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Hello and welcome! Here's the index post for Beyond Victoriana, my weekly blog series about non-Eurocentric steampunk, which updates every Sunday. I encourage you to read the announcement post for more details about this series.
Have a suggestion? Know something nifty that you want to see featured here? Drop a line on the announcement post or e-mail me at attic [dot] hermit [at] gmail [dot] com.
Beyond Victoriana is also mirrored on LiveJournal. Both site links are included here.
The Index
Announcing Beyond Victoriana DW LJ
#1 Technology Eastward DW LJ
#2 The Great Nemo Debate DW LJ
#3 Boilerplate: Readdressing the Victorian Era DW LJ
#4 "For Science!" in the Muslim World DW LJ
#5 The Wild, Wild East DW LJ
#6 A Chat About Brazilian Steampunk with Bruno Accioly DW LJ
#7 Yinka Shonibare MBE: Revealing the Transnationality of Culture DW LJ
#8 Captain Sakuragi's Underwater Warship DW LJ
#9 First Nation Sci-Fi & Technology Resources DW LJ
#10 An Interview with Sunday Driver DW LJ
#11 From One Other to (An)other: Review for Jaclyn Dolamore's Magic Under Glass DW LJ
#12 Sneak Peek at Steampunk Comic "The Seven" DW LJ
Beyond Victoriana Special Edition: Odds & Ends #1 DW LJ
#13: Beyond Victoriana: Black Victoriana and Thensome DW LJ
& more to come...!
At Home We Called it Têt
Feb. 9th, 2010 02:00 amWritten for the Asian Women's Blog Carnival: #5 Who I Am When I'm (not) With You.
***
In elementary school, there was one day, besides my birthday, where I felt special. That day was the day when we celebrated Chinese New Year in class.
My mom always volunteered; I don't remember any other Asian students running the event. I know she wanted us to fit in, she was an involved parent who cared about her children's education, and she wanted us to be proud of who we are and where we come from. So I remember that every year she would go through the ritual of organizing the Chinese New Year celebrations for my 98% non-Asian class (there was always that one other Asian kid in class every year, the one whose mother didn't volunteer to host Chinese New Year's).
We took placemats from Chinese food restaurants with the zodiac signs and the occasional mispellings printed on them. We bought bags of fortune cookies from the Asian food mart in the next town over. We'd order lo mien noodles and chicken tenders and barbecue beef on sticks to carry in large metal pans. My mom made stacks of a photocopied picture book she borrowed from a library years ago to pass out to my classmates; I remember finding the yellow-colored pages years later buried in our attic, the Xeroxed wood cut illustrations undulled by time.
Together with the teacher, we would read the book outloud about all the Chinese New Year traditions. Reading this book, I wished I could celebrate Chinese New Year the way all the little village kids did in the book: with exploding firecrackers in the streets, stringing paper lanterns outside doorways, practicing calligraphy I didn't understand and watching dragons dancing in the streets. Instead of in a classroom with that kid who bullied me at recess flicking all of the veggies in his lo mien onto the floor, or my classmate next to me asking if I could write those same characters in the book, and whether I could write her name out in Chinese too. The best part were the fortune cookies, because that was the only time I could have more than the one I'd usually get at take-out restaurants.
And then I'd go to my grandparents house and celebrate Têt, the real New Year's. Têt consisted of making huge amounts of food that none of my classmates had: hot chunks of roast pig, snow-white vermicelli noodles brushed with a mix of oil and scallions; thin crispy egg rolls made with noodles and carrot and ground meat and mushrooms and fish sauce; sticky bánh chưng peeled from its banana leaf wrappings to reveal the delicious mound out glutinous rice, mung bean and fatty pork; the special new years treats of dried coconut, ginger, sesame candies, dried mango, and papaya, and nuts. The aunts and uncles would talk and laugh about grown-up things and I'd play games with my cousins, sliding down the carpeted stairs on our butts, or playing hide and seek among the musty furniture, or play cards or our GameBoys. We had a zodiac that was similar to the one on the placemats, except that I was a Water Buffalo and not an Ox, and my aunt was a Cat not a Rabbit, and my brother was a Boar not a Pig. And during Têt was when we bowed to our ancestors and to the Buddha at the elaborate shrine my grandmother lovingly set up with sticks of incense in our hands. And Têt is when we wish our relatives "chúc mừng năm mới".
We didn't get firecrackers or lantern parades, but other stuff corralated with what I saw in the picture book: on occasion, I did get to see the lion dance on the weekend if my dad drove my siblings and me to the community Têt celebration several towns over and I did get red packets of lixi from my aunts and uncles, but somehow, that wasn't the same. Maybe because those village kids was what I missed and wanted; watching the lion dance with your siblings isn't was fun as running around with your recess buddies. And other differences bothered me in a way I couldn't explain back then when I was seven, eight, nine years old. Somehow, I thought Têt was a private word, a special word that my classmates weren't allowed to know because they were white and I was Vietnamese. But not special in a good way. Special in a way that would make it harder for me to fit in if they knew how different my Têt was from their Chinese New Year, from the special day I showed them. And I was confused myself over the difference, and over the years came to understand feelings I felt as a child but couldn't articulate until years later.
I can express my heritage, but only in a way that conforms to what others' expect my heritage to be.
I can "be Asian" but only in the way others think I am Asian.
To be "proud" of my cultural heritage, I have to always have to explain who I am to others who don't understand me whenever they dictate it.
To fit into the community's standards of "diversity" and "multiculturalism" I have to play the teacher, giving lessons of a watered-down, bland sort where the meaning has no real relevance to my experiences. I only show the experiences others want for me to accept, because it would be too hard, too draining, too.... complicated....to show them who I really am.
