• Title/Summary/Keyword: Fantastic

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A Declaration of Love all the Same: Chicago and Modern Boy

  • Lee, Yujung
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.20
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    • pp.241-274
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    • 2010
  • Due to the remarkable changes in the early twentieth century, the new invention and technology impacted peoples' everyday lives and people started to use the word, modern, to apply specifically to what pertained to present times and to designate a movement in what was new and not old-fashioned-a condition of newness. In the present day, however, the fantastic cultural changes of a century ago have now become commonplace, and what was once considered radically new is no longer a reason to marvel. This paper considers what it mean to be modern, once the new is no longer new. This question seems to remain as complicated and inappropriate to ponder because the consideration and impact of modernity cannot simply end with the end of an era. This paper investigates how the interconnected nature of popular culture provides apt illustrations to reveal the ambivalent nature of modernity and postmodernity. In doing so, first of all, this paper pays attentions to the notion of modernity and popular culture which emerged together in the early twentieth century when technology and mass consumer culture were promoted over the world. Also, it examines how popular culture represents a complex of mutually-interdependent perspectives and values that influence society and its institutions in various ways as the image of modernity continues to build in a postmodern era. That is, popular culture is identified as a large amount of intertextuality or collective experiences due to its intermingling of complementary distribution sources and techonology. Thus, this paper explores that popular culture devotes itself other images or narratives instead of referring to the real world and its output revisits the contemporary or past times in other places, being a means to produce and reproduce the accumulated images of the modern which shapes ceaseless simulacra of modernity over complexities of modernity. In order to find a critical juncture of the complex networks of modernity and popular culture, this paper considers two places, Chicago and Gyeongsung in the 1920s and 1930s in which the rapid modern experience took place and the modern movement forced the two societies to join the mass consumer culture whether willingly or not. Next, this paper considers two movies released in 2002 and 2008 that exemplify the complexities of modernity in Chicago and Gyeongung of the 1920s and 30s: Chicago and Modern Boy. Both films have common themes of the 1920s and 30s such as violence, adultery, femme fatal, and criminal themes with the forms of musical, dance, drama, and romance. Through the textual analysis of both Chicago and Modern Boy, two films are compared in observing the similar and different ways in which two films deal with the theme of modernity when they are represented from the contemporary perspectives. More specifically, this paper questions how modernity is present in contemporary cultural forms such as commercial and hybrid genre films; and how these movies create a new image of modern by embodying the double coding. Ultimately, this paper aims at realizing the paradox of double edged modernity and its ongoing discourse that controls people's consciousness through the medium of popular culture.

A Study on Development of Chinese xian-xia films and its Space Aesthetics in the 21st Century -Foucuse on Journey to the West films (21세기 중국 선협영화의 발전 및 그 공간 미학 연구 - 서유기류 작품을 중심으로)

  • Kim, Bo-Kyong
    • Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.115-120
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    • 2019
  • Chinese xian-xia films is a new genre that occurred through the fusion of the genre of martial arts and fantasy. This study analyzed the development of xian-xia films and the space aesthetics of xian-xia films through the miseenscene of the journey to the west films. In particular, the space for xian-xia in the films is divided into the human, urinary, heaven world and the space of conflict. It looks like the fantastic Middle Earth that Tolkien presented, however it is discriminatory in that it shows a highly Chinese appearance and overlapping world centered on the natural environment (the world of Mountains and Livers), such as mountains, deserts, caves, and grasslands, which usually appears in traditional martial arts history. Resently, the boom of journey to the west films is regarded as the change of the Chinese film industry under the influence of the development of IP (Intellectual Property) industry and the western fantasy genre in the 21st century China. This change marks the birth of the new Chinese fantasy "xian-xia" genre with the spirit of the present era that transcends the original world of journey to the west through the hybridization of the genre.

A Study on the Theory of Action by Vakhangov and Michael Chekhov (박탄고프와 미카엘 체홉의 연기론 고찰)

  • Do, Jung-Nim;Park, Yi-Seul
    • Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.133-144
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    • 2020
  • This study is a new proposal for the methods of actor training and role creation in the contemporary theater and an approach to the practical utilization of the performer, regarding the actor's 'presence' as the essence of living arts, a peculiarity of theater. As the method for this, this study sorts out Vakhangov and Mikhail Chekhov's elements of acting techniques and at the same time, allows an easier approach to the theoretical concept based on the performance records found in the developmental process. The magic realism and the technique of acting discussed in priority in this study emphasize the importance of the exploration and realization of artistic inspiration in everyday life, the actor's imagination and image, and unconsciousness as a method for creating new actors and diversifying their roles. When their common views are summed up, the goals to achieve include a study of a creative method in which outer form and inner truth are combined and the implementation of a new system for creating the individual actor's originality. This study would classify the similarities and differences found through this, reveal the limit of practical efficacy and propose it as a universal method for creating the roles, asking for the actor's voluntary training and active attitudes.

