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The Art of War Theater: Queen Bee Strikes Again

blame it on JES7 March 23, 2013

Today’s episode of The Art of War Theater features a pinku eiga film, a genre from Japan, made popular between the 60s and late 70s, in which a female is the lead character and features lots of over-the-top violence and some soft-core porn as well. Think of it as Japanese blaxploitation, with the female taking the helm for the leading role. And the parallels to American blaxploitation cinema don’t end at the gruesome violence and abundance of in-your-face titties. Even the soundtrack / score during the height of pinku eiga were funky and soulful, just as much as it’s American counterpart. One of the dominating actors in the genre was Reiko Ike who stars in today’s feature: Queen Bee Strikes Again, part of the Girl Boss Blues series from the ’70s.

In the 1970s, the Japanese youth emancipation also found it’s way into the yakuza (crime) societies. A Girl Boss may have a choice between bikes, and between boyfriends. But she has to defend her choices the hard way, as her triumph and power over the girls’ gang is questioned by her female rivals, and the all powerful Yakuza Boss. She inspires loyalty to her girls, and to men to the extent of many of them literally giving their lives for her – in a world of knife and gun fighting, bike and car chasing, and violent death.

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