Archive for November, 2007

Report on Cinema/Movement by Jaime Ardon

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

Sorry for the delayed blog, but I could never for the life of me login to the blog. Thank you Sharon for posting this up for me. There is so much potential ground to cover, but for the sake of the time I have kept this blog relatively brief.

The Conference on Experimental Cinema in Japan and its correlation with radical political movements of the 1960’s and 70’s was full of insightful and engrossing opinions and commentaries from leading scholars from this unique field. I for one am glad that I went, because I actually felt like my tuition was going towards something useful and rewarding. Congratulations to Sharon on hosting such an interesting and eye opening conference that exposes other currents Japanese Cinema. As Sharon mentioned, much of the information and research given during the conference is relatively new, which makes Underground Experimental Japanese Cinema an exciting topic to study and analyze.

I would first like to mention some of the interesting points brought up by Prof. Johnathan Hall during his introduction to the screenings. I should also note that Prof. Hall was very enthusiastic about his research and you could see how content he was to be discussing Experimental Japanese Cinema. His mentioning of Japanese Cinema as being ‘non-terrological’ in its mode of self- representation is something that I feel binds many of the films we have seen in class. Part of self-recognition is the modes of resistance to corporate and cultural strands of thought, which in turn allows many of the Shinjiku and 1960-70’s Experimental films to being tools for social reform. Even last week’s film Branded to Kill touched base on this notion of non-terrological modes of self representation, by having a protagonist struggles with his past and emotions in order to discover a sense of humanity. It becomes a film where the body becomes the landscape and the actual landscape is subverted and radicalized into the psyche of the main character. This is a trend that I have noticed throughout a couple of the films we have screened in class. I would like if anyone has anything to add to this, or perhaps if anyone sees something else entirely please free to discuss.

The idea of city landscape and the spatiality within urban centers is what makes the Shinjuku cinema such an exciting topic of discussion, which Prof. Domenig discussed in his presentation. The murky cinema grounds added to the overall experience of the moviegoers, which in itself creates an ‘alternative’ culture that would often be associated to hippie movements as mentioned by Prof. Domenig. Even in his articule Prof. Domenig relates the ATG and Shinkuku Cinema to proliferating the development of the Japanese New Wave, which paralleled with the French Nouvelle Vague. ATG allowed for new introspective and artistic voices that challenged the norms of the art form and of society itself. This was reflected in the film snippets that Sharon shared with us and also lends itself well to her fascinating discussion on pink eiga flms and the sexual and gender politics between male and female during this radicalized time in Japanese history.

Overall the conference provided an interesting and unique in a field of study that I feel will only continue to grow in the upcoming years. A discussion question that I would like to ask would be, how do you (the class) feel about the relation between ATG and the social political reform of the time; and how it allowed for a widespread of artistic creativity that challenged the social landscape of the time???

J-Party! Nov 29

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

To end the year we’re having two presentations on anime and a small party. I’ll bring the J-snacks and you bring your own beverages!

Monday, November 26th, 2007

Hi there-

I wanted to let people know that I went to see Uchida’s A Bloody Speay at Mt. Fuji at the cinemateque recently and thought it was really great.   If anyone is doing their essay on Samuri, post-war genre bender/breaker films, post-war loss of hierarchy systems or questions of heroism this film must be checked out (if you can get a copy!)  It is really playful, yet in a very clever and subversively political way.  Although it is getting late- if people are stumped on what to write on- this film could be inspiring….

Article - Understanding Sport and Body Culture in Japan

Monday, November 26th, 2007

Hi everyone,

I found a very interesting article regarding the Japanese body throughout Japan’s modernization period (post-Meiji/1868). At the end of the article, it speaks more specifically about sport culture in Japan, but overall the article is highly relevant and it migh help with your final research paper.

I have attached it to this post.

Erin

Reel Asian Film Fest - Sakuran

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

I’m wondering if anyone had a chance to see Sakuran at the Reel Asian this year. I ended up going and loving it. The director is a photographer and it definitely shows because each frame is captured so beautifully. I loved the colours and cinematography, but the most interesting thing about it was the juxtaposition of modern rock and pop music in what seems to be an old tale.