A Study on the Problem of Organic Image in the 20th Post-paintings (20세기 후기회화에 있어서 유기 이미지의 문제)

  • Park Ji-Sook
    • Journal of Science of Art and Design
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    • v.3
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    • pp.145-177
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    • 2001
  • The artist's interest has been captivated by ecological phenomena in Nature. Her keen captivation has then been focused into plastic art depicting the image of primitive life. The wide sweep of her work encompasses the totality of nature which consists of the human's subconscious power and imagination which she then portrays by organic images. These organic images are in contrast to scientific, mathematical and logical inference and consciousness. This research examines the character of the organic images in modern art by her analysis of some representative works by others. The image is an essential concept in the art which appeared in very different ways and in different perspectives. The image in the artwork appears to be the realistic expression until the early part of the 20th Century. Well into the 20th Century, it began being expressed in various ways such as combined images by imagination which is combined or rejected in the story of artwork. It also began being expressed by transferred images by changed original conditions. It is the main purpose of this research is to study of various expressions of organic images in the artwork of the Post-Modernism era. The character and meaning of organic image painting helps people to approach the human instinct more easily to find out the natural essence. It is also an objective of the organic image to tenderise our human sensibilities, thus helping us to regain vitality and recover our poor humanity in the barren wilderness of modern society. 'Life communion with nature' is a meeting point and common ground for Oriental Philosophy and organic image painting. Through this research, organic image painting is characterised in the four following ways : 1st) Organic image painting seeks regularity and perfection of outer shapes, in contrast to disordered and deformed nature, resulting in organic and biotic formalistic mode of plastic art. 2nd) Organic image painting seeks the formative. 3rd) Organic image painting pursues the priceless dignity of life by researching the formatted arrangement and figure, which contains primitive power of life. 4th) Organic image painting makes crystal clear the power of human and nature, which is a historic and biological phenomenon. This, in turn, exposes the humanistic view of the world from modern society best characterised in lost self-understanding, isolation and materialism. The representative organic image painting artists are Elizabeth Murray, Kusama Yayoi, and Niki do Saint Phalle. Elizabeth Murray used shaped canvas and a round construction of relief works. Kusama Yayoi used Automatistic expressionism originating from the realms of unconsciousness and which is represented by the mass and shape of a water drop. Niki do Saint Phalle shows the transcendence of universal life and anti-life to respect the dignity of life and the eco-friendliness relationship of human and nature in the post-modernism in art history. This is accomplished by surrealistic, symbolic, fantastic and humoristic expression. These three artists' works express the spirit of the organic image in contemporary art. It contains the stream of nature and life to seek not only the state of materialism in the reality, but also the harmonized world of nature and human which has almost lost the important meaning in modern times. Finally, this organic image is the plastic language of the majestic life. It is the romantic idea that the intimacy of nature and the universe and Surrealism, which emphasizes the unconsciousness , is the source of truth and spirit. Also it is influenced by primitive art and abstract art. According to this research, the subject 'Research About Organic Images' is not only an important element in the plastic arts from primitive society to the present, but is also fundamental to an true understanding of Post-Modernism.

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The Study on the Role of 3D Animated Pre-visualization in VFX FilmProduction (VFX 영화 제작을 위한 3D animatied Pre-visualization(3D애니메이티드 사전시각화)의 역할에 관한 연구)

  • Park, Sung-Ho
    • Cartoon and Animation Studies
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    • s.51
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    • pp.293-319
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    • 2018
  • Thanks to the advancement of the related technologies and equipment, today's video contents like movies, animations and soap operas are rapidly expanding their expressible cinematic imagination area. In order to fulfill the elevated visual expectations of audiences and realize exciting storytelling and fantastic world, the fusion of different techniques is actively used, and the reality for visual effects and image synthesis is increasing more and more. Accordingly, recent VFX-oriented movies using CG have a much more complicated production process than before. Therefore, the importance of Pre-visualization, aka Pre-vis is becoming bigger in the planning process for sophisticated design. Pre-vis means that the advance visualization for stories or directing ideas in the planning process before starting production of movies or animations. 3D animated Pre-visualization realizing directors' abstract and ambiguous ideas in 3 dimensional environment in advance is, as a powerful means for visual storytelling, briskly used focusing on the VFX film industry on which the present CG is broadly used, and the role of Pre-vis throughout productions has increased compared to the past. The studies, however, on the role and utility of Pre-vis are not enough. Therefore, this study was conducted on the role of Pre-vis used for present VFX movie productions using the examples of 3D animated Pre-visualization production in which the researcher of this study participated. In this study, the role of the Pre-vis that is subdivided presently, is divided into and 3D animatics and their each role is analyzed with the example images. Through this, the characteristics that Pre-vis should have are clarified and the concept of the advantages and utility led by the use of Pre-vis in productions is strengthened. The goal of this study is to induce active uses of Pre-vis throughout productions after forming consensus about the various roles of Pre-vis and their utility.

