Screen Media and Disability in Contemporary East Asia: Aesthetics and Social Significance. Discuss.

This

PhD

project

aims to address how

filmic

representation

of

disability

in East

Asia

after the 2000s

show

the

aesthetics

and social

significance

of

film

, which is more than a visual medium. I will interrogate how

films

are possible to challenge social norms and conventions by exploring the

representation

of

people

with

disabilities

. Based on my

master’s

thesis

Disability

Matters:

People

with

Disabilities

in Contemporary

Japanese

Cinema

,

disability

is constructed by discourses.

Screen

media play an important role in constructing images of

people

with

disabilities

.

In contrast

to my

master’s

thesis

, there are mainly

three

improvements that I hope to achieve in my PhD

project

.

First

of all, I have found that

filmic

representation

of

disability

is a transnational and global issue, so I wish to examine how contemporary East

Asian

films

share some commonalities while having some differences with regard to the

representation

of

disability

.

Secondly

, my focus is not limited to

film

representation

itself, as I have done in my MA

project

, but

also

the process of its

production

,

distribution

and

reception

.

Finally

, compared to textual

analysis

as a single

method

in my

master’s

thesis

, I will apply different

methods

in

this

project

in order to illuminate

film

aesthetics

and social

significance

from different perspectives, including

field

research

and surveys in

disability

film

festivals

and screening

events

. In recent years, global awareness of

disability

has increased with the development of Paralympics and social movements.

Research

related to

disability

has been conducted in various

fields

including sociology, historical

studies

,

literature

studies

,

disability

studies

, etc. In historical

studies

,

for instance

, many researchers try to comprehensively grasp the history of

people

with

disabilities

by focusing on

disability

rights movements, education, labor, welfare, medicine and so on. In

disability

studies

, taking Ikeda Noriko’s Theoretical 1

Wang

Xinyi

Development of

Disability

Studies

(2014) as an example, she analyzed discourses on social movements while critically examining Western

theories

and social models of

disability

.

Although

disability

is a key word in different

fields

,

research

has not progressed much in

cinema

studies

. There are some

filmic

studies

that examine the performance of able-bodied actors and problematic images of

disability

on

screen

. Among them, Yi Yonng Jae (2016) analyzes

body

representation

of

people

with

disabilities

in postwar

Japanese

and

Korean

films

and Christine Marran (2017) discusses

people

with Minamata disease from the

perspective

of ecology in Ecology without Culture. Overall, these previous

studies

highlight discrimination against

disability

, human rights of

people

with

disabilities

, and

representation

of

disability

. Beyond academic

research

, some governments,

institutions

and other organizations in East

Asia

have tackled social problems related to

disability

, especially

Japan

,

China

and South

Korea

. These

three

areas share some common social issues on

disability

due to close geographical connections and cultural influence.

However

, they have different measures to deal with

disability

problems, which depend on their unique political systems, social conditions and histories. Under these circumstances,

cinema

is a site that represents various social issues on

disability

, including sex, criminal cases and mistaken arrests. While at the same

time

,

people

with

disabilities

create

films

and videos by themselves, prompting a reconsideration of

ableist

and conventional ways of

representation

. Some of these

films

are shown on international

film

festivals

such

as Tokyo International Deaf

Film

Festival. As it is shown above, there are some questions that need to be explored by researchers.

First

of all, few researchers

study

further

about contemporary East

Asian

films

that represent

people

with

disabilities

from different angles

although

there are many recent

works

on

disability

.

Secondly

, the number of

films

and

TV

dramas

about

disability

is 2

Wang

Xinyi

increasing after the 2000s in East

Asia

, especially

Japan

,

China

and South

Korea

.

However

, few

studies

analyzing the

representation

of

disability

are based on the historical contexts of different

countries

, which maybe different but share some similarities at the same

time

.

Finally

, not only

filmic

representation

, but

also

production

,

distribution

and

reception

should be examined. A comprehensive

study

needs to be conducted to trace how

people

with

disabilities

make their own documentaries and

show

them on screening

events

and international

film

festivals

.

