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90-Second Cinema: Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, an excerpt

In BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO, filmmaker Jessica Oreck takes us on an adventure that follows the role of insects in Japanese culture.  Oreck plays with her characters in a humorous and artistic tone.  The characters in her film go to the extremes in their passion for bugs: radicals using an insect persona to portray toughness, children creating their own bug museum and even a bug catcher so obsessed with critters that he buys his own Ferrari. Integrating voices of Japanese proverbs with everyday, the film dissects the unique culture and provides the audience with the appreciation of tradition, therefore allowing the insects (the beetles, butterflies, moths, and silkworms) to become the real characters in the film; the people become the ones we brush away.

In the next 90-seconds, Oreck uses the craft of low camera angles to allow the viewer to see from the insects perspective. First, a beetle roams the bustling streets of Japan. As one of the main characters of the film, the beetle carefully maneuvers himself in the busy pedestrian traffic. The delicacy and tenacity of the beetle as it navigates through the bustling streets provides the notion of respect of both human and insect.

In the following scene, the folklore about dragonflies is told.  We also learn how the unique insect culture has impacted the country.  Oreck navigates the camera as if it were spying on a group of men. We fly around with her and focus on a man with a large bouffant and exoskeleton outfit embodying an insect-like character. We see that he and his swarm of friends are trying to tough up in order to fight with another troop or prepare for mating by impressing females. The tone and humor of the narration provide an appreciation for this unique persona.

In the final scene, the narrator discusses the importance of fireflies. Here the filmmaker integrates it with construction workers who are wearing and holding flickering lights. Though the image is all too familiar with us, the background story of the fireflies’ everlasting love provides a deeper understanding of insects’ culture and impression on Japanese culture. Even though we despise them or even hurt them in our every day life, BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO provides the understanding of our and their existence on earth. 

- John Reyes

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