I learned a new word today. Auto-exoticism (n.): the idea where the minority culture accepts and internalizes perceptions of itself from the dominant culture. It is performance intended for consumption, it is a sign given to minorities to express their minority status. It is touting Chinese take-out (that isn't really Chinese) over your family's home cooking and tossing around fortune cookies (and those weren't actually Chinese either) and associating yourself with being "Chinese" (even though you aren't) because it made you more understandable, and calling your family's most important holiday Chinese New Year because it's a catch-phrase that everyone understands.
Because Têt is something others wouldn't understand or at least not in the way I understood it. Because when I mentioned I planned to celebrate Têt once to fellow dinner companion she exclaimed, "Oh, I always thought that was the name of the battle, not a holiday!" Because in college, when I was part several pan-Asian/Asian-American cultural orgs and activist groups, it was the Chinese Student Association who controlled the festivities for Lunar New Year's and named it China Night.
Now all of this might sound like I'm against the Chinese.
I'm not.
I'm just tired of pretending to be one.
***
In elementary school, there was one day, besides my birthday, where I felt special. That day was the day when we celebrated Chinese New Year in class.
My mom always volunteered; I don't remember any other Asian students running the event. I know she wanted us to fit in, she was an involved parent who cared about her children's education, and she wanted us to be proud of who we are and where we come from. So I remember that every year she would go through the ritual of organizing the Chinese New Year celebrations for my 98% non-Asian class (there was always that one other Asian kid in class every year, the one whose mother didn't volunteer to host Chinese New Year's).
We took placemats from Chinese food restaurants with the zodiac signs and the occasional mispellings printed on them. We bought bags of fortune cookies from the Asian food mart in the next town over. We'd order lo mien noodles and chicken tenders and barbecue beef on sticks to carry in large metal pans. My mom made stacks of a photocopied picture book she borrowed from a library years ago to pass out to my classmates; I remember finding the yellow-colored pages years later buried in our attic, the Xeroxed wood cut illustrations undulled by time.
Together with the teacher, we would read the book outloud about all the Chinese New Year traditions. Reading this book, I wished I could celebrate Chinese New Year the way all the little village kids did in the book: with exploding firecrackers in the streets, stringing paper lanterns outside doorways, practicing calligraphy I didn't understand and watching dragons dancing in the streets. Instead of in a classroom with that kid who bullied me at recess flicking all of the veggies in his lo mien onto the floor, or my classmate next to me asking if I could write those same characters in the book, and whether I could write her name out in Chinese too. The best part were the fortune cookies, because that was the only time I could have more than the one I'd usually get at take-out restaurants.
And then I'd go to my grandparents house and celebrate Têt, the real New Year's. Têt consisted of making huge amounts of food that none of my classmates had: hot chunks of roast pig, snow-white vermicelli noodles brushed with a mix of oil and scallions; thin crispy egg rolls made with noodles and carrot and ground meat and mushrooms and fish sauce; sticky bánh chưng peeled from its banana leaf wrappings to reveal the delicious mound out glutinous rice, mung bean and fatty pork; the special new years treats of dried coconut, ginger, sesame candies, dried mango, and papaya, and nuts. The aunts and uncles would talk and laugh about grown-up things and I'd play games with my cousins, sliding down the carpeted stairs on our butts, or playing hide and seek among the musty furniture, or play cards or our GameBoys. We had a zodiac that was similar to the one on the placemats, except that I was a Water Buffalo and not an Ox, and my aunt was a Cat not a Rabbit, and my brother was a Boar not a Pig. And during Têt was when we bowed to our ancestors and to the Buddha at the elaborate shrine my grandmother lovingly set up with sticks of incense in our hands. And Têt is when we wish our relatives "chúc mừng năm mới".
We didn't get firecrackers or lantern parades, but other stuff corralated with what I saw in the picture book: on occasion, I did get to see the lion dance on the weekend if my dad drove my siblings and me to the community Têt celebration several towns over and I did get red packets of lixi from my aunts and uncles, but somehow, that wasn't the same. Maybe because those village kids was what I missed and wanted; watching the lion dance with your siblings isn't was fun as running around with your recess buddies. And other differences bothered me in a way I couldn't explain back then when I was seven, eight, nine years old. Somehow, I thought Têt was a private word, a special word that my classmates weren't allowed to know because they were white and I was Vietnamese. But not special in a good way. Special in a way that would make it harder for me to fit in if they knew how different my Têt was from their Chinese New Year, from the special day I showed them. And I was confused myself over the difference, and over the years came to understand feelings I felt as a child but couldn't articulate until years later.
I can express my heritage, but only in a way that conforms to what others' expect my heritage to be.
I can "be Asian" but only in the way others think I am Asian.
To be "proud" of my cultural heritage, I have to always have to explain who I am to others who don't understand me whenever they dictate it.
To fit into the community's standards of "diversity" and "multiculturalism" I have to play the teacher, giving lessons of a watered-down, bland sort where the meaning has no real relevance to my experiences. I only show the experiences others want for me to accept, because it would be too hard, too draining, too.... complicated....to show them who I really am.
I learned a new word today. Auto-exoticism (n.): the idea where the minority culture accepts and internalizes perceptions of itself from the dominant culture. It is performance intended for consumption, it is a sign given to minorities to express their minority status. It is touting Chinese take-out (that isn't really Chinese) over your family's home cooking and tossing around fortune cookies (and those weren't actually Chinese either) and associating yourself with being "Chinese" (even though you aren't) because it made you more understandable, and calling your family's most important holiday Chinese New Year because it's a catch-phrase that everyone understands.
