Abstract
Recent transnational documentaries are more and more committed to issues of global environmental justice and revealing exploitative profit-driven production practices as they suggest that cinematic transnationalism enables us to see the global connectedness of the ecosystem more readily. Such filmic representations of a beyond-the-local culture facilitate to make sense of the global network of products and flow of messages as they make us aware of the physical and symbolic linkages between these seemingly disconnected worlds. From the food we eat and the news we read, the jeans and shoes we wear, to the films, music and performances we enjoy, our living habits and daily routines today are unimaginable without global networks of information and exchange, regardless of which part of the world one is situated in. By comparing Jia Zhangke's Wuyong/Useless (2007) and Ho Chao-ti's Wo Ai Gaogenxie/My Fancy High Heels (MFHH) (2010), this article explores how transnationality in these documentaries, on one hand, facilitates the expression of eco-critical and environmentalist messages concerning nature and the environment, as well as the relationships between human and all other beings on the planet; and on the other, reveals the challenges and contradictions film-makers and artists faced in the productions in attempts to reflect their ecological and environmental concerns, challenges and contradictions that are brought about by the unstoppable forces of excessive global consumerism.
Translated title of the contribution | From My Fancy High Heels to Useless Clothing: ‘interconnectedness’ and eco-critical issues in transcultural documentaries |
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Original language | Japanese |
Pages (from-to) | 28-47 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | JunCture: 超域的日本文化研究 |
Volume | 8 |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Keywords
- documentary films
- film criticism
- environmental protection