1,721,088 research outputs found
To live and forget: the limits of comprehension and remembrance in the feature films of Hirokazu Kore-eda
No full textOften regarded as one of the eminent humanist directors working today, Japanese
filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu has demonstrated consistent authorial intentions and
thematic orientations throughout his filmography despite the variety of styles – from
social documentary to period comedy – involved. Through in-depth textual analysis of
his narrative strategies and exhaustive research on the English-language literature
about the director, this study seeks to shed light on the first seven feature films in his
career. Commentaries by Kore-eda on his creative impulse and filmmaking method,
collected from both diverse sources of media interviews and insightful analyses
published in academic journals, are meticulously examined. By taking a formalistic
perspective, this thesis sets out to consolidate existing research in the field, while
providing a systematic study that builds upon authoritative investigation.
The study begins with an analysis of the filmmaking techniques utilised in
Maborosi and Distance, both contemplative narratives that seek to capture the
fragmented consciousness of the characters in mourning. With its seemingly
naturalistic composition, Maborosi nonetheless presents a partially abstract narrative
that is directly reflective of the grieving protagonist’s inner state. Distance, on the
contrary, offers hints to the possible cause of the family members’ plans to join a
religious cult and commit mass suicides – such as the emotional isolation in an urban
society – while providing a final plot twist that confirms the slippery quality of any
assumption. Both films imply that full comprehension of one’s family members is
impossible.
In the following chapter, the coherent authorial concerns in Kore-eda’s fourth to
sixth feature – Nobody Knows, Hana and Still Walking – are illustrated along with his
fascination with the process of forgetting. Kore-eda, who started out as a
socio-documentarist, borrowed a real-life tragedy as the framework for Nobody
Knows to construct a subversive take on the traditional perception of the Japanese
family, extending a decidedly non-judgemental view on the irresponsible parents and
celebrating the autonomy of the new generation. The solace of memory is highlighted
in the anti-bushido comedy Hana, which is interpreted as Kore-eda’s protest against
tradition and, by extension, the older generation. The director’s recurrent themes of
broken promises, failed expectations and forgotten family legacies are highlighted
with the slice-of-life domestic drama, Still Walking.
The thesis then concludes with an analysis of the fantastic representations of the
human condition in After Life and Air Doll, Kore-eda’s only two fantasy films to date.
His use of quasi-realist documentary style in After Life facilitates a largely
non-religious meditation on the importance of human co-dependence and recollection.
The film’s metaphysical setting is compared to the absurd existence pondered in
Albert Camus’s “The Myth of Sisyphus”, and its central premise – that the affirmation
of one single memory can validate a person’s entire existence – is compared to
Friedrich Nietzsche’s thesis of the eternal return. Also adopting the perspective of a
non-human protagonist, Air Doll extends Kore-eda’s perception of the depressing
prospects of modern life – substantiating the city dwellers’ pervasive sense of
emptiness, while constantly looking for the beauty of living.published_or_final_versionComparative LiteratureMasterMaster of Philosoph
Remembering the cultural revolution: a study of Chinese cinema since 1978
No full textpublished_or_final_versionComparative LiteratureMasterMaster of Philosoph
Chinese independent cinema and international film festival network at the age of global image consumption
No full textpublished_or_final_versionComparative LiteratureDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
A critique of the postmodern neglect of authentic selfhood
No full textpublished_or_final_versionComparative LiteratureMasterMaster of Philosoph
The dialogics of representation: Shanghai in contemporary Hong Kong films
No full textpublished_or_final_versionComparative LiteratureMasterMaster of Philosoph
Hong Kong Literature as/and Cultural Studies
No full text本書按文化研究的重要議題分為五個部份。「香港故事」部份所選的文章,從不同角度述說香港的故事,內裡又分別引發有關香港身份的不同問題「全球∕本土」一編收錄了從全球和本土的關係思考香港的文章，體現出另一角度的香港文化想像；「城市想像」部份探討文學作品所呈現的城市空間對全球化城市有何啟示？「『雅』與『俗』」和「居別與寫作」兩個部份則分別觸及階級和居別的課題。綜上所述本書從不同角度解讀香港文學的不同面向，各部份之間又時有重疊，互有指涉，文章既可獨立自足，亦能連結為整體的理論想像
On time and festivity: a study of Chinese newyear films
No full textpublished_or_final_versionabstractHumanitiesDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Representing illness: patients, monsters, andmicrobes
No full textpublished_or_final_versionabstractHumanitiesMasterMaster of Philosoph
Translocal readings: Hong Kong television serials in US Chinatowns
No full textpublished_or_final_versionabstractComparative LiteratureMasterMaster of Philosoph
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