Because Têt is something others wouldn't understand or at least not in the way I understood it. Because when I mentioned I planned to celebrate Têt once to fellow dinner companion she exclaimed, "Oh, I always thought that was the name of the battle, not a holiday!" Because in college, when I was part several pan-Asian/Asian-American cultural orgs and activist groups, it was the Chinese Student Association who controlled the festivities for Lunar New Year's and named it China Night.
Now all of this might sound like I'm against the Chinese.
I'm not.
I'm just tired of pretending to be one.
Kicking off my crazy February schedule, this week is Beyond Victoriana's small contribution toward Black History Month. In the United States and Canada, this is celebrated in February, but in England, this month is in October, so I guess I'm giving away my biases a bit, eh? Now, a linkspam about African/African-American history would be easy to do. And there are many great black figures who lived during the Victorian Era who should be mentioned right now.
But instead, I'll review an interesting book about a view of black history that I don't hear about as often: a series of essays about the lives of both extraordinary and everyday Black Brits in Victorian England called Black Victorians/Black Victoriana, edited by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina.
Book Description:
My Review:
The essays in Black Victorians/Black Victoriana are varied and fascinating, ranging from the everyday lives of African Brits to the portrayal of blackness by the British, and, in turn, how the British defined themselves by their whiteness. The topics of these essays are divided into three general areas: the black experience in Britain, the interaction between Africans, African-Americans, British, and African-Brits, and representations of being black in Victorian culture. I enjoyed the essays that focused on aspects of the black experience--nevermind Victorian-- that I had never even considered before. Joan Anim-Addo's "Queen Victoria's 'Black Daughter', examines the life and circumstances surrounding Sally Bonetta Forbes, a young orphaned West African child whom the King of Dohomey presents to Queen Victoria as a "gift" in 1850. Sally was the first of a long line of Empire adoptees who entered the Queen's household as "properties of the crown" and were raised as the Queen's proteges. Other interesting essays included about the black experience is a profile on Pablo Fanque, a black circus proprietor who ran the most successful circus in England for 30 years, and the biracial classical composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
The conclusions each of these essays make about race relations during Victorian England vary, even contradict each other. Fanque, for instance, is widely respected and defended by the general public as a performer, and Coleridge-Taylor's historical biographers skid more about his white mother's illegitimate parentage and servant class than his Nigerian father's background. On the other hand, other pieces such as "Mrs. Seacole's Wonderful Adventures in Many Lands and the Consciousness of Transit" (titled after her memoir of the same name), focuses on the prejudice the Crimean War heroine and nurse Mary Seacole faced from the British medical establishment --and from Florence Nightingale's all-white company of nurses--when on the front lines. And the essay "The Blackface Clown" explains the roots of blackface in England, framed around the concept of "blackness" as the racial Other onto which white Brits transposed everything they considered "unBritish."
The most interesting essay in the collection is Neil Parsons' "No Longer Rare Birds in London," a record about the travels of four different African envoys to England. Representatives from these African kingdoms visited England in order to petition for various reasons, from protesting British occupation to appealing for protection against other European powers. Parsons gives a detailed itinerary account of what each group experienced. Some incidents during their journey were very telling of the conflicting views of black and Africans in Victorian England. For instance, when King Cetshwayo of the Zulu visited in 1882, he was whisked away in a special train because the colonial ministers didn't want the public--who were only familiar with "Zulu warriors" as depicted by mostly African and African-American circus performers and from the news of the crushing British defeat by the Zulu nation in 1879--"to make a spectacle of him." The king, however, was unexpectedly received by cheering crowds and enjoyed being recognized in the streets as the leader of the battle. The envoys reactions to England are also intriguing. Many compared the packed urban sprawl of London to locusts and the Ndebele envoys remarked how the British "worshiped the god of money while they spoke of the God of Love" and how "the hands of the European never tire of making things. It is for this reason that white men's faces are often so fatigued and sad. They wage war with each other not for virile glory or to test their strength, but for things."
Overall, a fascinating book and highly recommended for scholars and history buffs alike.
***
Another treasure came at the suggestion of Miriavas from the Steampunk Empire: Okinawa Soba's collection of nineteenth-century photos. He features three collections portraying different perspectives on the black experience during this time period. Below is a sampling from each collection, but I encourage you to go through his galleries yourself.
( Click here for the pics )
But instead, I'll review an interesting book about a view of black history that I don't hear about as often: a series of essays about the lives of both extraordinary and everyday Black Brits in Victorian England called Black Victorians/Black Victoriana, edited by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina.
Book Description:Black Victorians/Black Victoriana is a welcome attempt to correct the historical record. Although scholarship has given us a clear view of nineteenth-century imperialism, colonialism, and later immigration from the colonies, there has for far too long been a gap in our understanding of the lives of blacks in Victorian England. Without that understanding, it remains impossible to assess adequately the state of the black population in Britain today. Using a transatlantic lens, the contributors to this book restore black Victorians to the British national picture. They look not just at the ways blacks were represented in popular culture but also at their lives as they experienced them-as workers, travelers, lecturers, performers, and professionals. Dozens of period photographs bring these stories alive and literally give a face to the individual stories the book tells.
The essays taken as a whole also highlight prevailing Victorian attitudes toward race by focusing on the ways in which empire building spawned a "subculture of blackness" consisting of caricature, exhibition, representation, and scientific racism absorbed by society at large. This misrepresentation made it difficult to be both black and British while at the same time it helped to construct British identity as a whole. Covering many topics that detail the life of blacks during this period, Black Victorians/Black Victoriana will be a landmark contribution to the emergent field of black history in England.
