Pop with Gods, Shakespeare, and AI : Popular Film, (Musical) Theatre, and TV Drama​

Applying the theories of Popular Culture, Visual Culture, Performance Studies, (Post)Feminism, and Film Studies, this interdisciplinary and well-crafted book leads you to the fascinating and intriguing world of popular film, (musical) theatre, and TV drama. It explores the classical and contemporary cases of the literature works, both Eastern and Western, adapted, represented and transformed into the interesting artistic medium in films, performances, TV dramas, musicals, and AI robot theatre/films. ‘Iris Tuan’s book is wide ranging in scope and diversity, examining theatre, music, film and television productions from both Western and Asian countries. Tuan also surveys an extensive range of critical and theoretical perspectives, especially from performance studies and popular cultural studies, to offer context for her descriptions of the many different works. Some of her examples are well-known (Shakespeare’s __Romeo & Juliet__, Disney’s __The Lion King__) while others little known outside their place of origin (such as the Hakka Theatre of Taiwan) -- all are approached by the author with enthusiasm.’ —**Susan Bennett**, Professor of English, University of Calgary, Canada ‘Tuan takes us through multiple examples of contemporary popular performance in theatre/film/TV ranging from "high" art sources (Shakespeare or __Journey to the Wes__t in films, Hirata's robotic theatre experiments) to "low" (Taiwanese TV soap operas __Hakka Theatre: Roseki__ and __Story of Yangxi Palace,__ Korean film __Along with the Gods:____The Two Worlds__). The reader moves at a speed-dating pace through contemporary culture production and interpretive theories, encountering significant works, controversies (i. e., yellow face), and conundrums selected from China, Korea, Japan and the U. S. and filtered through a Taiwanese female gaze.’ —**Kathy Foley**, Professor of Theatre Arts, University of California Santa Cruz, USA Acknowledgements 6 Contents 9 About the Author 15 List of Figures 16 Chapter 1: Introduction: Popular Visual Culture in Film, Theatre and TV Drama 23 Introduction 23 Synopsis of Each Chapter 24 Theories and Methodology 24 Theories of Popular Culture and Visual Culture 24 Works Cited 28 Part I: Literature, Film, and Theatre 29 Chapter 2: Shakespeare and Popular Culture: Romeo and Juliet in Film and Pop Music 30 Shakespeare and Popular Culture 30 Pop Culture and Young Audience 30 Literature Reviews 31 Pop Music 32 Authenticity and Appropriation 33 Shakespeare also as a Methodology 33 Theories of Popular Culture and Cultural Theory 34 Canon, Kitsch, Simulacra, Classics, Representation 34 (1) The Musical Film West Side Story on Race 35 (2) Film Director Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo & Juliet (1968) Stars the Teenagers’ Chemistry Cast to Add Freshness 37 (3) Directed Baz Luhrmann’s Film Romeo + Juliet (1996) on Postmodern Spectacles and Hyper-Reality 38 Postmodern Culture by Digital Technology 38 Director Baz Luhrmann’s Philosophy 42 (4) Italian Film Director Carlo Carlei’s Romeo & Juliet (2013), Classical Juxtaposition with La Pietà, the Sculpture by Michelangelo 44 My Comments La Pietà 44 Comparison and Commentary on Shakespearean Films 47 Shakespeare and Pop Music 47 (5) Taylor Swift’s Pop Music “Love Story”5 47 Intertextuality of Literature and Pop Music 48 Literature Intertextuality 48 Good Girl & White Authenticity 49 Love Song in the Balcony Scene 50 Song Reprise and Set Design 50 Identification in Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” 50 Icon, Femininity, and Romance 51 (6) “The Late Late Show with James Corden”: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with Emily Blunt 52 Timeline in Shakespeare’s Play 52 Related Pop Songs 53 Conclusion 53 Works Cited 58 Cinematography 60 Chapter 3: Represent Afterlife and Replay Habitus: Performance via Spectacle in the Korean Film Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds 61 Introduction: From Hollywood to Korea 61 Background of Korean Films 62 Research Value 62 Cultural Production with Spectacle 63 Adaptation from Webtoon 64 Theoretical Perspective of Pierre Bourdieu’s “Habitus in Every Day” 65 3D Special Effects Represent Visual Spectacle 66 Theory of Guy Debord’s “Spectacle” 67 Pierre Bourdieu’s Theoretical Notion of “Habitus” 68 Mundane Life 69 Seven Trials Shown by Cinematic Special Effects and Extraordinary Visual Effects 69 1st Trial: Kill Anyone? 