In Week 2, the second reading discusses the development of a film category called Asian cinema. According to Olivia Khoo, the development of Asian cinema as an institutional category discretely emerged out of political and cultural debates during the 1980s. Factors for the rise included: The economic rise of East Asia, the questioning of the status of national cinema in film criticism and also the exposure at International Film Festivals.
The film watched by the class this week, Sukiyaki Western Django(2007, Takashi Miike), is a unique example through which to consider how genre (in this case, the Asian Western) allows audiences to approach Asian cinema. The film is made by a Japanese director, with a cast consisting almost entirely of Japanese actors (with the exception of Quentin Tarantino). The film’s international orientation, however, reflected most obviously in the delivery of its dialogue in English, shows it’s relationship with the western culture of the genre it takes from.
Scene from Sukiyaki Western Django.
Photo credit: Takeshi Ikeda.
Along with the reading and the film, I worked on creating a short scene, the footage of which I would use in the editing workshop with James Thompson. I used a number of different shot types and angles, along with some different camera movements. Below is the outline I made to help set-up the scene and what it was I needed. I will upload the edited piece later in the week!!!
References:
- Olivia Khoo (2013) Bad Jokes, Bad English, Good Copy: Sukiyaki Western Django, or How the West Was Won, Asian Studies Review, 37:1, 80-95
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