Also check out her book Black London as well.My Review:
The essays in Black Victorians/Black Victoriana are varied and fascinating, ranging from the everyday lives of African Brits to the portrayal of blackness by the British, and, in turn, how the British defined themselves by their whiteness. The topics of these essays are divided into three general areas: the black experience in Britain, the interaction between Africans, African-Americans, British, and African-Brits, and representations of being black in Victorian culture. I enjoyed the essays that focused on aspects of the black experience--nevermind Victorian-- that I had never even considered before. Joan Anim-Addo's "Queen Victoria's 'Black Daughter', examines the life and circumstances surrounding Sally Bonetta Forbes, a young orphaned West African child whom the King of Dohomey presents to Queen Victoria as a "gift" in 1850. Sally was the first of a long line of Empire adoptees who entered the Queen's household as "properties of the crown" and were raised as the Queen's proteges. Other interesting essays included about the black experience is a profile on Pablo Fanque, a black circus proprietor who ran the most successful circus in England for 30 years, and the biracial classical composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
The conclusions each of these essays make about race relations during Victorian England vary, even contradict each other. Fanque, for instance, is widely respected and defended by the general public as a performer, and Coleridge-Taylor's historical biographers skid more about his white mother's illegitimate parentage and servant class than his Nigerian father's background. On the other hand, other pieces such as "Mrs. Seacole's Wonderful Adventures in Many Lands and the Consciousness of Transit" (titled after her memoir of the same name), focuses on the prejudice the Crimean War heroine and nurse Mary Seacole faced from the British medical establishment --and from Florence Nightingale's all-white company of nurses--when on the front lines. And the essay "The Blackface Clown" explains the roots of blackface in England, framed around the concept of "blackness" as the racial Other onto which white Brits transposed everything they considered "unBritish."
The most interesting essay in the collection is Neil Parsons' "No Longer Rare Birds in London," a record about the travels of four different African envoys to England. Representatives from these African kingdoms visited England in order to petition for various reasons, from protesting British occupation to appealing for protection against other European powers. Parsons gives a detailed itinerary account of what each group experienced. Some incidents during their journey were very telling of the conflicting views of black and Africans in Victorian England. For instance, when King Cetshwayo of the Zulu visited in 1882, he was whisked away in a special train because the colonial ministers didn't want the public--who were only familiar with "Zulu warriors" as depicted by mostly African and African-American circus performers and from the news of the crushing British defeat by the Zulu nation in 1879--"to make a spectacle of him." The king, however, was unexpectedly received by cheering crowds and enjoyed being recognized in the streets as the leader of the battle. The envoys reactions to England are also intriguing. Many compared the packed urban sprawl of London to locusts and the Ndebele envoys remarked how the British "worshiped the god of money while they spoke of the God of Love" and how "the hands of the European never tire of making things. It is for this reason that white men's faces are often so fatigued and sad. They wage war with each other not for virile glory or to test their strength, but for things."
Overall, a fascinating book and highly recommended for scholars and history buffs alike.
***
Another treasure came at the suggestion of Miriavas from the Steampunk Empire: Okinawa Soba's collection of nineteenth-century photos. He features three collections portraying different perspectives on the black experience during this time period. Below is a sampling from each collection, but I encourage you to go through his galleries yourself.
( Click here for the pics )
Beyond Victoriana: Odds & Ends #1
Feb. 4th, 2010 07:51 pmWhile gathering materials and suggestions for things to feature on Beyond Victoriana, fellow steampunks offered quite a few delicious tidbits that were interesting reads and looks, but not quite enough for a full post. So here are some Odds & Ends from the aethernets and elsewhere for you to enjoy---
The Reads:
The Effluent Engine, part of A Story for Haiti project
N.J. Jeminsin (author of One Hundred Thousand Kingdoms) wrote this steampunk tale about pirates set in New Orleans, originally for a lesbian steampunk anthology. Enjoy reading it, but better yet donate, donate, donate.
Pimp My Airship
Another entertaining read featuring African steampunk by Maurice Broaddus.
Distant Deeps or Skies
This just in today -- Mexican steampunk story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that's featured in Expanded Horizons magazine.
Moon Maiden's Mirror
An evocative steamy fairytale in an Asian setting, written by Joyce Chng as part of Semaphore Magazine. Link goes to PDF of the September 2009 issue.
The Reads:
The Effluent Engine, part of A Story for Haiti project
N.J. Jeminsin (author of One Hundred Thousand Kingdoms) wrote this steampunk tale about pirates set in New Orleans, originally for a lesbian steampunk anthology. Enjoy reading it, but better yet donate, donate, donate.
Pimp My Airship
Another entertaining read featuring African steampunk by Maurice Broaddus.
Distant Deeps or Skies
This just in today -- Mexican steampunk story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that's featured in Expanded Horizons magazine.
Moon Maiden's Mirror
An evocative steamy fairytale in an Asian setting, written by Joyce Chng as part of Semaphore Magazine. Link goes to PDF of the September 2009 issue.
Steampunk: A Mobile Device Concept for Rural India
The technology blog Adaptive Path wrote an interesting article about how engineers use concepts of steampunk technology to design mobile cell phones in India.
