Colonialism and Western Hegemony: Representations of Imperialism in The Last Samurai

This study raises the issue of the existence of Western hegemony carried out by the United States, the purpose of this study was to look for forms of imperialism that exist in the film The Last Samurai. This study ini uses the theory of hegemony proposed by Antonio Gramsci and the concept of Soft Power conducted by the United States in an effort to spread Western ideology to Japan, the method used is a qualitative descriptive method, qualitative descriptive used in research with the aim to describe and understand the phenomenon of Western hegemony conducted by the United States. This study answers several problems contained in the film The Last Samurai. This study shows that there is a representation of imperialism in the film The Last Samurai. This can be seen when Nathan Algren, as a representation of America, comes to Japan to train new military troops. The results of this study show how the character of Nathan Algren, a former United States military, transformed from a person who presented Western culture and power to sympathy for traditional Japanese culture, especially a Samurai. The modernization through changes in the Japanese military system made the Samurai lose their power in social status. This research also provides readers with knowledge about imperialism and its depiction in films