69 2nd Trial: Make Use of Each Day? 71 Subplot Is Intertwined with the Main Plot 71 Cultural Studies: Everyday Life 72 3rd Trial: White Lie 73 Spectacles from the 4th Trial: Crime of Violence to the Final Verdict 73 Film Studies: Body in Close Shots 74 Special Effects by 3D and 4D Film Technology 75 Heteroglossia and Spectacles 76 Conclusion: From Aristotle’s Cave Metaphor to Mimicking Real Life Behaviours via Cinematic Technology 77 Ready Player One 78 Cinematic Effects 78 Audiences’ Response 79 Works Cited 82 Chapter 4: Myth and Levi-Strauss: Taiwan Musical The Classic of Mountains and Seas & Chinese Film The Monkey King: Kingdom of Women 84 Introduction 84 Myth by 3D and CGI 85 Adapt Myth to Retheatricalize Theatre and Film 86 Levi-Strauss’ Myth and Meaning 87 Musical Theater Classic of Mountains and Seas 87 Literature Review 89 Creative Design 90 Film The Monkey King: Kingdom of Women 91 Love Poetry Song with Buddhist Philosophy 93 Film Cinematography 95 Comparison with the Original Novel 96 Theatricalize the Film via Special Effects of Cinematography 97 Conclusion 97 Works Cited 99 Part II: Asian American Play, Asian Theatre, and Musical Theater 101 Chapter 5: Face, Race, and Performance: Arousal by Face and Identity Transformation 102 Introduction 102 Identity and Performance 103 Humanity to Animality via Makeup 103 Face, Race, and Performance 104 (1) Miss Saigon Dispute and Yellow Face 105 The Miss Saigon Dispute in Casting the Vietnamese Pimp Role 105 Yellow Face: Face and Race, Intertwined with Reality and Fiction 106 Online Youtube Films and Broadway Stage Performance 106 History, Politics, Race and Face 108 Intriguing Issues 109 Revenge by Writing the Play to Retell History by His Story 112 (2) The Lion King, Cats, and War Paint 113 The Lion King: Masks and Race 113 Inspiration from Asian Theatre Tradition 115 Cut the Racism Song in Cats 116 Identity Politics and the Dilemma 116 Makeup Cosmetic War in War Paint 117 Pink vs. White 118 Makeup and Surgery 119 (3) Jekyll & Hyde & So On 119 Arousal by Face and Identity Transformation in Global Asia 119 Bizarre and Hilarious 120 Exaggerated Makeup 121 Symbol of Sex 123 Arousal and Audience Response 124 Creative Process 125 Conclusion 125 Works Cited 128 Cinematography 129 Chapter 6: Dance Tango and Sing for Revenge in Chicago and The Visit 130 Introduction 130 Chicago: Female Stars Dance and Sing for Revenge 131 The Visit: “Love and Love Alone” 132 Argument and Exploration 133 Chicago: Mocks on Murder 135 The Visit: Grotesque Parable of Revenge 136 Chicago: Vaudeville Show 137 The Visit: A Satire on Justice 139 Literary Reviews and Comments 140 Chicago: From Vaudeville to MTV by Film Editing to Sing Victory 140 Chicago: Dia-Chronicle Dynastic History 141 The Visit: Can Justice Be Got Without Money? 142 Conclusion 144 Works Cited 147 Part III: TV Drama, Robot Theatre and AI Films 148 Chapter 7: Theatre, Performance, and Popular Story of Yanxi Palace 149 Theories of Performance Studies, Feminism, and Popular Culture 149 Synopsis: Speak Out in the Popular TV Drama 149 Popular Culture, History, Self-Referentiality 150 Adaptation, not an Authentic History, but a Hyperreal 152 Comparison with Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace 153 Performance of Chinese Beijing Opera and Ritual 154 Practice of Everyday Life in Performance Studies and Cultural Studies 156 Power and Surveillance 157 Popular Music and Catharsis 158 Feminism Desire and Female Pleasure 159 Post-Dramatic Theatre and Self-Reflexivity 160 Post-Feminism and Pop Culture 160 Conclusion: Popularity in Performance and Popular Culture 162 Works Cited 164 Chapter 8: Hakka Theatre: Roseki Taipei Singer 165 Introduction: Hakka Theater Roseki 165 Play-Within-the-Play 165 Lyuu’s Brief Bio 166 Theories & Post-colonialism 166 The Protagonist Lyuu Heh-Ruo 167 One Actor Plays Multiple Roles 167 Lyuu’s Life and His Literature Works Are Inter-twined 168 Lyuu’s Novels and Short Stories 170 Play-Within-the-Play, Multiple Roles 172 The Other and Abjection 173 Postcolonial Feminism 173 Stage Design of Minimalism 174 Worse Exploitation and Oppression 175 Music, Songs, Stage Design 178 Conclusion 179 Works Cited 180 YouTube Films 182 Chapter 9: Robot Theatre and AI Films 183 Introduction 183 Development of Humannoids in Performance 184 AI Trend and AI Policy 185 Robot Theater Performance: Metamorphosis: Android Version 185 Development of the Geminoids 188 The Theory of Uncanny Valley 189 “Robot Actor Project” 190 Android-Human Theatre 190 Some Robot Performances 191 Three Sisters and the Other Robot Theater Performances 191 Robot Theater Performance Sayonara 193 Human Actors Play the Roles of Robots 195 Humans Accept or Reject AI Robots? 