Therefore

, it is necessary for me to do

further

research

on how contemporary East

Asian

films

of

disability

show

aesthetics

and social

significance

according to the above

three

points. In

this

project

, I will

research

on

films

and

TV

dramas

related to

people

with

disabilities

in East

Asia

extensively, especially paying attention to

production

,

distribution

, exhibition, and

reception

. While at the same

time

, I will focus on some specific

works

as

case

studies

to examine contemporary

filmic

representation

and its

aesthetics

in

Japan

,

China

and South

Korea

by offering the following six themes, which are six chapters in my doctoral

thesis

. I will

also

analyze social

significance

of

filmic

representation

while taking historical backgrounds and filmmaking processes in different

countries

into consideration. According to my previous

research

, I have listed some

films

and

TV

dramas

as

case

studies

, which are provisional. (1) Blindness: How do contemporary

films

in

Japan

,

China

and South

Korea

represent blind

people

? In response to the question, I intend to examine a South

Korean

thriller

film

Blind (

dir

. Ahn Sang-hoon, 2011), a

Japanese

melodrama Your Eyes Tell (Kimi no me ga toikaketeiru,

dir

. Miki Takahiro, 2020) and a

Chinese

film

Blind Massage (

dir

. Lou Ye, 2014) that depicts romance of blind masseurs in a massage parlor. (2) Physical

disabilities

: Taking a

Japanese

animated

film

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (

dir

. Tamura Kotaro, 2020), a South

Korean

film

Oasis (

dir

. Lee Chang- dong, 2002) and other

films

as examples, I will explore how contemporary

films

show

the emotions and affect of

people

with physical

disabilities

when they fall in love. (3) Deafness: I plan 3

Wang

Xinyi

to analyze how deaf

people

are represented in

Japanese

,

Chinese

and

Korean

films

such

as The Day When I Couldn't Hear (Kikoenakkata ano hi,

dir

. Imamura Ayako, 2021), Silenced (

dir

. Hwang Dong-hyuk, 2011) and Sign Language

Time

(

dir

. Su Qing and Mina, 2010). (4) Mental

disabilities

: not only a documentary Chizuru (

dir

. Akazaki Masakazu, 2011), but

also

popular

films

/

TV

dramas

such

as It's Okay to not be Okay (

dir

. Park Shin- woo, 2020) and Keys to the Heart (

dir

. Choi Sung-hyun, 2018) will be chosen to examine the

representation

of

people

with mental

disabilities

. (5) Multiple personality disorder: many mystery and suspense

films

portray characters who have multiple personalities as protagonists. Are they represented in a problematic way? Is there any difference between previous

works

and recent East

Asian

films

/

dramas

in terms of

filmic

representation

of

disability

? A popular South

Korean

drama Flower of Evil (

dir

. Kim Cheol-kyu, 2020), a

Japanese

suspense

film

Platina Data (

dir

. Ōtomo Keishi, 2013) and a Hong Kong action

film

Mad Detective (

dir

. Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai, 2007) will be analyzed in order to answer the questions. (6)

Film

festivals

and screening

events

on

disability

: As it is illustrated above, I will investigate how

films

on

disability

are produced, distributed and shown in different situations. I plan to examine the role that

filmic

representation

has played with regard to its social

significance

through

field

research

in international

film

festivals

and other screening

events

in East

Asia

. In

this

study

,

three

research

methods

will be applied to explore contemporary East

Asian

filmic

representation

about

disability

. In the

first

place, I will conduct a basic

research

and

literature

review. I will refer to some important

studies

related to

disability

in different various

fields

, including historical

studies

, sociology,

disability

studies

and cultural

studies

.

For instance

, I will gather background information about how

people

with

disabilities

live in contemporary societies and how

filmic

representation

constructs their images from different perspectives (

gender

, transnational,

body

, etc.) while considering broad historical contexts in different

countries

and learning

theories

by reading Ikeda 4

Wang

Xinyi

Noriko's Theoretical Development of

Disability

Studies

(2014), Chivers and Markotić’s The Problem

Body

: Projecting

Disability

on

Film

(2010), Marran’s Ecology without Culture:

Aesthetics

for a Toxic World (2017), Yomota’s Mizukara natta moumoku (2006) and so on.

In

addition

to

literature

review, a database of

films

and

TV

dramas

related to

disability

will be created for

film

analysis

. I will refer to some already existing databases and create a new one by myself in order to

further

analyze some

works

, which is part of my

first

method

as well. My

second

method

is

film

analysis

. I will pay special attention to

gender

,

body

, space, narrative and style to illustrate how

disability

is represented in contemporary East

Asian

films

and

dramas

.

Furthermore

, as I have mentioned, I will explore the

aesthetics

of some

films

on

disability

that challenge

ableist

representation

of

people

with

disabilities

. My final

method

is fieldwork and

archive

collection. I will not only conduct surveys and collect information about

reception

in some

disability

film

festivals

(Superfest

Disability

Film

Festival in America, True Colors

Film

Festival held in

Asia

, etc.) and screening

events

, but

also

interview filmmakers and related

institutions

about the process of

film

production

.