The Pics:
Frist mentioned by Jess Nevins (you may know him as the editor for the Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana) on the speculative blog community No Fear of the Future, about Lu Shi'e's Xin Ye Sou Pu Yan (1909), with the following blurb:
"In this tale, Europe is a Chinese colony and it describes the Chinese government’s suppression of an uprising planned by European "restoration" rebels. The Chinese Emperor orders the generalissimo in charge of Europe, Wen Suchen, to suppress the rebellion with flying warships. Generalissimo Wen not only conquers all seventy-two European nations but continues on to the moon and Jupiter as well. The most marvellous part of this tale is that Jupiter is described as being covered completely with gold and abounding with flora and fauna–the perfect destination for migration. Wen is then appointed Governor of Jupiter. From then on, the means of communication and transportation between Earth and Jupiter is, naturally, by flying ship."
Sent in from Professor Von Explaino in Australia:
"Found this picture in a holiday home my wife and I were staying in and thought it would be something you'd like or have a use for. The tattoos definitely seem Maori."
"Punk Tribe" by 343GuiltySpark
And, as always, any suggestions for this blog are welcome! Drop me a link on the announcement page or send me a email. ^-^
Frist mentioned by Jess Nevins (you may know him as the editor for the Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana) on the speculative blog community No Fear of the Future, about Lu Shi'e's Xin Ye Sou Pu Yan (1909), with the following blurb:
"In this tale, Europe is a Chinese colony and it describes the Chinese government’s suppression of an uprising planned by European "restoration" rebels. The Chinese Emperor orders the generalissimo in charge of Europe, Wen Suchen, to suppress the rebellion with flying warships. Generalissimo Wen not only conquers all seventy-two European nations but continues on to the moon and Jupiter as well. The most marvellous part of this tale is that Jupiter is described as being covered completely with gold and abounding with flora and fauna–the perfect destination for migration. Wen is then appointed Governor of Jupiter. From then on, the means of communication and transportation between Earth and Jupiter is, naturally, by flying ship."
Sent in from Professor Von Explaino in Australia:
"Found this picture in a holiday home my wife and I were staying in and thought it would be something you'd like or have a use for. The tattoos definitely seem Maori."
"Punk Tribe" by 343GuiltySpark
And, as always, any suggestions for this blog are welcome! Drop me a link on the announcement page or send me a email. ^-^
Beyond Victoriana: February Schedule
Feb. 1st, 2010 09:20 amAh, con season has now begun! For those of you unaware, I assist The Penny Dreadfuls of the SS Icarus during their wild escapades throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic area. We're going to be wreaking havoc at TempleCon in Warwick, RI, this weekend, and later this month, we'll also be invading Wicked Faire.
This, of course, will affect my update schedule for the next coming weeks. But, have no fear, for this will only benefit your lovely selves!
For the month of February, Beyond Victoriana will feature extra "odds & ends" posts before I'm gone on a con weekend that will update on the Thursday before. That's right, this month you'll get TWO more lovely snippets to munch on. Ain't that great?
Why is this? Well, for one thing, I keep getting great links, photos, & snippets from you readers, and I want a place to feature them! And for another, this will leave something up if the Sunday post is late because of traveling, marauding, whatever.
And that's not all! I will also have a guest blogger, the lovely Jaymee Goh of Tor.com and Rebellious Jezebel Blogging filling in for me on February 14th with a guest post. She writes great stuff and volunteered to cover for me during the Lunar New Year holiday.
So, to recap this month's schedule:
This, of course, will affect my update schedule for the next coming weeks. But, have no fear, for this will only benefit your lovely selves!
For the month of February, Beyond Victoriana will feature extra "odds & ends" posts before I'm gone on a con weekend that will update on the Thursday before. That's right, this month you'll get TWO more lovely snippets to munch on. Ain't that great?
Why is this? Well, for one thing, I keep getting great links, photos, & snippets from you readers, and I want a place to feature them! And for another, this will leave something up if the Sunday post is late because of traveling, marauding, whatever.
And that's not all! I will also have a guest blogger, the lovely Jaymee Goh of Tor.com and Rebellious Jezebel Blogging filling in for me on February 14th with a guest post. She writes great stuff and volunteered to cover for me during the Lunar New Year holiday.
So, to recap this month's schedule:
Thursday the 4th: "Odds & Ends" Post #1
Sunday the 7th (ish...) Beyond Victoriana #13
Sunday the 14th: Beyond Victoriana with Guest blogger Jaymee Goh
Thursday the 18th: "Odds & Ends Post #2"
Sunday the 21st: (ish...) Beyond Victoriana #14
This week's feature came to me from MySpace (yes, I still have one, and keep it updated...sorta). From the steampunk community there, I friended Tess Fowler. She'd done some gorgeous steampunk erotica work in the past, but I noticed that she began posting character designs such as these:
Cue the double-take on the names. Characters of color in my steampunk? And (gasp) one of them is Vietnamese-?
Since then, I've been following Tess and her progress on The Seven for months. The project is still in its development stages, but, dying to know more, I had a recent conversation with Tess and The Seven's writer Chris Gutierrez about The Seven and what inspired them to create a multiracial steampunk world.
*** ( Read the interview under the cut )
Cue the double-take on the names. Characters of color in my steampunk? And (gasp) one of them is Vietnamese-?
Since then, I've been following Tess and her progress on The Seven for months. The project is still in its development stages, but, dying to know more, I had a recent conversation with Tess and The Seven's writer Chris Gutierrez about The Seven and what inspired them to create a multiracial steampunk world.