The Image of Changgyeongwon and Culture of Pleasure Grounds during the Japanese Colonial Period (일제강점기 창경원의 이미지와 유원지 문화)

  • Kim, Jeoung-Eun
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.43 no.6
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    • pp.1-15
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    • 2015
  • Changgyeongwon emerged as pleasure grounds following the creation of a museum, zoo and botanical garden in Changgyeonggung Palace during the Japanese colonial period. Pleasure grounds offer space for entertainment and have maintained the image of a paradise apart from reality. This study examined the creation process of pleasure grounds within a royal palace and the following spatial changes. By analyzing the image of Changgyeongwon as an artificial paradise, this study explored its landscape and cultural aspects. Literature reviews on the intention and process showed that the Changgyeongwon pleasure grounds were created as a 'royal garden' for the amusement of Sunjong, as well as 'public pleasure grounds' in the process of colonization. It was one of the first public spaces open to everyone who could afford the entrance fee. The layout of Changgyeongwon was studied by a comparison and analyzation of modern plans and photographs. It was composed of the central museum zone, northern botanical garden zone, and southern zoological garden zone. A conservatory and greenhouse to exhibit and maintain tropical plants were intensively built in the botanical garden zone while an aviary was created on the zoo pond. In the vicinity of the aviary a vivarium was constructed. Museum exhibition facilities included a main building as well as existing buildings, and a western flower garden was created between the buildings. Space for children including a playground and horse-riding course were created in the 1930's. The paradisiacal image and pleasure grounds culture of Changgyeongwon were studied as follows. Firstly, it shows that Changgyeongwon's paradisiacal image where rare animals and exotic plants were open to the public was promoted by the zoo and botanical garden. This led to the creation of new popular leisure activities such as flower appreciation and animal watching. Secondly, Changgyeongwon offered an urban leisure space, symbolizing the 'non-urban nature within the city' where the urban residents could escape from the daily routine. Thirdly, Changgyeongwon was known for its 'fantastic night landscape' by its night opening during the cherry blossom season. This cherry blossom viewing at night sadly degenerated by various shows and drinking, and as a result, an image of a deviant paradise was given to Changgyeongwon. Changgyeongwon contributed to creating a new space with its diverse facilities, and the public embraced the urban culture through experiences of pleasure and entertainment.

Landscape Gardening Culture in Late Joseon Dynasty Depicted in 'Ahoi-do' Paintings (아회도(雅會圖)에 나타난 조선후기 원림문화)

  • Lim, Eui-Je;So, Hyun-Su
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.46-57
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    • 2014
  • This study contemplated the gardening culture from the pictures, which the scholars of late Joseon Dynasty, the aspects of garden landscapes and garden use behaviors are drawn as follows. 1. The yard by the detached house for men and guest in front of the premises(Sarang Madang) and backyard were the major places for Ahoi(social gatherings of the scholars). The mansions had interests in the management of the outer garden beyond the house wall with building structures like the pavilions on the high walls and side gates. This management and the selection of location anticipating in advance of the management are noteworthy. 2. Only house gardens had plant pots with flowers and the small flower bed(Hwa-O) at Sarang Madang occasionally had plant pots without flowers and oddly shaped stone pots and equipped pine branch eaves and traditional awnings made of plant material like a trellis. 3. The oddly shaped stones were significant landscape elements in the gardens of houses and villas. Some of them were depicted as the Taihu stone and this draws attention to the question of whether the Taihu stone was actually used in the garden of late Joseon Dynasty. 4. The gardens in villas accommodated the borrowed scenery with various materials like wooden fences, bamboo or reed fences, mud walls. They also had the artificial gardens with some odd shaped stones, old pines, bamboos, Japanese apricots, willows, paulownia trees, lotuses and plantains in the secured Madangs. 5. Gyeong Hwa Sa Jog(The scholars of the ruling class adapted to the 18th century's new historical aspect) of late Joseon Dynasty built the villas at the beautiful scenery closed to the their houses. 6. The Gardens around pavilions were located high closed to the mountain streams with nature like beautiful forests, oddly formed rocks, precipitous cliffs and viewing stones. The back side of the pavilion was enclosed by bamboo forests and the front had pines, ginkgoes and willows as shade trees. 7. The beautiful scenery which was preferred as the place for Ahoi was basically with fantastic peaks and precipitous cliffs which forms the distant view harmonized with a waterfall. Broad and flat rocks at the summit of a mountain which commands a bird's-eye view or on a mountain streamside with pine forest, willows and plum trees were chosen as the optimal places for Ahoi. 8. Pine trees were presumed to be more preferable than other species in the garden, especially an single planted old pine tree accented symbolism. 9. Portable tea braziers for boiling tea were adopted in all four types of the gardens. 10. The gardens mixed with auspicious landscape elements were the places of the arts for an unworldliness Ahoi through GeumGiSeoHwa(enjoying strings, go, writing and painting) and boiling tea.

