Japanese Transnational Cinema

• Other Authors: Centeno, Marcos (Editor), Morita, Nori (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
• Subjects: The arts; Films, cinema; Shakespeare; Kurosawa; Macbeth; films; translation; transcultural; Noh; tragedy; fate; guilt; contemporary Japanese cinema; cultural blending; intertextuality; mise en abyme; Nobuhiro Suwa; transculturality; (trans)national cinema; national cinema; transnational Japanese film; taiyōzoku; mukokuseki; 'kimono effect'; youth icons; postwar film festivals; cartoon movie; Japan and Spain; transnational imagery; film studies; ideological analysis; ideology; Japanese cinema; nation; New Left; New Wave; Nuberu Bagu; Yoshida Kiju; Naomi Kawase; cinema of place; women directors; art cinema; international film festivals; female authorship; auteur; metamorphosis; animation; Franz Kafka; cinematic picture; film aesthetics; theory of beauty; ikebana; kire; geidō; film philosophy; Japanese aesthetics; transcultural thinking; Ri Koran; Li Xianglan; Yamaguchi Yoshiko; transnationality; Japanese Empire; propaganda films; n/a
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

The aim of this Special Issue lies in expanding contemporary discussions on Japanese Cinema and its transnational aspects by applying new critical methodologies and stances and in revealing the contradictions inherent in the way the old paradigm of 'National Cinema' has traditionally been articulated. In order to do so, this publication highlights the limitations of assessing Japanese film as a cinematic phenomenon confined to its national borders. Throughout this issue, the concept of transnationality is not confined to a single definition and is instead used as an analytical framework which allow authors to surpass narrow perspectives that neglect the complex nature of Japanese film in terms of its esthetics, narratives, and theoretical approaches as well as production, consumption, and distribution systems. This volume casts light on the extraordinary international flows of images, stories, iconographies, and theories between Japan and other countries, and assesses the dialectic relationship between two apparently contradictory aspects: external influences and Japanese uniqueness, revealing how 'uniquely Japanese' films may ironically contain foreign codes of representation. Thus, the articles presented here bring a more comprehensive understanding of how global cultural flows have shaped local creativity. Some authors adopt additional transnational perspectives, through which they analyse how Japan is represented as 'other' from outside and how the rest of the world is represented by Japan, or propose a renewal of film theories on Japanese cinema that have traditionally been dominated by Western writings. Overall, manuscripts included in this publication help the reader to understand different ways in which Japan expands beyond Japanese Cinema and Japanese Cinema expands beyond Japan.