Links

http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/Szeto/index.html
In Kung Fu Hustle, satirizing genres includes references to U.S. films such as Spiderman, Batman, The Shining, slapstick comedy, musical, western and several references to The Matrix films. Sing’s cowboy/outlaw image parodies U.S. westerns. The high-speed road-runner style chase juxtaposes the bicycle sequence in Buster Keaton’s Sherlock, Jr. (1924) and animation since this comedic scene combines the suspension of natural law found in both silent slapstick comedy and film animation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/asian-invasion2.shtml

http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1680108,00.html#article_continue

http://koreanfilm.org/
(From Jonathan Ross article; "Korean popular culture, for reasons unknown to me, had suddenly become not only the hottest thing in Asia, but western critics were starting to sing its praises as well.")

http://www.asianfilms.org/index.html

Kill Bill and postmodernism: http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/hyde/killbill.asp

http://www.brns.com/pages4/killbill4.html

From: The Pocket Essential Film Studies; Andrew M. Butler 2005
Trafalgar Square Publishing
"Japanese cinema is partially made in a different way from Western cinema, or at least it looks and feels very different from Classical Hollywood since it doesn't fetishise continuity editing. At the same time, the cinema is held to be very representative of the Japanese character - and a recurring theme is the fallout of the first atom bombs to be used in war. Most of the movies that have come from Japan have effectively been placed within the art cinema category, given that the aesthetics are thought to be so different; Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959) offers a co-production with Alain Resnais of the French New Wave, and a meditation on the consequences for the individual of the Second World War. The same anxities can be seen in the various Godzilla movies and arguably Akira (1988), the breakthrough anime, and Shinya Tsujamoto's wonderful cyperpunk nightmare Tetsuo (1991).

The four big names of Japanese cinema are Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Monogatari, Tokyo Story, 1952), Kenji Mozoguchi (Saikuku Ichidai Onna, The Life of Oharu, 1952), Akira Kurosawa (Shichinin No Samurai, Seven Samurai, 1954) and Nagisa Oshima (Ai No Corrida, In The Realm Of The Senses, 1976).

--http://www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/publications/16+/pdf/remakes.pdf

A remake is a film that stands in a pronounced intertextual relationship with an earlier film, highlighting the element of reproduction inherent in Hollywood cinema. While clearly inter-related to its source film the remake will often differentiate itself in terms of variation and revision of narrative or even genre. THE SEVEN SAMURAI (Akira Kurosawa, 1954) has been remade as a western – THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (John Sturges, 1960) – and sci-fi fantasy – BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (Jimmy Murakami, 1980). This relationship between remake and original may in fact go no further than a form of loose inspiration.

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/05/34/remaking_east_asia.html

Postmodernism & Genre Blending; Kung Fu Hustle

Kung Fu Hustle, the 2005 film by Stephen Chow is drenched in intertextuality. It is clear to see how this film has been influenced by Western culture and film. It is a "humorous parody and a homage to the wuxia genre, and contains most of the characteristics of a typical wuxia movie with exaggerations, serious situations and comic plots." 1
Kill Bill vs. Kung Fu Hustle.
"What makes this opus so invigorating is Chow's embrace not only of traditional Shaw brothers' kung fu conventions, but the way he masterfully reworks and throws back at us all the recent Hong Kong-influenced hits. "Kung Fu Hustle" is downright postmodern in its clever spin on bits of "Kill Bill," "The Matrix" and "Spider-Man." 1
Quentin Tarantino - From Dusk Till Dawn, Reservoir Dogs, 'stealing' endings from other films. Postmodernism, the idea that nothing is new or original; just reworked.

Kung Fu Hustle features a number of explicit references to other media texts and more specifically, Western film.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_Hustle#Parodies_and_references

• The scene where Sing (Stephen Chow) is being chased is a 'homage to Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner', with other references to Looney Tunes cartoons


• As Sing arrives at the door to the Beast's cell in the insane asylum, he hallucinates that a large wave of blood rushes from the cell door, similar to a scene in The Shining.