Magical Realism of Korean Independent Animation (한국독립애니메이션 <무림일검의 사생활>에 나타난 마술적 사실주의)

  • Cho, Young-Eun;Seo, Chae-Hwan
    • Cartoon and Animation Studies
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    • s.39
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    • pp.59-83
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    • 2015
  • Magical realism, blooming and improving in Latin America, opened the new vision about reality and rationalism, coming out from the out-styled frame of past. While having common points with unrealistic literature, which uses fantastical components, magical realism is different from Surrealism and fantasy literature that is focusing on reality and realizing reality intensely. In the early stage of this research, magical realism was restricted by the characteristics of literature of Latin America, but the research of magical realism is expanding in planning Post-Modernism nowadays. Lately, the influence of magical realism is identified in literatures, arts, films, and animations over the world; according to the research, however, research about magical realism in animations was not done in Korea before. A Korean independent animation "A coffee vending machine and its sword" was evaluated positively in many international film festivals is valuable as the research of magical realism. Throughout this study, this animation "A coffee vending machine and its sword" was analyzed by its narrative and images. The analysis of narrative consists two parts. One is about the form of narrative and the other is about contents through the story. Analysis of Image is also divided into two parts: background image and character image. In this animation, the protagonist is narrating about the fantastic accidents in his life and his own feelings towards it. The narration leads audience to understand his situation and feelings in meta-fiction. On the surface, audience watches the love story of a normal girl and coffee vending machine in this artwork, but deep inside the animation, it is visible that the directors tried to make audiences think about the life of 880,000-won Generation in Korea. The background image was represented as real places in Seoul including the landmark of Seoul, making mimesis of reality in Korea. The character image has two conflicting aspects with reincarnated warrior, Jinyoungyoung and a coffee vending machine. It is a hybrid-character transmogrifying between two characters. Likewise, "A coffee vending machine and its sword" has the characteristics of Korean magical realism through form, content and image. Through analyzing the Korean independent animation "A coffee vending machine and its sword", this research tried to find a way of using factors of fantasy, of representing reality as a dramatic device and of using magical realism of Korean animation for bond of sympathy with audience.

The post-epic characteristics in Jan Lauwers' theatre -, and - (얀 라우어스(Jan Lauwers) 공연의 탈서사적 특징들 -<이사벨라의 방(Isabella's Room)>, <랍스터 가게(The Lobster Shop)>, <사슴의 집(Deer House)>을 중심으로-)

