The Doctrine of Creation (1965, Michio Okabe)

Influenced by Kenneth Anger’s Scorpio Rising (1963), Okabe made his first film The Doctrine of Creation (Tenchi sozosetsu, 1967). Borrowing the title from John Huston’s The Bible: in the Beginning (1966) (Tenchi Sozo in Japanese), Okabe aimed to paint the zeitgeist of the period by collecting and exposing the world around him and himself. The film cites Okabe’s own works, A Coffin Covered by Stars and Stripes[i] ([i]seijoki wo kabutta hitsugi) and State of Michio Okabe (Okabe Michio zo), as well as a scene that reminds one of Ushio Shinohara’s Boxing Painting. It also incorporates self-acted charming and improvised verbiage from television and movie heroes such as Tarzan, Django, and Tange Sazen. Okabe’s iconic style such as the inclusion of gay characters and free use of pop music was already established in this work. Okabe, who not only produced, wrote, and directed the film but also acted most of the characters, asserted that “underground film is independent movie.” One’s own movie should be made for one’s self. The decisiveness of the last scene which embodies this thinking, is truly enjoyable. The film won an award at the Sogetsu Experimental Film Festival of 1967.