Taylor-Jones, K.E. orcid.org/0000-0002-4335-3119 (2018) Girlhood, bride-kidnapping and the postsocialist moment in Mángshān (Blind Mountain) (Li, 2007) and Boz Salkyn (Pure Coolness) (Abdyjaparov, 2007). Asian Cinema, 29 (2). pp. 225-242. ISSN 1059-440X
Abstract
China and Kyrgyzstan are at the point of national development where the interplay between a national past and a globalised future are still hotly debated. Both nations are at the crux of the global questions related to the universal dilemmas posed by the collapse of the revolutionary socialist challenge to the hegemony of capitalism (Sakwa 1999). This article will examine the interplay between gender and the vision of postsocialist modernity that is found in two films. Blind Mountain (Li, 2007) and Pure Coolness (Abdyjaparov, 2007) both present the respective stories of teenagers forced into marriage as part of a "tradition" that is supported by the broader local community (as opposed to been the act of an individual male kidnapper). I will explore how the girl simultaneously represents a vision of a localised space while operating as an indicative sign of cultural difference. In short, she is the site of the transmission of ideals of gender and modernity between moments in national development. We, therefore, see the girl caught in the crosshair of modernity, sexuality, tradition, nostalgia and capitalism in communities that, as will be explored, are struggling to find a sense of self in the Asian post-socialist moment.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 Intellect. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Asian Cinema. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | bride culture; bride kidnap; China; Kyrgstan; film; postsocialism |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of East Asian Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 18 May 2018 09:58 |
Last Modified: | 01 Oct 2019 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Intellect |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1386/ac.29.2.225_1 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:130996 |