  • Nam, Jisoo
    • Journal of Korean Theatre Studies Association
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    • no.48
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    • pp.447-484
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    • 2012
  • This study aims to analyze the characteristics of post-epic theatre in the Belgian theatre director Jan Lauwers' trilogy titled in "Happy Face/Sad Face": (2004), (2006) and (2008). I regard that it played a very important junction for him to create his own theatrical style compared to earlier years. From this period, Lauwers has tried to create his original plays in order to concentrate the story of our era and has showed to combine a variety of media such as dance, installation, video, singing etc. In this context, I would like to study his own theatricality from the three perspectives of dramaturgy, directing and acting largely based on Hans-Thies Lehmann's theory of post-epic theatre, who pointed out the significance of Lauwer's theatrical leading role very early. First, from the dramaturgical point of view, we need to pay attention to the theme of translunary death; where the living and the dead coexist on the stage. In fact, death is the theme that Lauwers has been struggling to research for quite long time. In his trilogy, the dead never exits the stage. The dead, who is not a representative tragic character, even meddles the things among or with the living and provide comments to people. As a consequence, it happens to reduce a dramaturgical strong tension, leads depreciation of suspense and produces humanism in a way. This approach helps to create his unique comical theatrical atmosphere even though he deals with the contemporary tragic issues such as war, horror and death. Second, from the directing point of view, it is worth to take a look at the polyphonic strategy in terms to applying various media. Among all the things, the arts of dancing and singing in chorus are actively applied in Lauwer's trilogy. The dance is used in individual and microscopic way, on the other hand, singing shows collective and is a macroscopic quality. The dance is the representing media to show Lauwer's simultaneous microscopic mise-en-scene. While main plot takes place around the center-stage, actors perform a dance around the off-centered stage. Instead of exiting from the stage during the performance, the actors would continue dance -sometimes more like movements- around the off-centered stage. This not only describes the narrative, but also shows how each character is engaged to the main plot or incident, and how they look into it as a character. Its simultaneous microscopic mise-en-scene intends to function such as: showing a variety moments of lives, amplifying some moments or incidents, revealing character's emotion, creating illusionary theatrical atmosphere and so on. Meanwhile, singing simple lyrics and tunes are an example of the media to stimulate the audiences' catharsis. As the simple melody lingers in the audiences' mind, it ends up delivering a theatrical message or theme after the performance. This message would be transferred from the singing in chorus functions as a sort of leitmotive in order to make an impression to the audience. This not only richens their emotion but also creates an illusionary effect. Third, from the acting perspective, I'd like to point out the "detachment" aesthetic which Lehmann has pointed out. The actors never go deep into the drama by consistently doing recognize a theatrical illusion. The audience happens to pay attention to their presence through the actor's deliberate gesture, business, movement, rhythm, language, dance etc. The actors are against forming closed action by speaking in various languages or by revealing deliberately stage directions or acts, and by creating expressive mise-en-scene with multiple media. As a consequent, the stage can be transformed to not a metaphoric but a metonymic place. These actions are the ultimate intention for a direct effect to the audience. So to speak, Lauwers uses the anti-illusionary theatrical method: the scenes of fantastic death, interruption of singing and dance, speaking many kinds of languages, acting in detachment-status and so on. These strategies function to make cracks in spectators' desire who has a desire to construct a linear narrative. I'd like to say that it is the numerous potentiality to let the reality penetrate though and collide the reality with a fiction. By doing so, it induces for spectators to see the reality in the fiction. As Lehmann says, "when theatre presents itself as a sketch and not as a finished painting, the spectators are given the chance to feel their own presence, to reflect on it, and to contribute to the unfinished character themselves". In this sense the spectators can perform an objective criticism on our society and world in Lauwer's theatre because there are a number of gaps and cracks in his theatrical illusion where reality can penetrate. This is also the point that we can find out the artists' responsibility in this era of our being.

The Style and Cultural Significance of Film Color White (영화색채 하양의 활용 양상과 문화적 의미)

  • Kim, Jong-Guk
    • Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.187-198
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    • 2020
  • With the cultural background of whiteness I did examine the universal meaning of absolute good, the special of psychosis, and the fantastic of femininity and memory/record. As an example I analyzed the symbolic meaning of white used in Korean films. Unconditional goodness, white as a generality: White color in all the films of good-evil confrontation falls into this category. The most obvious and the simplest configuration are the black-white dichotomy. In Nameless Gangster: Rules of Time(2011), The Merciless(2016), Asura: The City of Madness(2016) and The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos(2019), white is the absolute good but it is not limited to a fair key figure. Paradoxically, black is not given only to the side of absolute evil. White is used to be a flexible visual device that reflects the socio-political situation without changing the meaning of the general good. Psychosis and pills, white as a peculiarity: The visual function that emphasizes sado-masochism in the absolute good and the universal symbol of white extends to psychotic specificities such as hysteria. In all the films creating horror, white symbolizes the mentally disabled and the pill for healing. Femininity and haunted white: White of absolute good is expressed by the socio-cultural tendency of femininity and the black-white contrast of vision is applied to the gender difference. In general the women's sexuality is emphasized in color red, but white is arranged in the background. In TaeGukGi: Brotherhood Of War(2004), 71: Into The Fire(2010), My Way(2011), The Front Line(2011), Roaring Currents(2014), Northern Limit Line(2015), The Battle: Roar to Victory(2019) and Battle of Jangsari(2019), white given to female figures sticks to the traditional femininity such as motherhood, sacrifice and weakness. The concept of specters is applied to desires, memories/records, history, fantasy, virtual/reality and social media images. The film history capturing to list memories and moments brings up the specters of socio-political genealogy. Most of films aiming for socio-political change are its examples and white constituting Mise-en-scene records to remember a historical event in Peppermint Candy(2000), The Attorney(2013) and A Taxi Driver(2017).