Care and Recognition: The Maternal Legitimacy Paradox in Japanese Cinema Close-Knit (2017) and Midnight Swan (2020)
Keywords:
DHA Wodak, Japanese Cinema, Maternal Legitimacy, Motherhood, Trans MaternalAbstract
Motherhood in Japanese cinema is often constructed through normative frameworks that privilege biological ties over caregiving practices. This study aims to examine how maternal legitimacy is constructed and contested in Close-Knit (2017) and Midnight Swan (2020). The research employs the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) to analyze discursive strategies, particularly nomination, predication, and argumentation, in representing maternal figures. The findings reveal a contradiction in which trans maternal figures, despite performing intensive caregiving and emotional labor, are not fully recognized as legitimate mothers. In contrast, biological mothers retain their legitimacy regardless of their caregiving performance, even when they are associated with neglect or instability. This indicates that maternal legitimacy is primarily grounded in biological essentialism rather than relational caregiving practices. The study concludes that motherhood in contemporary Japanese cinema is structured through heteronormative and biopolitical frameworks that prioritize biological reproduction over caregiving. This condition is conceptualized as a maternal legitimacy paradox, highlighting the gap between performed motherhood and socially recognized motherhood.
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