Theorizing Colonial Cinema

The relationship between film and European colonialism still defines the national character of Asian cinema. Using a film-critical and film-historical approach, Theorizing Colonial Cinema reframes mainstream perspectives by looking outward from the colonies themselves rather than focusing on Europe's imperial histories and archives about the colonies. Contributors pinpoint various forms of devaluation and misrecognition that have resulted within the region as well as outside it and, tragically, continue to relegate local voices to the margins. A fascinating read combining film and Asian studies, Theorizing Colonial Cinema reveals new contexts within film theory, history, and ideologies as it centers the question of the colonial perspective and emphasizes how the present is constantly entangled with the colonial past.