Kobayhashi Masaki and the legacy of the World War II

In the 1950s there appeared numerous films which showed the futility of war and critically evaluated the past, their weakness, however, lay in a tendency to sentimentalize history and in the use of melodrama conventions which allowed for the elevation of suffering. The few exceptions are the films by Kobayashi Masaki, who managed to avoid these temptations, thus becoming the most distinguished director of the films that analysed Japan’s responsibility for war. In my paper I focus on three works: The Thick-Walled Room (Kabe atsuki heya, 1953) - the story of prisoners accused of war crimes and imprisoned in Sugamo Prison, who cannot cope with the guilt and are persecuted by the nightmares of the past; monumental trilogy The Human Condition (Ningen no jōken, 1959-1961) based on a novel by Gomikawa Junpei, which “breaks new ground with its grim descriptions of Japanese atrocities perpetrated on Asians and on fellow Japanese” (Orr 2001: 107); and five-hour documentary Tokyo Trial (Tōkyō saiban, 1983), which provides a fascinating account of the work of the International Military Tribunal. Thanks to Kobayashi’s works, the problem of war crimes, of the responsibility for one’s own actions and inability to effectively resist the system, gained a totally new dimension

Xenogenesis, or "becoming Other" : toward a posthuman vision of the society of the future

Wychodząc z założenia, że fantastyka naukowa stanowi jedno z narzędzi myślenia spekulacyjnego, czyli pozwala na podjęcie krytycznej refleksji nad skutkami działalności człowieka, autor artykułu zastanawia się nad możliwością wypracowania alternatywnej ścieżki rozwoju ludzkości, którą w trylogii Xenogenesis wyznaczyła Octavia E. Butler. W swoich powieściach amerykańska pisarka wyobraża sobie przyszłość, w której zniesione zostały różnice między naturą i kulturą, światem ludzkim i przyrodniczym. Nie proponuje jednak eskapistycznej fantazji, lecz formułuje polityczną wypowiedź na temat problemów, z którymi musimy się zmierzyć, jeśli chcemy przetrwać jako gatunek, oraz zwraca uwagę na warunki konieczne do powstania nowej wspólnoty, nieopartej na hierarchicznym podporządkowaniu (rasowym, płciowym, etnicznym, ekonomicznym), lecz na etyce relacyjnej, ukształtowanej wskutek przemiany, jaka dokona się w człowieku poprzez "stawanie się Innym".Starting from the assumption that science fiction is one of the tools of specula-tive thinking, that is, it allows one to undertake critical reflection on the consequences of human activity, the author of the article considers the possibility of working out an al-ternative path for the development of mankind, which was outlined by Octavia E. Butler in the Xenogenesis trilogy. The American writer imagines a future in which the differences between nature and culture, human and natural world have been eliminated. However, she does not propose an escapist fantasy, but formulates a political statement about the problems we have to face if we want to survive as a species. At the same time, she draws attention to the conditions necessary for the emergence of a new community, not based on hierarchical (racial, gender, ethnic, economic) subordination, but on relational ethics, shaped by the change that will take place in people in the process of "becoming the Other"

Diaspora, pamięć i tożsamość – kino Ann Hui

The diaspora, memory and identity – the films by Ann Hui The aim of this article is to present the works of Ann Hui, one of the most eminent film directors of the Hong Kong New Wave. In her fi lms Hui focuses on such issues as memory, ethnic minorities, intercultural communication, and the impact of political factors on the characters’ everyday life. These problems are often addressed from a subjective or even autobiographical perspective, like in her most significant work, Song of the Exile, to which I devote most of my analysis. The film is a perfect illustration of a basic feature of the Hong Kong cinema of the late 20th century, namely, a particular attitude to time, a nostalgia best expressed by a notion of déjà disparu, or a “conviction that all that is new and unique nowadays has already come and gone, and there’s nothing left but clichés and the scraps of memories of the things that never existed” (Ackbar Abbas). The longing for the past that stems from a sense of loss and necessity to reconcile with the passing of things appears to be a characteristic feature not only of Chinese fi lm art, but of Chinese culture as such

Wyobraźnia technologiczna i problem tożsamości we współczesnym filmie japońskim

Technological imagination and the question of identity in contemporary Japanese Popular convictions as to character of Japanese culture are dominated by the orientalist stereotypes that include self-contradicting images of a society that is traditional and at the same time modern and technology-based. The ambiguous portrait of Japan seems to a certain extent justified, if one takes into account the transformation that took place throughout the 20th century and which gave rise to a new model of culture that was shaped thanks to a unique combination of various elements, both native and foreign. I am planning to focus on the impact of the mass media on the awareness and an everyday life of the Japanese people. Besides, I am going to consider the extent as to which the new environment has been transformed by the information revolution. For my research I shall use the contemporary cinema which perfectly reflects cultural issues of the nation in the process of the vehement social change, and which shows the hopes and fears of the futur

Posthumanistyczne echa, apokaliptyczne tony i zwierzęce odgłosy w filmach Bonga Joon-ho

