Asian Martial Arts: The Anarchic Legacy of the War Machine

Abstract

The renaissance of Asian martial arts is a conspicuous example of cultural hybridity in a global setting. Globalization brings these arts under the dual sway of cinema and sport to a degree unprecedented in their history. This pull, which I describe in terms from Deleuze and Guattari as deterritorialization, creates new challenges for Asian martial arts practice. To explore these challenges and their stakes, I demonstrate the relevance of the concept of the war machine from Deleuze and Guattari, and discuss their distinction between weapons and tools as it bears on Asian martial arts history and practice.     

苏州电影放映的现代化研究——以公园电影院为例

随着20世纪初上海现代化的扩散,苏州凭借区位优势,已生发出现代质素,与上海建构起智力资源互通、文化市场互融、文化产业互促的关联。公园电影院的创办正是上海现代化向沪外周边地区扩散以及苏州接受上海现代化影响的证明,它的关闭也说明现代化的扩散受到经济、文化和政治多方面因素的影响,是一个曲折前行的过程。     

从传播地理到传播格局——20世纪50年代中国电影的一种景观

新中国的建立带来了中国电影发展的又一波动荡.由于政治地理的重新划分,电影的传播地理也随之发生变化.建国前后不同电影势力之间的交叉与互渗,在政治大局初定之后,新的传播格局也随之形成了.这个格局从20世纪50年代延续到70年代,在两岸三地的电影人逐步展开交流的情况下,才得以再一次改变.然而,它已经在中国电影百年的历史中留下了很深的印迹.     

A lonely and beautiful country: reflecting upon the state of oblivion in Turkey through Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Three Monkeys

Abstract

Through an in‐depth analysis of internationally acclaimed Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's 2008 film Three Monkeys (Üç Maymun), this article discusses the politics of Ceylan's cinema against the backdrop of the current memory debate in Turkey. Turkey has a troubling relationship with its past. The process of the foundation and the early development of the Turkish nation‐state included traumatic events during which ethnic and religious minorities were massacred, deported, or encouraged to migrate. There have also been several violent incidents in Turkey's subsequent history that include massacres, mass killings, political assassinations, as well as military coups. It is a widely held opinion that social memory in Turkey is based on forgetting and denial, that is, Turkish society deals with the troubling events in its past by turning a blind eye to them. Drawing upon the question of how it may be possible to make the traces of forgetting and silence observable, this paper argues that Ceylan's film, despite its seemingly apolitical story, has indeed profound political connotations since its narrative and visual organization serve to display the prevailing mood of silence, oblivion and complicity in Turkey.     

“Happy Seoul for foreigners”: scenes from multicultural life in South Korea

Abstract

Since the mid-2000s, multiculturalism has become a prominent buzzword in South Korea as the nation, which was founded on the myth of a single bloodline, tries to come to terms with its growing foreign population. This article looks at the figure of the industrial migrant worker who, despite being ignored by the mainstream media, has appeared in a handful of independently produced Korean films, including three—Bandhobi (2009 Bandhobi [???]. 2009. Directed by Shin Dong-il. Seoul: IndieStory Inc. [Google Scholar]), Hello, Stranger (2007 Hello Stranger [?? ?? ???]. 2007. Directed by Kim Dong-hyun. Seoul: IndieStory Inc. Host and Guest [???]. 2005. Directed by Shin Dong-il. Seoul: LJ Film. [Google Scholar]), Where Is Ronny? (2008 Where Is Ronny? [??? ???]. 2008. Directed by Sim Sang-kook. Seoul: JinJin Pictures. [Google Scholar])—that will be discussed here in detail. These films, as I will show, not only provide an alternative perspective on immigrant life in Seoul and other parts of the country, which is more often than not represented through the privileged world of the Western “expat,” but also reveal the underlying tensions and contradictions in Korea's approach to multiculturalism as it tries to regulate diversity through the fiat of legislative policy while ignoring the moral and political choices confronting its citizens as they decide whether or not to befriend the other.     

Rajnikant in Japan: Indian “superstardom” and low value markets

This paper draws attention to some questions thrown up by the increased circulation of mass-produced cultural commodities sourced from Asia in the relatively new markets of the region. Juxtaposing the short-lived success of the Indian star Rajnikant in Japan in the late 1990s and the unsuccessful attempt to promote Korean films in the Indian theatrical circuits a decade later, the paper argues that in spite of their considerable differences both instances foreground the difficulties cultural industries of Asia have in generating revenues in the region's markets. The paper goes on to elaborate on a model of stardom, exemplified by Rajnikant, which has evolved as a direct response to the challenges posed by low value markets.     

Cinema Demand in Spain: A Cointegration Analysis

In this paper we explain the decline in cinema attendance in Spain since 1968. We use a cointegration analysis to estimate an individual demand function for cinema, with annual data and in terms of average attendance per inhabitant. We find that cinema is a luxury good and that its demand is elastic with respect to its price. We also show that television acts as a deterrent with regard to cinema attendance. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

朱今明1940年代摄影风格论

朱今明,中国电影史上的著名摄影师。在1940年代,他先后完成《遥远的爱》（与吴蔚云合作）、《一江春水向东流》、《万家灯火》、《三毛流浪记》（与韩仲良合作担任摄影指导）等中国电影史上的重要作品。光影设计与构图处理的并重、运用光影构图技术实现单一场景的丰富表意效果、运动镜头的平顺处理、偷拍技术体现纪实美学风格,都是朱今明对中国电影美学的杰出贡献。     

Explaining Post-War Cinema Attendance in Great Britain

This paper models the interaction between cinema admissions and cinema supply in response to changes in exogenous variables, chiefly competition from television viewing. The relationship is estimated empirically by applying near Vector Autoregression (VAR) techniques to a long run of British annual data from 1950 to 1997. The results indicate that sustained negative shocks to cinema demand throughout most of the period reduced the supply of screens, inducing further falls in admissions and closures until a new equilibrium was attained. More recently, the introduction of multiplex cinemas has interrupted and partially reversed this downward demand-supply spiral.     

京味影视特色及其发展趋势

北京特色影视以京味文化作底蕴。其发展历程可以大致划分为兴起、发展、繁荣三个阶段。北京特色影视表现北京胡同、四合院平民生活;展示紫禁城、王府和大宅门的恩怨情仇;北京市井文化和风俗民情引人关注;京味语言和京味音乐耐人咀嚼。作为大都市的北京在蓬勃发展,北京文化在不断变化,北京特色影视也在不断变化。北京特色影视未来趋势如旭日东升。