Cinema and Visual Culture in East Asia

Present-day visual culture, for example film, visual art and the internet, reflects and translates the complex relation between culture, tradition, economics and global flows. With this course we want to help you acquire a better understanding of visual culture as a way to translate such complex networks in East Asia, mainly in China, Japan and South Korea. The focus is mainly on film and audio-visual works (digital culture, documentaries, etc) as a way to better understand the current cultural flow in East Asia and in its relationship to the global situation but also to see visual culture in various ways from a social sustainability perspective. The aim is to give you: Theoretical tools to approach visual culture and film from a regional and transnational perspective.<br> An introduction to cultural industries, film and audio-visual works produced in East Asia, in China, Japan and South Korea. Some films and audio-visual works are discussed more in depth as key studies for the course and as a way to better understand the interplay and the relationships in the East Asian region and between the macroregion and the world.<br> A discussion about the dispersion of visual culture via festivals, international events and exhibitions as well as via digital platforms with the use of different languages and with a variety of cultural backgrounds is also an essential part of the course.