Intersections and Solos
Additionally, this week we will be progressing further with our discussions of the nature of identity and the various and sundry ways that it can be expressed and complicated. Looking at Kim and Spoon in particular, we already note that power dynamics can be rather fluid with regards to both issues of race/racisms and patriarchy. What might we gain from looking at the interactions between these two? Do they speak back to what we saw with regards to Afro and Otsuru?
Our screening on Thursday is of a particularly eyebrow raising episode of Shinichiro Watanabe's 1998 series, Cowboy Bebop. To facilitate our discussions of this series, it will behoove us to become familiar with elements of the cinematic movement, Blaxploitation (which we discussed briefly in relation to Afro Samurai). We will be engaging in some extended conversations of the tropes attendant to the genre, yes, but in conjunction, we will also be addressing and assessing the role of Jazz as aesthetic and soundtrack in the context of the series. Come prepared to talk through a lot! |
For those interested, I have opted to share a copy of an unpublished paper I presented at an academic conference (National Association of African American Studies, or NAAAS) in 2013 that speaks to some of the themes we will be touching on in relation to Yamada's Bedtime Eyes...
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