The subject of the analysis in this article are three films by Bong Joon-ho: The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013) and Okja (2017), considered from the posthumanist perspective. A starting point is Donna Haraway’s suggestion that science-fiction stories should be treated as a tool for speculative thinking. Then, I point to the way the Korean film director demonstrates his critical reflection on the effects of climate change, deepening economic inequalities, the impact of global capitalism and the biopolitical model of the governance. The main aim is to seek out the possible strategies of resistance which enable humans to change their attitude to other species (Okja) and to ask a question about the scope of human freedom, the effects of our interference in the functioning of the biosphere (Snowpiercer) and the results of genetic modifications of animals.The subject of the analysis in this article are three films by Bong Joon-ho: The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013) and Okja (2017), considered from the posthumanist perspective. A starting point is Donna Haraway’s suggestion that science-fiction stories should be treated as a tool for speculative thinking. Then, I point to the way the Korean film director demonstrates his critical reflection on the effects of climate change, deepening economic inequalities, the impact of global capitalism and the biopolitical model of the governance. The main aim is to seek out the possible strategies of resistance which enable humans to change their attitude to other species (Okja) and to ask a question about the scope of human freedom, the effects of our interference in the functioning of the biosphere (Snowpiercer) and the results of genetic modifications of animals

Prosthetic memory and unreality of time in "Watchmen"

Starting from a reflection on the traumatic experience of racism, the author of the article considers the possibility of transmitting the knowledge about the past and retrieving memory, and then points out how the relationships between the past, the present and the future are problematized, if we change the way we think about time, namely when it ceases to be perceived as something real or objective. The point of reference for further considerations is the HBO Watchmen series, made in 2019, which exemplifies the mechanism of prosthetic memory. According to the definition proposed by Alison Landsberg, prosthetic memory includes continuity and rupture. It is connected not only with the individual but the collective dimension as well, as it is related to the sphere of politics. In other words, it is a vehicle thanks to which we can travel to other places and times, and thanks to which the viewer may refer to important social and psychological issues

Postmodernizm w teorii filmu

"Postmodernizm jest terminem równie popularnym, co niejednoznacznym i nieprecyzyjnym, odnosi się bowiem do szeregu zjawisk natury artystycznej, filozoficznej czy społecznej, znacząc za każdym razem coś odmiennego. Z jednej strony mamy do czynienia z ogólną diagnozą kryzysu kulturowego, spowodowanego załamaniem się dotychczasowego porządku społecznego oraz przyspieszeniem procesów ekonomicznych i technicznych, z drugiej strony filozoficzną refleksję nad ograniczeniami nowoczesności, rozpadem podstawowych kategorii czy systemów uprawomocniających naszą wiedzę, a wreszcie podważeniem kluczowych pojęć (rozumu, świadomości, podmiotowości), z kolejnej spotykamy się z przemianami w sferze sztuki współczesnej, wynikającymi ze zmierzchu ruchów awangardowych, zniesienia podziałów na kulturę artystyczną i popularną oraz poczucia wyczerpania form stylistycznych czy narracyjnych, świadomości kresu odkrywczości i oryginalności."(...

Mikio Naruse – o nowoczesności i kobietach

The aim of the paper is to present the films by Mikio Naruse, a distinguished Japanese film director, within the frames of the genre conventions, as well as to place his films in the context of moral and economic changes taking place in Japan in the middle of the last century (with a particular emphasis on the ideological determinants of the process of modernization, and the place of women in modern society). In my opinion, most of his works follow the conventions of melodrama, as it is these conventions that allow the female viewer to assume the position of the subject; at the same time, the conventions present a critical view of the country during the time when patriarchal structures and the traditional family model disintegrated. My research perspective, therefore, is to regard the films primarily as cultural texts.The aim of the paper is to present the films by Mikio Naruse, a distinguished Japanese film director, within the frames of the genre conventions, as well as to place his films in the context of moral and economic changes taking place in Japan in the middle of the last century (with a particular emphasis on the ideological determinants of the process of modernization, and the place of women in modern society). In my opinion, most of his works follow the conventions of melodrama, as it is these conventions that allow the female viewer to assume the position of the subject; at the same time, the conventions present a critical view of the country during the time when patriarchal structures and the traditional family model disintegrated. My research perspective, therefore, is to regard the films primarily as cultural texts

Kultura – media – społeczeństwo: symbiotyczne związki

Praca recenzowana / Peer-reviewed paperKultura – media – społeczeństwo. Symbiotyczne związki jest monograficznym zbiorem ośmiu rozpraw. Dwie z nich poświęcone są przede wszystkim problematyce wytwarzania rzeczywistości społecznej generalnie i w szczególnych odniesieniach do zjawisk medialnych. Problematyka ta przewija się w różnych konfiguracjach przez cały zbiór, tu jednak jest przede wszystkim przedmiotem refleksji teoretycznej. Pierwsza ze wspomnianych rozpraw, Teoretyczne aspekty stanowienia (tworzenia) rzeczywistości społecznej Tadeusza Michalczyka omawia trudności terminologiczne i teoretyczne koncepcji podmiotowego wytwarzania ludzkiego świata w toku sprawczej działalności człowieka. Autor poddaje analizie występujące w tym kontekście rozmaite terminy, takie jak stanowienie, tworzenie, stawanie się, rzeczywistość społeczna i społeczeństwo, poszukując ich teoretycznego zaplecza i tropiąc efekty poznawcze ich stosowania. Przy okazji zwraca uwagę na niejednoznaczność pojęć występujących w naukach o społeczeństwie w ogóle. Rozważania te dopełnia refleksja nad sposobami ujmowania rzeczywistości społecznej w kontekście mass mediów