*** ( Read the interview under the cut )
Beyond Victoriana #11: From One Other to (An)other: Review for Jaclyn Dolamore's Magic Under Glass
Jan. 24th, 2010 10:01 am
The intelligent automaton—one of the many symbolic Others in sci-fi literature. When characterized sympathetically, the automaton represents humanity without being human, the lone outsider puzzling the world around it. The Othered Automaton pops up in steampunk lit too, like Boilerplate and Mattie from The Alchemy of Stone. In both cases, the automaton finds camaraderie with people who feel similarly alienated by the societies they live in; Boilerplate had his Buffalo Soldiers, Mattie had her mechanic dark-skinned lover Sebastian. But what Jaclyn Dolamore brings to the table is a new perspective to this relationship in her fantasy steampunk novel Magic Under Glass: the protagonist is not the Othered Automaton, but that of Nimira, the human Other seeking her fortune in a strange land.
In this YA novel, Nimira travels west from her Middle East-inspired homeland of Tiansher to the Victorian-esque Lorinar, a land where an uneasy conflict is brewing between it and the neighboring fairy realm. Lorinar, however, isn't as welcoming as she had hoped. Its citizens are familiar with Tiansher only as the "exotic Tassim" and Nimira can only find work at a cheap sideshow as a "trouser girl" singing her country's native songs to ignorant audiences. That is, until she meets Hollin Parry, a sorcerer who takes her in to sing alongside his clockwork automaton. The previous girls Parry had hired left, claiming the machine to be haunted. Nimira discovers, however, that the automaton is not a possessed machine, but an elaborate prison. Inside is Erris, a fairy prince long thought dead. Now, Nimira must figure out a way to free Erris before war breaks out between Lorinar and the fairy world.
What makes Nimira so memorable is her resilience against the daily prejudice and ignorance she faces. What makes Magic Under Glass commendable, however, is the fact that her outsider struggle is not the point of the novel, but another layer of social complexity that Nimira must navigate through in order to accomplish her goals. Nimira, for her part, does not forsake her identity to assimilate into Lorinar culture: she carries the world of Tiansher inside her, drawing strength from her memories of home. On the other hand, she also has to deal with those who try to exoticize and diminish her existence, such as when she's asked to perform in her "trousers" instead of her elegant Lorinar dress during an important performance. Her complicated feelings toward her employer are another case in point: echoes of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester resonate in the relationship between Nimira and Parry, but I along with Nimira questioned the root of Parry's fondness toward his "Tassim" girl.
Her position as a foreigner in a Western-based culture is more interesting to read than the reverse—that of the "Eurocentric" traveler in the "Othered" foreign land, which is more frequently represented in fantasy. Moreover, her background paves the way for her sympathy toward fairies and Erris. Nimira also wins major points for being a strong character that doesn't wait passively for the action to happen, yet she can still show vulnerability and cry when she needs to. All the women in Magic Under Glass are sharply defined; only the villainous Miss Rashten seems a bit flat. Also Parry, as misguided as he is, earned my sympathy.
The magic of this novel is a bit sketchy for my tastes, and I'd rather have more detail about its system and details about the fairy world. The vagueness I encountered can be explained by the open ending that's the set-up for a second book. Usually I'd be upset by this, but I'm more than willing to wait for the next installment of Nimira's journey.
***
On another note, I first heard of this novel because of the US cover's whitewashing controversy, and after reading the book, I find it even more insulting to the reader and disrespectful to the author that Nimira was represented as a light-skinned white girl instead of her dark complexion. However, the YA blogosphere unleashed a furious wave in response, culminating in Bloomsbury's announcement that the hardcover jacket will be changed immediately. That is why, for the curious, I linked the
Judging a Book By Its Cover Part 2: Bloomsbury Strikes Again -- More YA Cover Racefail
Jan. 17th, 2010 11:15 amWhen I first commented on Bloomsbury's Racefail with Liar, I was going to provide additional commentary about the theme of whitewashing covers in the publishing industry. My blogging ball had dropped at the time, but now I find it both sad, infuriating, and a bit ironic that there is NOW a part 2 to this Racefail. More whitewashing by the same publisher.
I first read about this controversy on the Reading in Color blog. Jaclyn Dolamore's debut novel, Magic Under Glass, has a protagonist of color who had been whitewashed on the cover.
Of course in light of all this discussion, I want to read the book to see how much the character's racial and ethnic identity plays a role in the storyline and, looking at its description on Amazon, it looks like a book right up my alley:
According to the author's personal illustrations of Nimira that I found on her website, she is definitely a dark-skinned character of color with a non-Eurocentric ethnic identity.
So, we have a book with a character of color as a protagonist set in a steampunk-influenced fantasy world? Major co-sign from me. I'd gladly review the book (with a library copy; I refuse to buy the book, but respect the author's work) and write a feature on it for Beyond Victoriana. If only the publishers supported the author's vision when marketing this book....
ETA: On a happier note, the YA blogosphere has certainly taken note (and talks about what we can do about this situation), and at the beginning of this year, Collen Mondor wrote this wonderful piece about how YA readers can help by demanding more diversity in publishing.
I first read about this controversy on the Reading in Color blog. Jaclyn Dolamore's debut novel, Magic Under Glass, has a protagonist of color who had been whitewashed on the cover.Of course in light of all this discussion, I want to read the book to see how much the character's racial and ethnic identity plays a role in the storyline and, looking at its description on Amazon, it looks like a book right up my alley:
Nimira is a foreign music-hall girl forced to dance for mere pennies. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing with a piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new and better life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets are beginning to stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumors swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry's involvement with a league of sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. Then Nimira discovers the spirit of a fairy gentleman named Erris is trapped inside the clockwork automaton, waiting for someone to break his curse. The two fall into a love that seems hopeless, and breaking the curse becomes a race against time, as not just their love, but the fate of the entire magical world may be in peril.