• The Harpists imitate The Blues Brothers, wearing similar hats and sunglasses at all times. When they are flattered by the Axe Gang advisor, one of them answers "Strictly speaking we're just musicians", similar to a line by Elwood Blues.


• When Donut dies, he says "in great power lies great responsibility", a clear reference to Spider Man, said by Uncle Ben before his death.


• The final fight between Sing and the hundreds of gangsters imitates the fight between Neo and hundreds of Agent Smiths in The Matrix Reloaded (pictured above). And when Sing realises his powers, he is even dubbed as 'The One' - exactly the same to Neo in The Matrix.

The film was well received by critics, and can be seen as the Eastern answer to Kill Bill and Quentin Tarantino.

Do Asian films appeal to Western Audiences on purpose?

From MediaMagazine, Issue 21, September 2007. English and Media Centre.

"In 2006, according to the Motion Picture Association of America, there were 7.81 billion admissions to the world's cinemas, and over half of these were in Asia."

Page 23, The Work of Zhang Yimou:
"Whilst the striking and evocative cinematography seems to have won over audiences regardless of cultural barriers, many indigenous Chinese critics think that he is perpetrating a negative representation of China."

From Asian Cinemas; A Reader & Guide:

"Edward Said's 'Orientialism'"
"According to cultural critic Edward Said, the dominant representation of the 'orient', as constructed by the hegemony set by the West, is the mirror image of what is inferior and 'other' to the West:

the Orient has helped to define Europe (or the West) as it's contrasting image, idea, personality, and experience.

Whilst the West is civilised, the East is barbarous, and backward, filled with mysterious superstitons and exotic customs. However, our case here is 'Orientalism by orientals', where Zhang has been accused of producing an image of 'Chineseness' that is constructed to meet Western tastes and expectations."

Also, what follows from this, is the power of visually stunning aesthetic façade of Asian cinema. Directors like Zhang Yimou concentrate on art direction, cinematography, and attention to detail, sometimes (unintentionally?) 'covering up' serious cultural or political representations.

There are two arguments to this; one is that he is choosing not to expose the deep roots and social angst of the country in order to be more appealing to Western audiences. A film hit in amongst Western audiences is sure to bring success; financial and occupational. The other argument is that the representation is merely the directors 'artistic expression', or 'artistic vision', and he does not intentionally try to 'dress up' films in order to make them suitable for the 'Western gaze'.

From MediaMagazine, talking about the movie Hero:

"The inclusion of the Chinese calligraphy, zither playing and chess, in addition to the film's visual palette, where various sequences seem drenched in primary colours and special effects, add to the splendour of the film and the pleasure involved in 'gazing' at historic, 'Oriental' China."

In essence, the idea that traditional 'oriental' themes are sensationalised and 'dressed up'. For instance, it has been suggested that womens cleveage was no where near as low in Feudal China. This could be interpreted in 2 different ways according to the information above...

"The martial arts genre, traditionally in China and Hong Kong, has been a very mainstream genre, and has rarely introduced any such 'high-culture' concepts. Zhang's inclusion of 'mind-fighting' was generally criticised as somewhat pretentious. thrown in to appeal to the West's preconception of ancient, spiritual China, rather than truly discussing and exploring Zen and other related philosophies."

"Has Zhang commodified such high-culture subjects simply to boost the film's marketability, to further the stereotypical 'Oriental' image of China as mystical, mysterious, spiritual?"

It seems as though these genuinly ancient and mysterious high-culture 'characteristics' of Chinese history and culture are being exploited and sensationalised to appeal to a mass Western audience. As if that weren't all bad enough, (supposing it's true, and Zhang IS trying to appeal to Western audiences) a remake was made of Hero, after "intervention by Disney executives and Quentin Tarantino, who helped secure an uncut English-subtitled release." (cover pictured left).

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_(2002_film)#Miramax_release)

Reform & WWII

Two of the most influential directors of Asian cinema are Kurosawa Akira and Ozu Yasujiro.

Kurosawa engaged with, and adapted popular high range culture texts. For example the American Western (Yojimbo), and even Shakespeare (Throne of Blood [similar to Macbeth] & Run).

