[KineJapan] Japanese comedies...

Mon May 15 04:44:35 EDT 2017

Dear Tim,

Sorry for this late reply, but I would also suggest that you try and find a copy of one of the film books from Udine Far East Film festivals called ”Asia Laughs!” (2011). It was edited by Roger Garcia and the section on Japanese cinema was written by Mark Schilling, who also provided a list of Top Ten comedies. Having visited most of the editions of this particular film festival, this one is full of extremely fond memories which still make me laugh. I particularly enjoyed the series of Hong Kong movies from the early 1960s.

All best,
Boel

13 maj 2017 kl. 21:37 skrev Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum via KineJapan <kinejapan at lists.osu.edu>:

> I agree with the suggestions that critics/scholars have to present a "serious" face to the world, the better to justify what may seem like a frivolous activity to outsiders--film scholars especially, given, as you point out, the historical situation of cinema as a new and popular, and therefore inferior, art... To quote someone famous beyond his merits, "Sad!"
> 
> Many thanks for your kind recommendations--I'll have a look. 
> 
> Best,
> 
> 
> Tim
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------
> On Thu, 5/11/17, Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum via KineJapan <kinejapan at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
> 
> Subject: Re: [KineJapan] Japanese comedies...
> To: "Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum" <kinejapan at lists.osu.edu>
> Received: Thursday, May 11, 2017, 8:03 PM
> 
> Dear
> Tim,
> I devoted one
> chapter of my thesis [downloadable here www.tdx.cat/handle/10803/
> 392627] to try to explain why comedy films, and
> especially Japanese comedies, are generally neglected by
> critics and scholars. Also, based on this chapter I wrote
> another one for a book [2016. “De Kitano a Matsumoto («or
> How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Japanese Film
> Comedy»).” in El Japón Contemporáneo: Una
> Aproximación Desde Los Estudios Culturales, edited by
> Artur Lozano-Méndez, 55–78. Barcelona: Bellaterra]. Both
> are in Spanish, I hope I can also publish something about
> this in English.
> In
> short, my principal conclusion is that criticism acts as an
> institution aimed to self-affirmation. Cinema, as a
> relatively new thing and mainly regarded as a consumption
> good for mass audience, lacks of the prestige that arts or
> literature hold. Therefore, film critics and scholars tend
> to focus on "serious" aspects in order to justify
> and legitimize its field of expertise. In the Japanese case,
> the stereotipe of the imposibility to grasp Japanese humour
> by the non Japanese makes things worse.
> Then, after my self-promotion, I
> reccomend you to check:- Yoshida, J. (2006),
> Origins of Japanese Film Comedy and Questions of Colonial
> Modernity, Eugene, University of Oregon.- Sontag,
> S. (1987), «In Conclusion…», East-West Film Journal, 2
> (1), Honolulu, East-West Center, pp. 99-106.-
> Costa, J., ed. (2010), Una risa nueva: posthumor, parodias y
> otras mutaciones de la comedia, Molina de Segura,
> Nausícaä. (This is also in Spanish. Its introduction is
> really worthy). Best
> regards,Jose Montaño
> 
> On 12 May 2017 at 06:38,
> Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum via KineJapan <kinejapan at lists.osu.edu>
> wrote:
> At the
> risk of sounding thoroughly out-of-touch (entirely possible,
> as I most certainly am!)--why oh why are there so few
> scholarly works on Japanese comedies? And not only Japanese
> comedies; it seems as though comedy cinema and humour in
> general are out-of-bounds for academic research: too light,
> too frivolous, too transient...
> 
> 
> 
> I've come across only one journal dedicated to
> comedy--"Warai gaku kenkyu." As worthwhile as it
> is, it can't be the "only" venue for scholars
> interested in comedy?
> 
> 
> 
> Japanese directors have produced some truly great comedies.
> From droll and dry to madcap and silly, frenetic to
> deadpan... Is the academic mood really that comedy is too
> frivolous to study? Or maybe we don't want to kill the
> humour through analytical interpretation--we keep our
> favourite comedies to ourselves...
> 
> 
> 
> Just some late-spring musings...
> 
> 
> 
> Best,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Tim Iles
> 
> University of Victoria
> 
> ______________________________ _________________
> 
> KineJapan mailing list
> 
> KineJapan at lists.osu.edu
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.osu.edu_mailman_&d=DwIGaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=1a8UyZRkd726tpu1F1N959Ycb5UiAxrg2-X40RT5zio&s=zUKPhD1JAjDHJI3b1kFCcENXmu8_r3v8oB7Z-6xRvQY&e= 
> listinfo/kinejapan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Jose
> Montañoホセ・モンターニョCine y
> cultura japonesa:
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__eigavision.wordpress.com_https-3A__upf.academia.edu_JoseMonta-25C3-25B1o&d=DwIGaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=1a8UyZRkd726tpu1F1N959Ycb5UiAxrg2-X40RT5zio&s=iZ8V5XxmxdDBXdkRMJHNzECLoil0_FGuFyHiExn0vwI&e= 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> KineJapan mailing list
> KineJapan at lists.osu.edu
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.osu.edu_mailman_listinfo_kinejapan&d=DwIGaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=1a8UyZRkd726tpu1F1N959Ycb5UiAxrg2-X40RT5zio&s=TP5s1wsGDkMF2mIJVEoWqvbd9CMIWRWhPU1O4c4yeZs&e= 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> KineJapan mailing list
> KineJapan at lists.osu.edu
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.osu.edu_mailman_listinfo_kinejapan&d=DwIGaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=1a8UyZRkd726tpu1F1N959Ycb5UiAxrg2-X40RT5zio&s=TP5s1wsGDkMF2mIJVEoWqvbd9CMIWRWhPU1O4c4yeZs&e= 

_______________________________________________
KineJapan mailing list
KineJapan at lists.osu.edu
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.osu.edu_mailman_listinfo_kinejapan&d=DwIGaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=e7qMG9KFq7WNnPQWULWHJA&m=1a8UyZRkd726tpu1F1N959Ycb5UiAxrg2-X40RT5zio&s=TP5s1wsGDkMF2mIJVEoWqvbd9CMIWRWhPU1O4c4yeZs&e= 