The Rambling Guitarist – Gender, Genre And Archetypes In Nikkatsu Action’s Mukokuseki Eiga

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Main author: Green, Laurence
Format: Journal Article           
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id eprints-33083
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description For Japan's oldest film studio Nikkatsu, the late-'50s and early-'60s represented a rapidly evolving, cosmopolitan playground in which Eastern and Western influences could be collided together in an explosive mix that ultimately resulted in movies that felt quite apart from either. These were the mukokuseki eiga (borderless or of no nationality), typified by Nikkatsu's nine-part wataridori (wanderer) series produced from 1959-1962. The first film in the series, The Rambling Guitarist ( Gitaa o motta wataridori), stands as a prime candidate through which to better understand the precise appeal of these films as well as the way their settings and characters captured a new, worldly aesthetic. Through a close analysis of The Rambling Guitarist, and more specifically, the way it presents and challenges various gender archetypes, this essay will look to present a snapshot of what Nikkatsu Action represented, straddling the borderline between two camps; East and West, old and new, tradition and modernity.
format Journal Article
author Green, Laurence
author_facet Green, Laurence
authorStr Green, Laurence
author_letter Green, Laurence
title The Rambling Guitarist – Gender, Genre And Archetypes In Nikkatsu Action’s Mukokuseki Eiga
publisher SOAS University of London
publishDate 2020
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/33083/

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