Cultural Studies Monthly Call for Papers
Thinking Queer in Asian Cinema
Deadline: Oct 1, 2006
Guest Editor: Chia-chi Wu
As Brokeback Mountain revamps the iconography of one of the oldest American genres and scores box-office triumphs worldwide as an “art gay cowboy film”, contemporary filmmakers in Asia have also seemed to explore uncharted queer themes and redraw the art cinema/mainstream production divide. To name just a few examples, The King and the Clown (Lee Jun-ik, 2005), an explicit gay-themed film set in pre-modern times, is said to be one of the highest grossing films in South Korea . Beautiful Boxer (Thailand, Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2003) and Splendid Afloat (Taiwan, Zero Chou, 2004) feature male protagonists with transvestite tendencies but engaging in professions of which macho-masculinity is considered as a quintessential constituent. Moreover, Butterfly ( Hong Kong , Yan Yan Mak, 2004) and The Intimates (Jacob Cheung, 2004) have exhibited, in strictly and legitimately female homoerotic terms, visible female-female sexuality that is probably unprecedented in Chinese language commercial productions. For its November 2006 issue, Cultural Studies Monthly is inviting essays or critical reviews on Asian films that evince various degrees and a wide range of queer sensibilities. The issue welcomes contributions (in English or Chinese) on related topics, but is not confined to the follows:
* new theoretical or conceptual frameworks in understanding queer emotions or desire in Asian cinema; or questions for queer theory or practice that Asian cinema raises
* queer subjectivities crisscrossed with other axes of identity formation or in relation to other structures of oppression, such as gender, class, race or ethnicity, age, etc..
* the figuring of nationality, transnationality or globality in queer culture
* films that point to the ties between pre-modern queer traditions to contemporary eroticism
* queer and space, or “queerscape” as molded by peculiar cinematic visuality or stylistics
* survey of any local or international g/l/q film festival, either located in Asia or boasting a strong showcase of Asian queer films
* camp aesthetics
* films resonating with activism, public opinion or other social discourses on queer subjects
* film reviews
Cultural Studies Monthly is an online journal launched by CSA Taiwan (Cultural Studies Taiwan). It is a non-referential, non-peer-reviewed publication. Both English and Chinese submissions are welcome. Strong English submissions will also, upon the author’s approval, be submitted to Film Appreciation ( dianying xinshang, published by Taipei Film Archive, its peer-reviewed film paper section) for its potential publication in Chinese translation.
Please send submissions to
Chia-chi Wu
(Assistant Professor, Department of English
University of National Taiwan Normal University )
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