This thesis provides an analysis on the J-horror film Kairo (Kurosawa Kiyoshi, 2001) and Studio Ghibli's Pom Poko (Takahata Isao, 1994) and their connection to the concept of furusato. Furusato, a...Show moreThis thesis provides an analysis on the J-horror film Kairo (Kurosawa Kiyoshi, 2001) and Studio Ghibli's Pom Poko (Takahata Isao, 1994) and their connection to the concept of furusato. Furusato, a nostalgic longing for the countryside as metaphorical "old home", is expressed very differently in these films: while Pom Poko heavily emphasises this nostalgia, furusato is implicitly present in Kairo through its absence.Show less
This thesis argues that the notion of a samurai film genre is actually an Anglophone construct that is used to classify Japanese films from the 'jidaigeki' (period film) and 'chambara' (swordplay)...Show moreThis thesis argues that the notion of a samurai film genre is actually an Anglophone construct that is used to classify Japanese films from the 'jidaigeki' (period film) and 'chambara' (swordplay) genres. Because of the political situation during the Cold War and the orientalist perspective of Western audiences, Western cultural conventions that would eventually create the samurai film genre were thought of as Japanese cultural conventions based on Japanese cultural tradition. Kurosawa Akira's 'samurai films', which were the first to be shown in the West and also the most widely exported outside Japan, have become representative of this genre, despite the fact that Kurosawa’s jidaigeki films often do not follow the cultural conventions that is believed to be the samurai film genre.Show less
This study looks at how otaku relate to and engage works, building on previous research showing that affect is the lynchpin for otaku, the axis around which their engagement with works revolves....Show moreThis study looks at how otaku relate to and engage works, building on previous research showing that affect is the lynchpin for otaku, the axis around which their engagement with works revolves. Through mainly looking at anime this matter will be approached from a film studies perspective. This study takes the Narrative consumption and Database consumption theories, by Ōtsuka Eiji and Azuma Hiroki respectively and underpins(integrates) them with Carl Plantinga’s theory on affect elicitation, thus demonstrating that Plantinga’s theory is absolutely imperative to making these theories function and creating an ‘integrative theoretical framework’.Show less
An average thought is that Thai Boy’s Love (BL) is just like any other BL in other countries. BL stories are love stories with a male same-sex romance. This thesis shows that Thai BL, called in...Show moreAn average thought is that Thai Boy’s Love (BL) is just like any other BL in other countries. BL stories are love stories with a male same-sex romance. This thesis shows that Thai BL, called in this thesis series wai, is an innovative and hybrid subgenre within the BL genre. The transmedia popularity and the focus on masculinity and gender roles cause the subgenre to be different from the Chinese, Japanese, South Korean, and Taiwanese BL subgenres. The transmedia popularity shows that it is not only about the series, but mainly about the imaginary couples. The research found that series wai reflects the ideals of siwilai, namely, “romantic monogamous heterosexuality.” This makes series wai innovative and hybrid, as it is not about the series only and it combines society ideals with series which do not follow the ideal society at the first glance.Show less
This paper centres on the masculinity found in K-pop and argues that this type of masculinity reinforces traditional gender roles. To reveal how unequal gender relations manifest themselves in the...Show moreThis paper centres on the masculinity found in K-pop and argues that this type of masculinity reinforces traditional gender roles. To reveal how unequal gender relations manifest themselves in the joint performances of male and female K-pop idols, a textual analysis based on Goffman’s framework is provided. With this, I seek to underline the argument made by Elfving-Hwang, Ainslie, Lin and Rudolf, who state that the masculinity found in K-pop does not, as is often claimed, signal the demise of hegemonic masculinity. The present research forms a valuable contribution to this argument due to the specific focus on the interaction between idols. This is important, given that gender is a relational concept and the interaction between idols has, within the current discourse, not received enough attention. I conclude that there are four mechanisms working to perpetuate traditional gender roles: the subordination by camera work and montage, the reassertion of masculinity, subsiding the subordinating effect of gender displays and the retainment of “appropriate” femininity.Show less
