Deleuze, Japanese Cinema, and the Atom Bomb: The Spectre of Impossibility (Thinking Cinema)

David Deamer establishes the first ever sustained encounter between Gilles Deleuze’s Cinema books and post-war Japanese cinema, exploring how Japanese films responded to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the early days of occupation political censorship to the social and cultural freedoms of the 1960s and beyond, the book examines how images of the nuclear event appear in post-war Japanese cinema. Each chapter begins by focusing upon one or more of three key Deleuzian themes – image, history and thought – before going on to look at a selection of films from 1945 to the present day. These include movies by well-known directors Kurosawa Akira, Shindo Kaneto, Oshima Nagisa and Imamura Shohei; popular and cult classics – Godzilla (1954), Akira (1988) and Tetsuo (1989); contemporary genre flicks – Ring (1998), Dead or Alive (1999) and Casshern (2004); the avant-garde and rarely seen documentaries. The author provides a series of tables to clarify the conceptual components deployed within the text, establishing a unique addition to Deleuze and cinema studies. FC Half title Thinking Cinema Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Tables List of Images Acknowledgements Introduction: Event, Cinema, Cineosis 1 Special Images, Contingent Centres Movement-images: Bergson, sensory-motor process The Effects of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1946); Children of the Atom Bomb (1952); Godzilla (1954) 2 Horizons of History Action-images: Nietzsche, history Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975); Lucky Dragon No. 5 (1959); Barefoot Gen (1983); Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984); Akira (1988) 3 Traces: Symptoms and Figures Impulse-images and reflection-images: Peirce, semio sis The Naked Island (1960); Dead or Alive (1999); Ring (1998); Kwaidan (1964); The Face of Another (1966); Navel and A-bomb (1960); Tetsuo (1989); Face of Jizo (2004) 4 Consummation (and Crisis) Mental-images: Bergson, memory I Live in Fear (1955); Rashomon (1950); Dreams (1990); Rhapsody in August (1991) 5 Impure Anarchic Multiplicities Time-images: Deleuze, syntheses of time Casshern (2004); The Pacific War (1968); A History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess (1970); Black Rain (1989); Hiroshima (1953) Conclusion: Spectres of Impossibility Notes Select Bibliography Select Filmography Index "David Deamer establishes the first ever sustained encounter between Gilles Deleuze's Cinema books and post-war Japanese cinema, by exploring how Japanese films responded to and were transformed by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the early days of American occupation political censorship through to the social and cultural freedoms of the 1960s and beyond, the book examines how images of the event permeate post-war Japanese cinema. Each chapter begins by focusing upon one of three key themes: taxonomy, history or thought, before going on to explore a broad selection of films from 1945 to the present day, including respected masterpieces (Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, 1951); popular and cult cinema (Godzilla, 1954; world renowned anime, Akira, 1988); the new wave (Nagisa Oshima's Night and Fog in Japan, 1960); and modern classics (Hideo Nakata's Ring, 1998). The author provides a series of monochrome diagrams to clarify and illustrate the concepts and conceptual components explored within the text, establishing a unique addition to Deleuze and cinema studies"--Quatrième de couverture "David Deamer establishes the first ever sustained encounter between Gilles Deleuze's Cinema books and post-war Japanese cinema, by exploring how Japanese films responded to and were transformed by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the early days of American occupation political censorship through to the social and cultural freedoms of the 1960s and beyond, the book examines how images of the event permeate post-war Japanese cinema. Each chapter begins by focusing upon one of three key themes: taxonomy, history or thought, before going on to explore a broad selection of films from 1945 to the present day, including respected masterpieces (Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, 1951); popular and cult cinema (Godzilla, 1954; world renowned anime, Akira, 1988); the new wave (Nagisa Oshima's Night and Fog in Japan, 1960); and modern classics (Hideo Nakata's Ring, 1998). The author provides a series of monochrome diagrams to clarify and illustrate the concepts and conceptual components explored within the text, establishing a unique addition to Deleuze and cinema studies"-- Provided by publisher