Queer Asian Cinema: Shadows in the Shade [Paperback]

Andrew Grossman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1560231408 | ISBN-13: 978-1560231400 | Publication Date: February 2, 2001

Explore queer themes in films from Hong Kong gangster flicks to Bollywood melodramas!

Although Asian films have reached a new height in popularity worldwide, Queer Asian Cinema: Shadows in the Shade is the first full-length book in English solely devoted to examining the aesthetics and politics of homosexuality in Asian films.

This unique book presents multiple points of view on the portrayal of gay, lesbian, and transgendered people in film throughout Asia. From the subversive sadomasochism of Japan's ”pink films” to the hard-boiled world of Hong Kong's gangster movies, Queer Asian Cinema analyzes and discusses attitudes toward homosexuality in the full spectrum of Asian film. In addition to studies of the representation of identified gay men, lesbians, and transgendered individuals, it reveals the hidden homoerotic subtext of otherwise conventional films.

Queer Asian Cinema: Shadows in the Shade examines diverse aspects of Asian films, including:

• the political and psychological links between feudal and sadomasochist hierarchies
• the inevitable punishment of homoerotic bonds in gangster films
• the integration of the homosexual couple into the Confucian family structure in Korean films
• the complexities of cross-gender casting
• the differences between transvestism and cross-dressing
• the definition of male genitalia as obscene
  
  Queer Asian Cinema: Shadows in the Shade brings together experts in both film-making and movie criticism, providing a balanced viewpoint to unite the worlds of academic and popular perceptions on this subject. It opens an exciting discussion of this important and largely neglected area of cinematic discourse.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (February 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560231408
• ISBN-13: 978-1560231400
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,893,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For semiotics majors only!, April 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Queer Asian Cinema: Shadows in the Shade (Hardcover)

The editor correctly bemoans the lack of materials that discuss both queer theory and Asian filmography. This anthology discusses the topic as it affects numerous Asian countries. However, the articles are throat-deep in academic babble. This book is strictly for semiotics majors and academics. It's a shame too because many gay and/or Asian film buffs would have enjoyed a more understandable book on the topic. Additionally, this book is a special issue of the Journal of Homosexuality series. Usually, those writings are accessible to experts and laypeople. This was not the case here. Besides, the films discussed probably had extremely limited releases, thus Asians, gays, and especially Asian gays (or Asian-American gays) will have no idea about what the authors are analyzing so difficulty. Readers are better off watching "Farewell My Concubine" and "Fire" and coming to their own conclusions on the matter.