According to the author's personal illustrations of Nimira that I found on her website, she is definitely a dark-skinned character of color with a non-Eurocentric ethnic identity.
So, we have a book with a character of color as a protagonist set in a steampunk-influenced fantasy world? Major co-sign from me. I'd gladly review the book (with a library copy; I refuse to buy the book, but respect the author's work) and write a feature on it for Beyond Victoriana. If only the publishers supported the author's vision when marketing this book....
ETA: On a happier note, the YA blogosphere has certainly taken note (and talks about what we can do about this situation), and at the beginning of this year, Collen Mondor wrote this wonderful piece about how YA readers can help by demanding more diversity in publishing.
Carnival Catalyst over at The Steampunk Empire first brought my attention to Sunday Driver, and later that same day, I read Libby Bulloff's glowing praise for their work (and smelled a snowball effect coming on. And, boy, do I like making snowballs. So I checked out their site and brought In the City of Dreadful Night from iTunes to hear for myself and was blown away. From the fusion spin on traditional Indian chant in "The Gayatri Mantra" to the smooth-to-edgy variations in "Heroes" to her darkly whimsical jazz croon of "Rats," lead singer Chandrika "Chandy" Nath gives a strong and varied performance on this album, with strong instrumental support from band members Joel (Guitar & Sitar), Kat Arney (Harp, Clarinet(s),Spoons), Matthew Sarkar (Tabla - though recently Rahul Ghosh has taken his place), Melon (Bass), Chemise (Guitar), and Scot Jowett (Drums).
Recently, I had the pleasure of talking with Chandy—with the occasional pop-in answer from Joel—about their music, their band, and their views on steampunk.
I'm thrilled to announce that Beyond Victoriana has received an endorsement from the wonderful people over at Steampunk Magazine. Check out their kindly words of encouragement here.
And, just as a reminder, Beyond Victoriana will be making its reappearance on the aethernets starting January 17th.
And, just as a reminder, Beyond Victoriana will be making its reappearance on the aethernets starting January 17th.
Hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays!
I'm taking a little hiatus for the next few of weeks as I work on some exciting new articles & interviews for Beyond Victoriana and catch up on some real life happenings. To tide you over a bit, check out the spiffin' new series index, featuring all of the BV posts made so far both on LJ and Dreamwidth.
Beyond Victoriana will resume fresh and dandy in the new year on January 17th, 2010.
And, as always, if you have anything to suggest, please drop me a line here or email me at attic [dot] hermit [ at] gmail [dot] com.
I'm taking a little hiatus for the next few of weeks as I work on some exciting new articles & interviews for Beyond Victoriana and catch up on some real life happenings. To tide you over a bit, check out the spiffin' new series index, featuring all of the BV posts made so far both on LJ and Dreamwidth.
Beyond Victoriana will resume fresh and dandy in the new year on January 17th, 2010.
And, as always, if you have anything to suggest, please drop me a line here or email me at attic [dot] hermit [ at] gmail [dot] com.
I just mentioned Expanded Horizons in my latest Beyond Victoriana post, but they deserve to be highlighted because their mission statement is pure win. Quoted below:
Their submissions guidelines gave me a fangasm when I read it too.
What We’re About
Speculative fiction is any fiction which asks, at its core, “What if?” Speculative fiction encompasses science fiction (SF), fantasy, horror, slipstream, and other speculative genres.
The mission of this webzine is to increase diversity in the field of speculative fiction, both in the authors who contribute and in the perspectives presented. We feature speculative fiction stories and artwork, as well as essays about speculative fiction and fandom from diverse points of view.
Speculative fiction is an uncomfortable art – it is a tool by which we artists push readers and viewers outside of their comfort zones into the truly alien, and in so doing, help them to face themselves and grow as human beings. Excellent speculative fiction depends upon excellent “perspective shifting” skills- the same “mental muscles” we use when we learn to live, work and play with people from different racial, ethnic, cultural and sub-cultural backgrounds. In forming Expanded Horizons, we aim to push the field of speculative fiction out of its own “comfort zone” toward increased inclusion of, and comfort with, diverse perspectives, backgrounds and points of view.
It is comparatively easy to ask “what if?” about an alien culture that is labeled “fictional” than it is to learn to see through the eyes of those people who are different from us in our own neighborhoods and communities. In the real world, we have to take risks- and we can’t close the book if we don’t like what we see. But the speculative fiction community enjoys a challenge, embraces the “alien” with child-like curiosity. What if the readers and writers of speculative fiction applied their “perspective shifting” skills not just to the story on the page, but also to their own communities? What if speculative fiction itself aimed to push readers, writers and editors alike toward appreciating actual diversity with the same enthusiasm as we approach fictional diversity?
What if?
The mission of this webzine is to increase diversity in the field of speculative fiction, both in the authors who contribute and in the perspectives presented. We feature speculative fiction stories and artwork, as well as essays about speculative fiction and fandom from diverse points of view.
Speculative fiction is an uncomfortable art – it is a tool by which we artists push readers and viewers outside of their comfort zones into the truly alien, and in so doing, help them to face themselves and grow as human beings. Excellent speculative fiction depends upon excellent “perspective shifting” skills- the same “mental muscles” we use when we learn to live, work and play with people from different racial, ethnic, cultural and sub-cultural backgrounds. In forming Expanded Horizons, we aim to push the field of speculative fiction out of its own “comfort zone” toward increased inclusion of, and comfort with, diverse perspectives, backgrounds and points of view.