The Classic Tokyo Story (1953) by Ozu Yasujiro, is interesting.
By the 1950s-60s, American audiences tired of same-old-Hollywood movies, and 'turned to foreign film for intellectual content and maturity of themes.' Asian films used new cinematographic techniques and methods of storytelling, such as ellipsis. This means that certain shots or scenes of a movie are omitted altogether, creating a slightly-less-than-logical-structure. It does mean, however, that attention and focus can be...refocused on more important parts of the story. This method is still used today.

GODZILLA was the first major Asian cinema hit in the 1950s (not to be confused with the 1998 remake). To date, over 16 re-makes have been made, and the legacy of the 'radioactive-monster-story' lives on. The films featured relatively simple political messages, concerning things like pollution and nuclear disarmament.

After WWII, Japan underwent reform on behalf of America. During the American occupation between 1945-52, the US had a massive influence, culturally and politically. Even after the semi-reforms post-world war two, when things had settled, America persisted in meddling with Japanese culture and way of life. The first H-bomb tests were carried out in the late 1950s, which unintentionally affected the Japanese.

What followed was a new breed of Japanese cinema, bristling with subtle political messages. Godzilla Vs. Mothra (1964) presented as Mothra as the self, as central to Japanese culture, and Godzilla as the 'other', a threat to the current status of the nation.

A redirection?

After reading around a bit, I've started to think about my initial title, and area of research. Currently, its "Influence of world cinema on UK and US media" but a lot of my research seems to indicate the opposite. Thanks to imperialism and colonialism, Asian cinema seems to draw many influences from Western Culture.

But that isn't to say that Asia hasn't had any influence on the West...
I'm not sure which one would be easier/more interesting to look at.

Maybe it would be good to look at Western culture's view of Asian culture through the media. Again, the idea of cultural relativism.

BUT anyway..

Some more quotes from 'Asian Cinema; A Reader & Guide' to justify my ideas.

"The repackaging in the West of contemporary popular Japanese films such as Ichi The Killer, Battle Royale, and Ring, as exotic and dangerous cinematic thrills, has a lot in common with the way in which the 'yellow peril' figure if the Japanese military sadist of Boys Own-style fantasies functioned as a dangerous Other of popular culture.

"In both cases, horror, sadism, and cruelty are passed off as an essentially integral part of 'the Japanese nature' and inform the way in which Japan is perceived to be a dangerous other."

"Another more recent and less offensive example here would be the two different versions of the film Kill Bill Vol.1 (Tarantino, 2003). This is, of course, a clear indication of the way in which Japanese and Hong Kong cinemas are appropriated to 'spice up' Hollywood while simultaneously maintaining the position of popular Asian cinema as one inferior to Hollywood.

"The japanese version of Kill Bill Vol.1 has numerous extended scenes of violence and gore not found in any other version. This is made common knowledge when Tarantino, discussing the film, suggests that this decision to have two different versions is justified because Japanese audiences demand more "blood and guts" suggesting, thus, a kind of innate desire for cruelty and extreme violence as a typical trait of Japanese film audiences."

I think all of the above quotes are absolutely vital.

Films Watched

A list of films watched for research:

Kung Fu Hustle
Ichi the Killer (Japanese)
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Korean)
Old Boy (Korean)
Lady Vengance (Korean)
Battle Royale (Japan)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (China-Hong-Kong-Taiwan-United States co-production)

A clip from Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance:

Japanese Cinema and Orientalism

From
Asian Cinemas; A Reader & Guide, Dimitris Eleftheriotis & Gary Needham
- Japanese Cinema and Orientalism -

"Japanese cinema has been the object of constant and consistent fascination in Europe and particularly the United States."

We need to gain a clear idea of what 'orientalism' is, in order to understand it, and its influence on Western Culture. Western cultures may feel that they acknowledge and understand the culture and substance of their geographical counterparts, but "Imaginations, fantasies, gross misrepresentations and stereotypes serve not to define the other, but rather to enable the self to be more clearly defined by what it is not."

"Ideas, representations, criticisms, and selections of Asian films in the West is not a neutral venture", meaning, essentially that we cannot judge Asian films from our cultural point of view. Here is the idea of 'cultural relativism' - meaning that something must be judged on by the culture from which it originates.