195 AI Robots Films 195 Simulacra, Cloning, Film Comments 202 Simulacra in AI Robot Films 203 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 206 AI with No Alluring Female Body but Voice 206 Image Synthesis 207 AI Holographic Simulacra 209 Conclusion 210 Works Cited 212 Cinematography 214 Chapter 10: Conclusion 215 Main Points in Each Chapter 216 Future Research Plan 221 Works Cited 222 Index 223 'Iris Tuan's book is wide ranging in scope and diversity, examining theatre, music, film and television productions from both Western and Asian countries. Tuan also surveys an extensive range of critical and theoretical perspectives, especially from performance studies and popular cultural studies, to offer context for her descriptions of the many different works. Some of her examples are well-known while others little known outside their place of origin -- all are approached by the author with enthusiasm.' --Susan Bennett, Professor of English, University of Calgary, Canada 'Tuan takes us through multiple examples of contemporary popular performance in theatre/film/TV ranging from "high" art sources to "low" ones. The reader moves at a speed-dating pace through contemporary culture production and interpretive theories, encountering significant works, controversies, and conundrums selected from China, Korea, Japan and the U. S. and filtered through a Taiwanese female gaze.' --Kathy Foley, Professor of Theatre Arts, University of California Santa Cruz, USA Applying the theories of Popular Culture, Visual Culture, Performance Studies, (Post)Feminism, and Film Studies, this interdisciplinary and well-crafted book leads you to the fascinating and intriguing world of popular film, (musical) theatre, and TV drama. It explores the classical and contemporary cases of the literature works, both Eastern and Western, adapted, represented and transformed into the interesting artistic medium in films, performances, TV dramas, musicals, and AI robot theatre/films. Iris H. Tuan is Professor at National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. She received her Ph.D. in Theater from UCLA and has been a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University. Tuan's selected publications include papers published by Asian Theatre Journal, and nine books, including Translocal Performance in Asian Theatre and Film, Intercultural Theatre: Adaptation and Representation, Western Canon in Taiwan Theatre, Alternative Theater in Taiwan, and Transnational Performance, Identity, and Mobility in Asia (edited with Ivy I-chu Chang). Tuan is the recipient of NCTU Outstanding Research Awards. 'Iris Tuans book is wide ranging in scope and diversity, examining theatre, music, film and television productions from both Western and Asian countries. Tuan also surveys an extensive range of critical and theoretical perspectives, especially from performance studies and popular cultural studies, to offer context for her descriptions of the many different works. Some of her examples are well-known while others little known outside their place of origin -- all are approached by the author with enthusiasm. --Susan Bennett, Professor of English, University of Calgary, Canada 'Tuan takes us through multiple examples of contemporary popular performance in theatre/film/TV ranging from "high" art sources to "low" ones. The reader moves at a speed-dating pace through contemporary culture production and interpretive theories, encountering significant works, controversies, and conundrums selected from China, Korea, Japan and the U.S. and filtered through a Taiwanese female gaze. --Kathy Foley, Professor of Theatre Arts, University of California Santa Cruz, USA Applying the theories of Popular Culture, Visual Culture, Performance Studies, (Post)Feminism, and Film Studies, this interdisciplinary and well-crafted book leads you to the fascinating and intriguing world of popular film, (musical) theatre, and TV drama. It explores the classical and contemporary cases of the literature works, both Eastern and Western, adapted, represented and transformed into the interesting artistic medium in films, performances, TV dramas, musicals, and AI robot theatre/films. Iris H. Tuan is Professor at National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. She received her Ph. D. in Theater from UCLA and has been a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University. Tuans selected publications include papers published by Asian Theatre Journal, and nine books, including Translocal Performance in Asian Theatre and Film, Intercultural Theatre: Adaptation and Representation, Western Canon in Taiwan Theatre, Alternative Theater in Taiwan, and Transnational Performance, Identity, and Mobility in Asia (edited with Ivy I-chu Chang). Tuan is the recipient of NCTU Outstanding Research Awards Applying the theories of Popular Culture, Visual Culture, Performance Studies, (Post)Feminism, and Film Studies, this interdisciplinary and well-crafted book leads you to the fascinating and intriguing world of popular film, (musical) theatre, and TV drama. It explores the classical and contemporary cases of the literature works, both Eastern and Western, adapted, represented and transformed into the interesting artistic medium in films, performances, TV dramas, musicals, and AI robot theatre/films. 