An Epic Masterpiece

Samurai Cop.

The name conjures images of epic grandeur.

Perhaps no film has captured the hubris of man and the underlying savage superego that is his folly.

At first glance, this appears to be a typical action film about a cop that happens to be a samurai that can chop off people's arms by throwing a sword. Upon deeper glances, layers upon layers are peeled off to reveal a unique social commentary (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Bad Guy: Let's cut off his gift...... his black gift.

This scene is in reference to the partner of the protagonist who is captured by the bad guys and in order to try to make him talk, they threaten to cut off his genitals. But, what do they really mean by... black gift?

Black Gift is clearly a metaphor for the economic and social progress that African Americans made as a whole during the 20th century. In one fell swoop, this is threaten to be undone. In essence, despite our progress, despite all the superficial appearances, racism still exists in our society and unless we are proactive in having a zero tolerance policy to it, this will never go away. Unless we recognize the problems we still have, unless we get out of our complacency, we our ALL in danger of having our OWN black gifts caught off.

The layers continue....

Ernest Hemmingway (when he wrote the short story that was later to be turned into this movie) said the following:

"I had just finished the Old Man and the Sea. Don't get me wrong. I'm proud of that work, but there weren't enough arms getting chopped off and in A Farewell to Arms, I wanted to include the "nurse scene" in the book, but the censors at the time would not allow it. That scene actually happened to me."

The scene he is referring to is transcribed below (see Figure 2):

Figure 2

Nurse: Do you like what you see?

Samurai Cop: I love what I see.

Nurse: Would you like to touch what you see?

Samurai Cop: Yes, yes I would.

Nurse: Would you like to go out with me?

Samurai Cop: Yes, I would.

Nurse: Would you like to **** me?

Samurai Cop: Bingo

Nurse: Well, let's see what you got. (pause) Doesn't interest me. Nothing there.

Samurai Cop: Nothing there? Just exactly what would interest you, something the size of a jumbo jet?

Nurse: Have you been circumcised? Your doctor must have cut a big portion of it off.

Samurai Cop: No, he was a good doctor. Don't worry. I've got enough. It's big.

Nurse: I want bigger.


In conclusion, this film is a metaphor for not just life, but for social progress and change. It seeks to answer where we've been, what the future holds for us, is there a God, what the meaning of life is, and what is the perfect location to put a severed head.