It's also important to acknowledge 'historical discourses' that have, in essence, 'shaped and distorted East/West self/other relations' e.g. our imperialistic past and empire.

The first, and main body for importing and distributing world cinema titles to Europe and the U.S. is Tartan Asia Extreme. It's range of titles includes movies from Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

Many Japanese films transgress the norms and expectations of Hollywood cinema with their subversive and explicit treatment of sex and violence. "These are based on Western notions of the self, as they are firmly contextualised in relation to Hollywood and therefore may not be shared by audiences, Japanese or otherwise, whose cultural limits and boundaries are altogether different."

An Overview

(1980s-90s) Fifth Generation - A group of Chinese filmmakers responsible for increasing popularity in Chinese cinema.
They abandoned traditional methods of storytelling and opted for more free and unorthodox methods, making a conscious effort to separate themselves from convention and the larger community in the process.

Notable figures include: Chen Kaige, Junzhao Zhang. Yimou Zhang, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Wu Zininu, Xiaowen Zhou.

page 215.
- Chinese Modernism in the era of reforms - Xudong Zhang

Among its most notable members is Yimou Zhang, with an impressive filmography including; Curse of the Golden Flower, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, House of Flying Daggers, Shanghai Triad, and Red Sorghum.

Ang Lee, active as a director since 1992 directed, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in 2000, but has also directed, more recently, Hulk (2003) and Brokeback Mountain (2005).

The Cinema Book 2nd Edition - Part 3 - National Cinemas and Film Movements

'Spaghetti Westerns' have become popular within world cinema, in the case of Italian cinema, conversely drawing influence from the West. They became very popular throughout Italy, often produced with low budgets, making use of unique and vivid cinematography. Italian Spaghetti Westerns created a mix between classic traditional western ambiance with the comic tradition of 'Commedia all'italiana'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_film
Again, conversely, Chinese cinema has also had an influence on Western film. The basic idea and structure of many samurai films has impacted upon a number of Western directors, such as Clint Eastwood. Samurai films follow themes of lonely, or lost souls, roaming the land seeking purpose or a place.
Also is the tendency for European and American film industries to 'copy' themes or ideas from Asian Cinema. For instance, blood spurting/spraying from the neck in Kill Bill is influenced by Chinese/Japanese cinema, with films like Ichi the Killer making use of the same effect.

The Cinema Book 2nd Edition - Part 3 - National Cinemas and Film Movements (below)

German Expressionism
German Expressionism arose during the early 20th century. Its audiences are mainly 'arty types' . Early German cinema made use of surrealistic settings, and creation of a fantasy world, separate from everyday reality. Chiaroscuro lighting creates a very dark, Gothic effect. E.g. Dracula
New German Cinema
(Wim Wenders, Volker Schlondorff) Revived the German film industry, still with low budgets and 'artsy' audiences.

Soviet Cinema
(most famously Sergei Eisenstein (Strike, Battleship Potemkin)
Soviet and Russian cinema are still relatively successful today.

Italian Neo-Realism
Synonymous with filmmakers like Rossellini, De Sica, and Visconti.
Italian Neo-Realist films were economically and culturally self sufficient - breaking free from fascism. They reflected changes in the moral conditions and public mentality in Italy.
Spaghetti Westerns (see above).
Italian films are renowned for their horror, violence, and explicit content. Example? Hannibal Holocaust (Ruggero Deodato). Through the 1970s and 80s Italy produced a number of horror films which are still banned in the UK today. Many Nazi exploitation films were made.

French Cinema
French cinema, again, had small budgets and 'artsy' audiences. Until recently, places like the US were reluctant to import French language films, due to the language barrier. Unlike Chinese/Japanese cinema with its astounding cinematography and visual appeal, French films appear to make more use of language. They have no expensive settings or special effects.
Jean-Luc Godard.

Further reading:
European Cinemas, European Societies 1939-90 (Studies in film, television, and the media)
ISBN: 0415056713

The Oxford History of World Cinema
ISBN: 0198742428

Theorising National Cinema
ISBN: 1844571203