäjä	Arktinen keskus
Sijainti	Rovaniemi, SuomiNäytä kartalla
Vaikuttavuus / laajuus	Kansainvälinen