'Iris Tuan's book is wide ranging in scope and diversity, examining theatre, music, film and television productions from both Western and Asian countries. Tuan also surveys an extensive range of critical and theoretical perspectives, especially from performance studies and popular cultural studies, to offer context for her descriptions of the many different works. Some of her examples are well-known (Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet , Disney's The Lion King ) while others little known outside their place of origin (such as the Hakka Theatre of Taiwan) — all are approached by the author with enthusiasm.' — Susan Bennett , Professor of English, University of Calgary, Canada 'Tuan takes us through multiple examples of contemporary popular performance in theatre/film/TV ranging from "high" art sources (Shakespeare or Journey to the Wes t in films, Hirata's robotic theatre experiments) to "low" (Taiwanese TV soap operas Hakka Theatre: Roseki and Story of Yangxi Palace, Korean film Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds ). The reader moves at a speed-dating pace through contemporary culture production and interpretive theories, encountering significant works, controversies (i. e., yellow face), and conundrums selected from China, Korea, Japan and the U. S. and filtered through a Taiwanese female gaze.' — Kathy Foley , Professor of Theatre Arts, University of California Santa Cruz, USA Applying the theories of Popular Culture, Visual Culture, Performance Studies, (Post)Feminism, and Film Studies, this interdisciplinary and well-crafted book leads you to the fascinating and intriguing world of popular film, (musical) theatre, and TV drama. It explores the classical and contemporary cases of the literature works, both Eastern and Western, adapted, represented and transformed into the interesting artistic medium in films, performances, TV dramas, musicals, and AI robot theatre/films. 0'Iris Tuan's book is wide ranging in scope and diversity, examining theatre, music, film and television productions from both Western and Asian countries. Tuan also surveys an extensive range of critical and theoretical perspectives, especially from performance studies and popular cultural studies, to offer context for her descriptions of the many different works. Some of her examples are well-known (Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, Disney's The Lion King) while others little known outside their place of origin (such as the Hakka Theatre of Taiwan) -- all are approached by the author with enthusiasm.' 0-Susan Bennett, Professor of English, University of Calgary, Canada 0 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxv Introduction: Popular Visual Culture in Film, Theatre and TV Drama (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 1-6 Front Matter ....Pages 7-7 Shakespeare and Popular Culture: Romeo and Juliet in Film and Pop Music (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 9-39 Represent Afterlife and Replay Habitus: Performance via Spectacle in the Korean Film Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 41-63 Myth and Levi-Strauss: Taiwan Musical The Classic of Mountains and Seas & Chinese Film The Monkey King: Kingdom of Women (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 65-81 Front Matter ....Pages 83-83 Face, Race, and Performance: Arousal by Face and Identity Transformation (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 85-112 Dance Tango and Sing for Revenge in Chicago and The Visit (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 113-130 Front Matter ....Pages 131-131 Theatre, Performance, and Popular Story of Yanxi Palace (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 133-148 Hakka Theatre: Roseki Taipei Singer (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 149-166 Robot Theatre and AI Films (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 167-198 Conclusion (Iris H. Tuan)....Pages 199-206 Back Matter ....Pages 207-210