Cultural Writing. Film Studies. Asian Studies. Translation. Translated from the Japanese by William O. Gardner and Takeo Hori. World-renowned filmmaker Takeshi Kitano initially became popular in his native Japan through his legendarily caustic alter ego, the comedian Beat Takeshi. Here in the United States, he is primarily known for innovating a stylish noir aesthetic admired by such directors as Marin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. This collection of essays by Casio Abe, one of Japan's preeminent cultural critics, examines both Kitano's films and his Beat Takeshi persona, offering an incisive critique of the television culture that Kitano's films and comedy both draw on and play against. It is the first book on Kitano's work to be published in English.