This thesis aims to challenge the shortcomings identified in the analysis of transnationally funded non-western cinema shown at the international film festival circuit, which mainly results from...Show moreThis thesis aims to challenge the shortcomings identified in the analysis of transnationally funded non-western cinema shown at the international film festival circuit, which mainly results from framing these films as parts of a ‘National cinema’ and by analyzing them within western frameworks and according to western points of reference. Focusing on Thai films funded by the Hubert Bals Fund over the past 20 years, this thesis offers a contextual approach to modern cinema with a focus on locality and local history. This thesis is an attempt to reduce the gap between the respective fields of Area Studies and Film Studies as well.Show less
Seoul has continuously been reshaped by nation-building strategies that project the image of the nation through urban space. From the 1970s onwards, this image has drastically changed by rapid...Show moreSeoul has continuously been reshaped by nation-building strategies that project the image of the nation through urban space. From the 1970s onwards, this image has drastically changed by rapid industrialization and the creation of a ‘national heritage’ canon under the Park Chung Hee government. Subsequent governments have invested in the 'politics of memory' to strengthen their regimes: complete urban compounds were demolished and replaced by monuments, museums, public plazas, and impressive urban projects that have recently turned Seoul into a 'soft’, playful and global city. However, current Seoul Mayor Park Won Soon has shifted his focus on urban revitalization instead of demolition. His ‘Seoul Future Heritage Program’, in which ‘Industrial Heritage’ plays a crucial role, reflects the approach of ‘heritagization’, the creation of heritage, to revitalize decaying structures in the city. Seoullo 7017, a deteriorating traffic overpass turned into a green walkway, and Again Sewoon, an old arcade ‘revived’ by inviting startups and creative events, were elevated as ‘Industrial Heritage’ and imagined alongside the nation’s ‘traditional’ heritage in a naturalized narrative portraying the nation’s culture and progress. Both projects were designed to attract daily citizen activity and engagement with their heritage value through information signs, public campaigns, and pedestrian accessibility. Altogether, Mayor Park’s policy shows a crucial shift in attention towards experiential heritage, in which industrial architecture is firmly placed within the national heritage narrative.Show less
This thesis seeks to analyze the cinema of Apichatpong Weerasethakul (1970-) by placing it within a context of the history of Thai nationality, borders and geography, specifically focusing on the...Show moreThis thesis seeks to analyze the cinema of Apichatpong Weerasethakul (1970-) by placing it within a context of the history of Thai nationality, borders and geography, specifically focusing on the region of Isan and its history with and within Thailand. It aims to show how his work subverts the master narrative offered in official media that concerns Thailand as a nation state with a fixed identity and national language and instead gives a voice to marginalized identities by making room for a multitude of experienced realities and stories within Thailand. This thesis is an attempt to reduce the gap between the respective fields of Area Studies and Film Studies as well.Show less
