Kameari and the end of meigaza

[Clemente Carlos]

Can please discuss what efforts are being initiated to preserve the
films that
are not available on video. Is there any group or organization calling
for these 
old films be put on video. One major problem I feel that is hampering
these films from being put on video is market demand. Many of Japanese
youth will not watch a B&W film or an old color movie. They are more
interested in either foreign or contemporary films. This has been my
experience
with many of my young Japanese friends (20-40yrs old).

Aaron Gerow  wrote:
>
> It's nice to see some discussion of the thorny issue of film vs.
video.  
> I actually had that as the topic of my last day of my reception
history 
> class at Meigaku and had given it as one of the the topics for the
final 
> paper.  Especially with the papers, it was significant to see the
number 
> of students who consider video to be a god-send: they don't have to
pay 
> high admission prices, they don't have to all the way downtown, they
can 
> watch it when they want to in the way they want to, etc.  Given that
I 
> asked them to consider the topic from the viewpoint of reception,
some 
> argued that the crowd in the theater acts as a form of repression of 
> reading, and that video, being more individual in mode of viewing, 
> allowed for more freedom in constructing meaning (something aided by
the 
> technology of fast-forward, etc.).  Those who defended film in the 
> theater did not do so from the angle of image quality, etc., but
from the 
> public-nature of the experience, the communal meaning production
that is 
> going on.  One student, who was caught up in the current boom in
Indian 
> popular cinema (Indian films were some of the top box-office hits in 
> Tokyo last year in the single theater market), related a pertinent
story 
> where she confessed that watching Indian popular films with an Indian 
> audience is one of the best film experiences she has had, but when
she 
> watched the same film on video, it was about as boring as could be.  
> 
> In class, I basically tried to tell them that I don't care about the 
> "film is better than video" argument.  From the reception angle, I
just 
> wanted them to understand that watching a text on film and on video
is 
> different, so different that we shouldn't really speak about the same 
> text.  Properly, when we are asked, "Have you seen the film X?", we 
> should answer, "No, but I have seen the video."  The fact our current 
> discourse does not make this distinction is a representation of the
fact 
> that the text and not reception has ideologically been structured in
film 
> history to be the center of the film experience (no one in the
1910s, I 
> would think, would have equated a film seen with a benshi in the
theater 
> with a video without that live benshi).
> 
> My original query, however, was focused on the issue of availability
and 
> not just film vs. video.  The end of meigaza is forcing not only the 
> shift from film to video, but also a reshaping of the films that can
be 
> seen.  This relates to the issues of distribution and canonization
Markus 
> raised.  Especially in the heyday of meigaza, one could see most
anything 
> at one time or another (conditions that, one could argue, prompted a 
> strong self-referentiality and intertextuality to film production). 
But 
> can you say the same with video?  My students who favored video felt
the 
> could "see anything," but those with experience in the matter (who
read 
> up on the issue or who have worked in video stores) told the sorry
fact 
> of restrictive practices and market limitations.  Mark may be able
to get 
> Imamura Shohei in Tsutaya, but what about Uchida Tomu?  Kawashima
Yuzo?  
> Kinugasa Teinosuke?  Not likely, because most of their films are not
yet 
> out on video, and those that are are not always available for
rental.  
> Not only the market, but canonization and business practices restrict 
> what is available on video.  
> 
> Mark is right to point out the possibilities of satellite (or cable
TV): 
> they do show titles that are not out on video, and some can actually
do 
> interesting programming.  But this still raises the issue of
availablity. 
>  My main concern in raising these questions was not what will happen
to 
> us dedicated film scholars, but what will happen to our students and
to 
> less-dedicated film scholars.  Frankly, my students cannot afford to
buy 
> the videos only availble for sale and not rental; getting satellite
or 
> cable TV is also beyond their reach.  Students coming to Japan are
also 
> not likely to fork out the 60,000 yen or so you need just to set up 
> satellite here.  I don't like the fact my students think they can see 
> anything on video, because they clearly have no conception there is 
> something else out there that is not on video.  I worry that the next 
> generation of film scholars will have just seen far fewer films and
know 
> less about the historical contexts of the films they do study.
> 
> The problem is exacerbated by the fact that archives are not helpful
at 
> all.  While some university libraries have video collections
available to 
> students, none of the public film institutions do.  We all know the
Film 
> Center is basically an institution dedicated to preservation and not
to 
> aiding research.  The Kawasaki Shimin Museum has a video collection,
but 
> not one you can stop, replay, and do basic analysis with.  Meigaza
were 
> one of the few places you could actually see old films, but now they
are 
> disappearing.  I worry about this not because of the film vs. video 
> issue, but because I think we are seeing a restriction in what we
can see.
> 
> Aaron Gerow
> YNU
> 
> 
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