Furthermore

, I will search for archival materials in National

Film

Archive

of

Japan

,

Korean

Film

Archive

,

Chinese

Film

Archive

and other related

institutions

.

This

project

has four unique characteristics in terms of originality.

Firstly

, I reexamine some conventional

ableist

depiction of

disability

and explore how

films

offer alternatives from the

perspective

of

people

with

disabilities

.

Secondly

, a broad

perspective

of East

Asia

is provided to perceive the trends in

filmic

representation

of

disability

, which is based on my previous

study

of contemporary

Japanese

films

.

Thirdly

, the relationship between

people

with and without

disabilities

in

society

is reconsidered from the

perspective

of

cinema

studies

, which will contribute to academic

fields

(

disability

studies

,

gender

, minority

research

, etc.) as well as general practice against

disability

discrimination in daily life.

Finally

,

this

study

combines a variety of

methods

and analyzes 5

Wang

Xinyi

East

Asian

filmic

representation

from multiple perspectives. It is not limited in textual

analysis

of

films

but highlights the process of filmmaking and

reception

through

field

research

to provide

further

evidence about how

filmic

representation

functions in

society

.

This

study

contributes not only to

cinema

studies

by illuminating how

filmic

representation

plays an important role in showing the relationship between

people

with

disabilities

and the

society

where they live, but

also

to

disability

studies

, minority

research

and other academic

fields

related to

disability

by providing interdisciplinary

methods

to examine how

disability

is represented in contemporary East

Asian

films

and

dramas

, especially focusing on

film

production

,

distribution

and

reception

.

In

addition

to the above contributions to academic

fields

, it will raise public awareness of social issues related to

people

with

disabilities

by exploring

filmic

representation

of

disability

. Artists and filmmakers who are interested in

disability

will be connected through my

field

research

. They may be inspired to create more diverse

works

on

disability

. I plan to finish the

project

in

three

years. In the

first

phase of my

research

, I will work on the database of

films

and

dramas

that represent

people

with

disabilities

.

Then

I will explore

films

and

dramas

related to the six themes as

case

studies

and analyze how

filmic

representation

portrays

people

with

disabilities

, especially focusing on the

body

, style and narrative. At the same

time

, I will search for some useful

theories

to build the framework, including

gender

, melodrama, ethics of care and so on.

In

addition

, I intend to explore how a

film

or

TV

drama operates as a contested terrain of the

representation

of the self and the other.

Disability

tends to be portrayed as a flaw or loss in

ableist

films

. In that

case

,

people

with

disabilities

are likely to be represented as the other. If

such

a problematic

representation

repeats in

screen

media,

disability

, as a speech act, will be constructed under ableism.

However

, Gutting (2019: 87) notes that “

society

as a whole will be transformed and enriched by what it had previously rejected as errors.” Ethics of 6

Wang

Xinyi

care provide alternatives to

ableist

explanations of

disability

.

People

are all vulnerable;

therefore

,

people

with and without

disabilities

need to rely on each other to solve problems in

society

.

Next

, I attempt to do

field

research

and collect archival materials in the

second

phase. I will attend some

disability

film

festivals

and screening

events

to interview some filmmakers and audience.

In

addition

, I will collect materials in national archives and other

institutions

in East

Asia

to compare historical contexts in different

countries

. In the final phase, I will finish my doctoral

thesis

and publish my

research

outcomes in some oversea symposiums (

Society

for

Cinema

and Media

Studies

, Taiwan

Society

for

Disability

Studies

, etc.) and international journals (Journal of

Japanese

and

Korean

Cinema

, Journal of

Chinese

Cinema

,

Asian

Cinema

, Transnational

Cinema

, Arts, etc.). I will take advantage of my academic abilities and skills to complete

this

project

. Graduated from Zhejiang

University

in

China

, I joined different projects on

literature

, linguistics and cultural

studies

and completed my bachelor’s

thesis

titled Androgyny of Hermione in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series. More recently, I have studied

film

theories

, histories and its

analysis

skills after graduating from

cinema

studies

in Nagoya

University

in March 2021. As it is mentioned above, I finished my

master’s

thesis

Disability

Matters:

People

with

Disabilities

in Contemporary

Japanese

Cinema

and presented my

research

results in Mokpo National

University

in

Korea

, National Taiwan

University

and Osaka

University

. An academic

research

paper titled "

Disability

Matters: The Boundary Between

Disability

and Non-

Disability

in Contemporary

Japanese

Films

" was published on Anthology of Transborder Cultural

Studies

in 2021. In a word, I believe my experiences have made me well-equipped to undertake

further

studies

in Co-Tutelle PhD Programme in Global

Screen

Studies

at

University

of Warwick and Nagoya

University

.