The film is based on a manga series about the life of oirans (prostitutes). The main character is sent to a brothel house (I think she was an orphan) to become a geisha/oiran, but she rebels constantly, bad-mouthing and fighting the other girls in the brothel. Eventually she falls in love with a client (not sure if I’m using the correct terminology) and becomes the head kiyoha (lead prostitute, but at the most respectful level).

I highly recommend the film, mostly for its cinematography but also its unique style, character development and even humour. The trailer can be found on youtube.

A more concise review: http://www.reelasian.com/program_f.php?program_id=140

Erin Pehlivan

November 15th Lecture

Friday, November 16th, 2007

Hi everyone. Adamo here. Unfortunetly I was unable to attend this past weeks lecture — which is rather upseting because I know the lecture was a special presentation. So i was wondering if someone can fill me in on the key points presented by the lecturer. And what you thought about the films. That would be great. None the less,  I hope it was an enjoyable class.

Cheers

Adamo Ruggiero

Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival Nov 8-11

Saturday, November 10th, 2007

http://www.tjsff.ca/

At Innis Town Hall this weekend!

Death By Hanging

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007

Two copies of Death By Hanging are available at my office, CFT 232. Please sign in and out on the envelope.

The Art Theater Guild and Japanese Independent Cinema

Monday, November 5th, 2007

Hey everyone, I just completed this weeks readings (Nov. 8) and I had a few thoughts. Along with our Japanese cinema course, I am also enrolled in a Canadian cinema course (which are back to back in the day). As a result, i cant help but to compare and contrast the two — which i did (in my mind) in regards to the Art Theater Guild. The Art Theater Guild was truly an incredibly powerful and influential movement. I believe what drove The Art Theater Guild, more than anything, was passion — the desire to have a more alternative voice in Japanese discourse. A voice that ultimately signaled audiences to question, to analyze and to engage in the socio-political and economic experiences of Japanese culture. Film became a truly political text, one fueled by candidates for change. I can not help but to acknowledge the complete opposite at work in Canada. While there are a few filmmakers that produced similar films, the films were no where near as domestically (nor internationally) successful. In retrospect, American imperialism stunted Canada from having a similar artistic and political voice like that of The Art Theater Guild. Like our brother to the south, we’ve always wanted tom cruise, Julia Roberts and the like. In other-words, not only did we want mainstream, but American mainstream. Which has left me questioning, if Canada was to have a kind of Art Theater Guild, what would characterize our films? What issues would we tackle? What would we comment on? These questions point to issues of culture more than anything else.

Overall, I am incredibly fascinated by the Art Theater Guild — i see it more as a social endeavour, one that creates a unified culture via discourse. However, the Art Theater Guild is predicated on an interest in indigenous Japanese film to begin with. Perhaps when Canadians are granted access to their works — and are passionate of their Canadian stories, similar movements in the future can develop. In the end, the Art Theater Guild is authentic only in comparison to the pre-existing cinema in Japan. What do we have to compare to? At this point, any new endeavour in Canada would be a great one.

Cheers

Adamo Ruggiero

“Akira” by Katsuhiro Otomo - Deep Behind the Cartoons

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

About a week and a half ago I watched the critically-acclaimed Anime film “Akira” and I have to say it was quite awesome. Being an Anime fan since birth, I discover that some common Anime fans watch series and films on the surface and I find that this does not allow the viewer to absorb Japanese animation as an art in all its glory. But that’s beside the point of this post.

A few lectures back we discussed the historical representations in film regarding the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings as well as the rebuilding of Japan symbolized by the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. After watching “Akira” I realize that a lot of the Anime films and TV series out there portray these significant events through whatever motif or symbolism, and a lot of them are clearly released years after the bombings and 1964 Olympics. Other than being an extraordinary display of animation (especially in 1988), the movie shows much of the themes we talked about during that lecture on October 11th.

So I’m asking why is it that these themes of destruction and reconstruction of Japan’s national identity and global status come up many years after the events and also especially in animated films? Are the feelings and emotions still lingering in the Japan we know today? Or are they just reflections of history?

Other than that watch more Anime with a deconstructive and analytic mindset! My friends consider me to be immature and geeky sometimes for watching Anime movies and series over and over again. Enjoy and drown yourself with thoughts! Take care.

-Philbert Lui

Akira (1988)