John Whalen-Bridge is Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the National University of Singapore. He is the author of Political Fiction and the American Self and has co-edited a four-book series for SUNY on Buddhism and American culture. Buddhism and American Cinema will be published in 2014.Address: Department of English Language and Literature, National University of Singapore, Block AS5, 7 Arts Link, Singapore 117570. Email:
關鍵詞
Buddhism in Motion Pictures; Motion Pictures -- Production & Direction; Motion Picture Industry; Film Festivals
摘要
Films such as Kundun and Little Buddha are obvious choices to fit the category “Buddhist films,” but critical studies and Buddhist film festivals have in the last decade widened the discussion to include films like The Matrix (1999) and Donnie Darko (2001), raising the question, “What is a Buddhist film?” One way to answer this question is to consider the criteria for selecting films for international Buddhist film festivals. These events include films that directly represent Buddhist characters, rites, beliefs, and material objects, but in addition to overtly Buddhist representations there are regular inclusions of “covertly” Buddhist films. In addition to overt and less direct thematic treatments, the category "Buddhist film" has come to include “draftees”—films that were never intended to express a Buddhist theme but are felt by event organizers to have Buddhist implications even when there is no evidence of Buddhist intention. The practice of interpreting a non-Buddhist film in a Buddhist manner makes Buddhism appear less strange to Western audiences. Buddhist film festivals are thus part of a larger process through which Buddhism adapts and indigenizes itself i"n countries outside of Asia.
目次
1. Representation, intention, and interpretation 46 2. Criteria: The International Buddhist Film Festival approach 48 3. Multiple motivation and artistic expression 52 4. Where is it going? A review of two-dozen Buddhist film festivals 59 Acknowledgements 65 Notes 65 References 71 Filmography 71 Secondary References 76 Film Festivals and Web Links 79
