The Beginnings of Documentary Film in Japan
Abstract
The article deals with the beginnings of Japanese film documentaries, their development and use as tools of the government propaganda in the 1930s. Two turning points demand particular attention - the first is related to the theoretical debate waged between advocates of politically engaged cinema and the supporters of the modernist avant-garde, which resulted in the emergence of a new proletarian cinema movement (Purikino) and numerous newspaper articles and books. The second turning point was the involvement of artists in the nationalist project imposed by the Tokyo government once Japan engaged in the hostilities in Southeast Asia. A particular manifestation of the new activity was the successful transfer of the German concept of culture film (Kulturfilm) to Japan, which here was called bunka eiga. The most prominent filmmaker who joined the movement, but who retained a critical stance to the dominant ideology was Fumio Kamei, the author of the “Chinese trilogy”, and the Fighting soldiers, which films are nowadays considered to be the most important achievements of the Japanese film industry at the time. The analysis of his films allow one to fully understand the ideological and aesthetic consideration of the period.
Keywords:
documentary film, Japan, Fumio KameiReferences
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Authors
Krzysztof Loskakwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Jagiellonian University Poland
Profesor UJ; zajmuje się kulturą popularną, postmodernizmem, literaturą współczesną i kinem gatunkowym. Autor m.in. Dziedzictwa McLuhana. Między nowoczesnością a ponowoczesnością (2001), Encyklopedii filmu science fiction (2004), Tożsamości i mediów (2006). Współautor (z Andrzejem Pitrusem) książek: 100 filmów science fiction (2000) i David Cronenberg: rozpad ciała, rozpad gatunku (2003).
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Copyright (c) 2011 Krzysztof Loska
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