Japan and Cult

Brian Ruh brianruh at yahoo.com
Mon Feb 15 18:17:48 EST 2010


Have you looked at Matt Hills' book "Fan Cultures"? I've found it an invaluable resource for my own work, and he goes into some detail on cult media texts.

I think there's a difference between being "cult" and having a devoted following, and I don't know how many Japanese films I'd really consider "cult." Definitely "Evangelion." Maybe some Miyazaki. (Sorry I'm studying anime so that's where my mind automatically goes.) "Shall we Dance?" not so much. Even some of the "trashy" and excessive cinema I don't know if I'd call "cult" based on what Hills has to say.

Best,
Brian


--- On Mon, 2/15/10, Nathen Clerici <nclerici at interchange.ubc.ca> wrote:

> From: Nathen Clerici <nclerici at interchange.ubc.ca>
> Subject: Re: Japan and Cult
> To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> Date: Monday, February 15, 2010, 5:58 PM
> That's a good
> question, although one that I was hoping to cheat on by
> avoiding it.  Cult is a category that cannot be
> separated from viewing practices and fan reception.
>  This makes a definition of 'cult' very
> slippery, and often contradictory.  The traditional
> idea of cult movies is the Rocky Horror Picture Show
> phenomenon, or midnight movies, but of course home viewing
> (VHS, DVD) and the Internet lend themselves to fan
> appropriation of films, and the means to communicate.
>  I generally look at the introduction to the Cult Film
> Reader (2008, Mendik and Mathijs) as a good starting point
> for a definition of cult, but really there is no consensus
> agreement on what exactly 'cult' means.  It can
> be 'trash' cinema, aesthetically excessive, socially
> transgressive, subcultural, so bad it's good, and so on,
> but it often comes back to viewer reception.  I think
> that cult film is defined by its meta qualities more than
> something intrinsic to the film itself-- but, I don't
> want to ignore the content of the film itself.  Finding
> this balance is one reason definitions are so slippery.
>   
> You make a good point that film scholars are
> nothing but fans-- I think that this listserv is a fine
> example of a cult following, though more dispersed because
> the topic (Japan) is much broader than that of a single
> auteur or movie.  I wonder how different the viewing
> practices are for film scholars and hardcore fans of
> Japanese film and anime... I'd guess there's a lot
> of overlap.
> With Japanese film outside Japan, I tend to
> think that the overwhelming majority of them are cult.
>  Shall We Dance? and Miyazaki Hayao's
> films are perhaps exceptions, but even the stuff
> you'll see playing art houses or film festivals is still
> cult.  On the other end of the spectrum are fan lists
> or books like Macias' Japanese Cult Film, which makes a
> point to represent the lowbrow or edgy genres.
>  
> Nathen
> 
> 
> On 2010-02-15, at 2:06 PM, Mark Nornes
> wrote:
> I guess this
> depends on how you define cult cinema? I mean, from a
> certain perspective film scholars are nothing but fans!
>  
> So what's your def?
> m
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _________________________________A.
> M. NornesChairDepartment
> of Screen Arts and CulturesUniversity of
> Michigan202 South Thayer St., Suite
> 6111Ann Arbor, MI
> 48104-1608Phone:
> 734-647-2094FAX:
> 734-647-0157
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Feb 15, 2010, at 5:03 PM, Nathen Clerici
> wrote:
> Hello
> all,
> My name
> is Nathen Clerici, and this is my first post.  I am
> really enjoying all the threads on this list.
>  
> I am
> starting a research project that will examine
> how Japanese film travels and the channels by which it
> comes to be seen outside Japan.  I want to frame the
> problem by looking at how different forms
> of distribution and exhibition (e.g. art house cinema,
> university courses, Internet fan sites, etc.) affect
> how a particular movie is received.  Within this
> framework, I am interested in the idea of cult.  It
> seems that Japanese cinema is often classified as cult
> cinema, but I am not sure that it could be received any
> other way.  Even if we consider a particular Japanese
> film to be highbrow art, it is most likely still confined to
> a small-but-adoring audience of cinephiles-- or
> Japanophiles.  Perhaps J-Horror is an
> exception?
> I am
> curious, KineJapaners, do you think Japanese films seen
> outside Japan are cult cinema?  
> I
> realize the cultural context changes, but I also think that
> the modes of viewing (e.g. web-based, fan subs, art house)
> exert a strong influence.  In addition, this is most
> likely not a question just for Japanese film, but for all
> film that crosses national/linguistic
> borders.
> Thanks,
> Nathen
> ClericiUniversity
> of British ColumbiaPhD
> ProgramAsian
> Studies
> 
> 





More information about the KineJapan mailing list