The Art Theater Guild and Japanese Independent Cinema
Hey everyone, I just completed this weeks readings (Nov. 
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
November 6th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
I would agree that it seems to many that there is a certain level of stagnation in the world of cinema at the moment. Hollywood appears to be seduced by the lucrative benefits of sequels and the triumph of the trilogy and quadrilogy, with commercial franchises such as Saw (I, II, II, and now IV) dominating cinemas. To the cinema studies student it seems as though we are a far cry from the New Wave movements of countries like France, Germany and Japan or the socially aware and politically active Third Cinema of Argentina and Cuba and Cinema Novo of Brazil. The model presented by ATG truly does look seductive and appealing from this perspective.
Yet, I feel it is not a model that can be effectively applied to the current situation. This is not because the idea is flawed, but more due to the fact that the industry is changing. I think it would be a mistake to think that a revolution in cinema is not occurring at our current juncture in history. It is not one being fought in underground cinemas, in art house cinemas or by independent film companies. Those elements belonged to a time when the technology of film allowed for an alternative stream built around the medium of 16mm and 8mm. Today, a similar movement of usurping the means of production from the large companies is happening through digital technology and the internet. Think what you will about YouTube and media designed for the small screen but I believe it is filling the same function that films of the ATG and similar independents did.
One may laugh at this notion, especially when we are treated to dogs riding skateboards and remixes of dogs riding skateboards, however it cannot be denied that old notions of production have drastically changed. Videos can be produced by a teenager in a bedroom, without the intervention of corporations, producer dollars or ratings boards. This dispersal of production has the potential to reverse the old model of media production, where a select few produce everything for the masses. The masses are now the producers, and a diversification of the message may soon follow (if it has not already).
ATG served the function of enabling directors to produce films that did not bend to the needs of commercialism. It allowed for diversification of topics that were not possible within the studio system. Today our equivalent to ATG is the internet, with every person with access to a cheap video camera and a computer acting as the directors. It is a far more socialist dream of production than the independents ever were. Now it is only a matter of using this dispersal of means to positive ends.
To end I believe that wishing for an ATG in Canada is a romantic notion and its time has come and gone. It is also one that ignores the fact that Canada has has a rich history of film production, very often independent and avant-garde. In its golden age the NFB funded many fantastic filmmakers (Michael Snow, Claude Jutra) who were anything but conventional. If we look to current production of films in Quebec we see a very strong industry that has an identity very different from that of Hollywood (Denys Arcand, Stéphane LeFleur, Denis Villeneuve). Today we need to look forward, to new modes of production, to find voices that will stand out against convention and commercialism. The future of the industry, especially as an art form, is quite literally in our hands.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Jason’s got a valid point: with the internet being what it is, full of countless videos(some more original than others) that captivate our attention, and even garner a fanbase. To use an example, the YouTube series “Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series” has attained a high level of popularity for its humourous parody of the North American dub of the program(as well as its potshots at other popular media). The powers-that-be did try to have the videos removed, due to possible copyright infringement, but all that did was provoke discussion amongst its viewers, and it’s still going. (Also, a number of other Abridged Series have popped up in response, but these are basically just ripoffs of the Yu-Gi-Oh! version—I mean, the guy who makes that series actually makes fun of those “spinoffs”.)
However, I think I agree with Adamo’s idea of Canada having its own equivalent of the ATG. Maybe not at this point in time, and maybe not ever, but one must not rule out the possibility that it could happen. Jason says we should move forward, but people generally tend to look backward rather than forward. If Canada’s ATG happens, they probably will go about looking for experimental new uses of some of the newer media, much as ATG did with the 16mm and 18mm, and sooner or later, a film will receive a level of international recognition in the same vein as Oshima-san’s movies did.
Then again, I suppose that depends on the political climate—but then again, who’s to say there won’t be a film made in reaction to the recent native disputes in Caledonia, or some other Canada-exclusive thing? I mean, they did make a film about Carla Homolka(whose name I prob’ly just butchered), and while it may not be popular right now, it could end up that way……