Hell in Eros: Redux! Desire and Japanese Cinema

Time/Day: TBA

Location: TBA

Facilitator: Ryan Robert Mitchell

Contact: ryan@anarchistu.org

That's right, Daddy! Held over by popular demand! Re-starting, re-booting the class with all new screenings but with the same uncomfortable seats!

More information when I get around to it...

In the meantime, if you're wondering what this class is all about, check out this interview with Emile Dirks from Kino-Eye Toronto.

Section One: Desire and Revolution

The film and readings under this heading will addresses the claims made by “libidinal economy” and micro-politics theorists about the revolutionary potential of desire. This section starts with a discussion/screening of the (libidinal and political) fascist figure of Yukio Mishima and the way he depicts and embodies the ethics of fascist desire. The following two screenings by Terayama and Yoshida can be seen as the Japanese New Wave’s response to not only the fascism of Japan’s Imperial past but also a response to the political turmoil of late 60s Japan.

Week 1. Takashi Miike Big Bang Love (2006)

Week 2. Yukio Mishima and Domoto Masaki Patriotism aka Rite of Love & Death (1966)

Week 3. Shuji Terayama Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1970)

Week 4. Yoshishige Yoshida Eros Plus Massacre (1970)

Section Two: The Uncanny and the Individual

This section employs the Freudian concept of the uncanny—the return of the repressed—in order to discuss the unconscious ways in which individuals unconsciously subvert social order. The screenings will start with the cyberpunk films of Shinya Tsukamoto before moving on to Masumura’s war film, Red Angel.

Week 5. Shinya Tsukamoto Tetsuo (1990) and Tokyo Fist (1995)

Week 6. Shinya Tsukamoto A Snake of June (2002)

Week 7. Yazuo Masumura Red Angel (1966)

Section Three: Frustration and the Lost/Missing Object

Jacques Lacan’s concept of l’objet petit a is positioned as both the object and cause of desire. This thematic section will deal with this important concept and will attempt to address the central debate as to whether desire is predicated on lack or production. Additionally, each of these films deal with the issue of the impossibility of the satiation of desire and how the subject attempts to deal with this deadlock.

Week 8. Takashi Miike Imprint (2006)

Week 9. Yazuo Masumura Blind Beast (1969)

Week 10. Nagisa Oshima In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

Week 11. Takashi Miike Ichi the Killer (2001)

To screen when we have time:

Sophie Fiennes The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006)

Ben Wright Slavoj Zizek: The Reality of the Virtual (2004)