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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">I share Mark's first question and would
be very interested to hear the response.<br>
<br>
To Mark's last point(s) about cinema not being important in Japan
(and I have a sneaking suspicion we've had a conversation along
these lines in person at some point, Mark), I guess I'd like to
push back against the quantitative argument and ask more about
forms of cinephilia in Japan. My sense is that Mark's right when
he says that it doesn't seem like the "general public" is picking
up and seeing foreign films online instead and, as a result, you
don't have this same demand for speed that Alex is talking about
in the case of South Korea (is there also something here with
respect to copyright enforcement or concerns about piracy?).
Anecdotally, I know a number of cinephiles in Japan who insist on
seeing things only in theaters and who, though they might like to
see films sooner, also are prepared to wait to see them on the big
screen. Which is to say, that cinema for many of the cinephiles
I know remains tied to the space of the theater. And while those
numbers might not be very large (ie those who persist in seeing
movies in the theater, still often seeing double or triple bills)
this sort of spectatorship is alive in a way that I feel like I
see much more rarely in the US, where that sort of commitment to
viewing conditions seems increasingly (framed) like a relic of the
past.<br>
<br>
Perhaps the other question that this might raise of foreign films,
which relates again to Mark's question, is whether "foreign films"
are going largely the way of the cinephile? [Also we should
consider the way that cinema gets folded into the call to
participate in domestic/national/nationalist forms of consumption
in the wake of the disasters]<br>
Kim <br>
<br>
On 11/17/13 7:40 PM, Alex Zahlten wrote:<br>
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<div>Good points, Mark. To the clogged distribution pipeline I
would add another reason for the time lag for theatrical
releases in Japan: Because they can. Japan has been probably
the most successful country in the world in keeping online
piracy (fairly) under control. This means there is much less
pressure for a day-and-date release that is synchronized
with the rest of the world. Compare this with South Korea,
where US films have to come out very soon after the US
release date simply because if they don't everyone will
already have seen the film online / downloaded it. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Best,</div>
<div>Alex</div>
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<div style="margin:0 0 10px 0;"><b>Gesendet:</b> Sonntag,
17. November 2013 um 21:19 Uhr<br>
<b>Von:</b> "Mark Roberts"
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:mroberts37@mail-central.com"><mroberts37@mail-central.com></a><br>
<b>An:</b> "Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum"
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:kinejapan@lists.service.ohio-state.edu"><kinejapan@lists.service.ohio-state.edu></a><br>
<b>Betreff:</b> Re: [KineJapan] The marketshare of
Japanese films in Japan</div>
<div name="quoted-content">
<div>So, a follow-up question would be: since Eiren is
padding the numbers, which sources give a better
breakdown of <i>jishu eiga</i>, <i>pinku</i>, anime,
ODS, etc.? The Japanese Film Database has some of this
information, but not all.
<div> </div>
<div>As for foreign films coming to Japan late, I have
seen this again and again. For international
distribution, Japan is very often dead last in the
entire world. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>My hypothesis is that there are at least two
things going on here. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>First, I suspect that foreign films "arrive" late
in Japan because the major distribution companies
are giving priority to their stuff, and there are
not enough independent companies to pick up the
slack. I have heard people in distribution companies
say that a major foreign film was bought at Cannes,
almost two years before it opened in Tokyo. The
second factor is simply that the general public are
not very engaged in new films. I don't have the
impression that large numbers of people are
accessing films via the Internet. That kind of
culture seems more marginal here. Rather, people are
just not watching them at all. Frequentation
statistics in theaters would seem to bear this out.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Simply put, compared to the US, the UK, France,
South Korea and Hong Kong, cinema just isn't very
important in Japan today.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>M.</div>
<div>
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<div>
<div>On Nov 18, 2013, at 10:05 AM, Gregory
Johnson wrote:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>This is just a guess for which I have no
proof, but I wonder if the extent to which
Japanese are watching foreign films without
going through the box office is rising. It
takes a while for foreign films to get to
theaters in Japan. Many times I've already
seen something on an international flight
before it appears here. And despite various
barriers, people often can access them on
the internet before they officially arrive.
Are there any grounds for this idea?<br>
<br>
Greg Johnson<br>
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