The Japanese Cinema Book – FUJIKI Hideaki & Alastair PHILLIPS (eds)

Japanese film studies is an academic discipline and research community focusing on the multifaceted aspects of Japanese cinema. Deeply interdisciplinary, it employs theories, critical approaches and methods from different fields such as film studies and cultural studies to understand Japanese films as works of art, cultural products and social practices. What makes a film “Japanese”, and even what is a film, are far from easy questions, particularly in the globalised, transnational and digitalised world in which we now live, but nevertheless are issues that define the disciple and its historiography. Yomota Inuhiko puts it simply in [...]

The FPA, US Propaganda, and Postwar Japanese Cinema

This chapter recounts how Nagata Masaichi, president of Daiei Studio in Japan, pitched the idea of founding the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Southeast Asia (FPA) and an annual Southeast Asian Film Festival. It discusses the consensus among American foreign officers stationed in Asia that communists had infiltrated the Japanese film industry since the end of the US occupation of Japan in April 1952. It also describes the activities of the “Reds” in the Japanese motion picture industry that is considered a threat to the United States' strategic Cold War interests in the Asia-Pacific region. The chapter cites Rashomon, which won the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars and elicited simultaneous respect and jealousy from other nations in the region. It elaborates how the unprecedented success of Rashomon rapidly established Nagata's presence in the Japanese film industry.

Postcolonial Interracial Intimacy

This chapter discusses postcolonial intimacy by surveying post-1945 cultural productions on Korean–Japanese intermarriage. It offers a short sketch of the construction of the postcolonial memory of colonial intimacy in South Korean popular culture and analyzes the normalization of Korean patriarchal narratives about Korean–Japanese relationships. It also reviews the “Hyŏnhaet'an” narrative with the movie Hyŏnhaet'an Ŭn algoitta in 1961 and the post-1998 lifting of the ban on Japanese culture in South Korea, particularly the differences between the reception of the Japanese film Hotaru in Japan and Korea. The chapter looks at the 2010s, with the movies Tŏkhye ongju (The last princess), Agassi (The handmaiden), and Pak Yŏl (Anarchist from colony). It recounts the Korean War and the Cold War politics that dominated both North and South for the next few decades and impeded the decolonization process in the Korean Peninsula.

Comparing audience perceptions of characters in subtitled film

Understanding of key character attributes in foreign film may be reduced when perception is dependent on subtitles. This research aimed to validate a reception-based method for empirically measuring functional equivalence of character voice in subtitled film. Participants watched a Japanese film excerpt, with or without English subtitles, and rated their impressions of the central character (Takuji) on 16 character descriptors (8 antonym pairs), identified by the author as important for understanding Takuji. Perceptions of Takuji’s personality were compared between Japanese and English speakers in two studies (Study 1, N = 49, 28 Japanese, 21 English; Study 2, N = 53, 23 Japanese, 30 English). Both studies involved assessment of Takuji by Japanese speakers (no subtitles) and English speakers (English subtitles). Study 2 attempted to improve inter-item reliability and equivalence between languages by using more direct antonyms and longer descriptors than Study 1. Results from both studies established significant differences in character perceptions between Japanese and English viewers and confirmed the reliability of Japanese intracultural perceptions. Consistency in the loss of character voice between language groups in both studies confirmed that this approach to measuring character voice has strong potential for assessing subtitling approaches that aim to address functional equivalence in character perception.

Bollywood Film Industry as a Significant Factor in India’s Economy

The article examines the Bollywood film industry as the main film industry in India. Its key role that contributes to the development of economy is analyzed. As a well-known component in global market the Bollywood industry has developed its own areas of production, financing, and distribution. Being the world’s leading film industry Bollywood is competing with other giants in the competitive market like Hollywood, Chinese and Japanese film industry. Therefore it’s worth studying Bollywood as an economical component comparing it with Hollywood as the biggest film industry in the world as well as considering the India’s economy features.

Analisis Sosiolinguistik Politeness Bahasa Jepang dalam Film Galileo 2013 Karya Keigo Higashino

ABSTRACTThis research discusses the various languages of respect (keigo), namely sonkeigo, kenjougo, and teineigo. This study aims to examine the use of keigo language and the factors that influence the use of keigo, especially in the work environment. The theory used in this study is based on Sachiko's sociolinguistic theory of distance. The data used is a Japanese film entitled Galileo 2013 by Keigo Higashino. The research method of this study show uses descriptive qualitative method. The results of this study show that the use of respectful language keigo (kenjougo and teineigo) is used between participants in the scope of uchi mono. Whereas the use of the various keigo languages (sonkeigo) is used by speakers of speech partners in the scope of soto mono, formal or informal situations, age or higher position. Factors that influence the use of keigo according to Sachiko's Idea theory are the factors that take into consideration of the use of keigo in the uchi mono group is social distance, because the speaker speaks to the speech partner, based on position or age position. Whereas the dominant factor that becomes a consideration for the use of keigo in the soto mono group is social distance and formality distance, because the speech partners who speak with many speakers do not use a variety of respectful languages (keigo), because the speech partners feel they are older than the speakers, and consider not formal talks because it's not from his job.Keywords: Keigo, social factors, distance, uchi mono, soto mono.