It is comparatively easy to ask “what if?” about an alien culture that is labeled “fictional” than it is to learn to see through the eyes of those people who are different from us in our own neighborhoods and communities. In the real world, we have to take risks- and we can’t close the book if we don’t like what we see. But the speculative fiction community enjoys a challenge, embraces the “alien” with child-like curiosity. What if the readers and writers of speculative fiction applied their “perspective shifting” skills not just to the story on the page, but also to their own communities? What if speculative fiction itself aimed to push readers, writers and editors alike toward appreciating actual diversity with the same enthusiasm as we approach fictional diversity?
What if?
Our Mission
The mission of Expanded Horizons is to increase diversity in speculative fiction and to create a venue for the authentic expression of under-represented voices in the genre. We do not publish material which does not fit with and further the mission of our magazine.
Our specific objectives include (but are not limited to):
We are expressly welcoming of submissions from esoteric minorities, including Otherkin in the broadest and most inclusive definition of the term, Vampyres, and people with rare, energetic sensitivities and awarenesses.
Our specific objectives include (but are not limited to):
- Increasing the number of authentically portrayed people of color in speculative fiction
- Increasing authentic ethnic diversity in speculative fiction
- Increasing the number of women authors in speculative fiction
- Increasing the number of authentically portrayed gay, lesbian, bisexual and asexual people in speculative fiction
- Increasing the number of authentically portrayed transgender, transsexual, intersex and genderqueer⁄fluid people in speculative fiction
- Increasing the number of authentically portrayed people with disabilities in speculative fiction
- Publishing essays on speculative fiction and fandom which relate closely to the challenges and importance of diversifying the field
- Creating a venue so that under-represented minorities who tend to be represented unrealistically or negatively in most speculative fiction may speak out in their own voice
Their submissions guidelines gave me a fangasm when I read it too.
Image courtesy of Kory Lynn Hubbell
One of the interesting challenges non-Eurocentric steampunk faces is how technology can be re-imagined for peoples that did not develop industrialized technology during the nineteenth century. Case in point this week: First Nation peoples. There has also been the assumption that First Nation peoples “lack” technology, and so therefore what role can they play in any science fiction genre, nevermind steampunk?
Notwithstanding the imaginative block (and racist subtext) implied by those who say FN peoples didn’t have technology—which is argued against by Kay Marie Porterfield in her article Ten Lies About Indigenous Science – How to Talk Back —concepts like time travel, tech, and alternative histories aren’t confined to any particular culture. This week is a linkspam featuring discussions concerning First Nation peoples in sci-fi and reading suggestions to get those mental gears turning.
For research resources, I have included a selection of articles concerning FN sci-fi, history, and technology at hand; for reading suggestions, I’ve listed examples that can also be considered under general sci-fi, alternative history, or Weird West.
( Read more below the cut )
When Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was published in
Like much of Japanese sci-fi literature at the time, one of the prevailing themes of the Captain Sakuragi series reflected
The premise of the first novel begins with a frustrated Captain Sukuragi leaving the Japanese navy when he decides his country is weak against the potential threat of Western governments. Moreover, he considers the West in competition with
This series was highly popular in
“Oshikawa’s purpose was to ‘oppose those who oppressed freedom’ and to inculcate in young readers ‘the spirit of resistance at all costs.’ Yet neither Ito nor Oshikawa himself acknowledged
Later, Captain Sukuragi’s underwater warship inspired a live action film in 1963 (titled “Atragon” in the
Linkspam:
Kaitei Gunkan’s trailer and info page on IMDB.com
Shin Kaitei Gunkan on IMDB.com
Beyond Victoriana #7: Yinka Shonibare MBE: Revealing the Transnationality of Culture
Dec. 5th, 2009 05:37 pm(Note: I've already mentioned him on this site once before when his work came to NYC, but he's been a personal inspiration for my creative approach to steampunk and more people should know about him!)
Yinka Shonibare, MBE, a self-described “bicultural” artist, was born in England but raised in both England and Nigeria. He is best known for his series of art pieces where coffee-colored mannequins are outfitted in eighteenth-century clothing made from brightly designed “African” fabrics.
Image courtesy of yinka-shonibare.co.uk
Image courtesy of yinka-shonibare.co.uk
Image courtesy of wolfshartle.com
I put “African” in quotes because the fabrics that Shonibare uses are not made in Africa at all, but are Dutch wax-printed fabrics he purchased in Brixton Market in London. When he found out the origin of these fabrics on a shopping trip, they inspired him in creating this project.
“But actually, the fabrics are not really authentically African the way people think,” says Shonibare in an interview. “They prove to have a crossbred cultural background quite of their own. And it’s the fallacy of that signification that I like. It’s the way I view culture—it’s an artificial construct.” (Quote from interview by Pernilla Holmes, Art News Online, October 2002)
( Read more below )
Yinka Shonibare, MBE, a self-described “bicultural” artist, was born in England but raised in both England and Nigeria. He is best known for his series of art pieces where coffee-colored mannequins are outfitted in eighteenth-century clothing made from brightly designed “African” fabrics.
Image courtesy of yinka-shonibare.co.uk
Image courtesy of yinka-shonibare.co.uk
Image courtesy of wolfshartle.com
I put “African” in quotes because the fabrics that Shonibare uses are not made in Africa at all, but are Dutch wax-printed fabrics he purchased in Brixton Market in London. When he found out the origin of these fabrics on a shopping trip, they inspired him in creating this project.
“But actually, the fabrics are not really authentically African the way people think,” says Shonibare in an interview. “They prove to have a crossbred cultural background quite of their own. And it’s the fallacy of that signification that I like. It’s the way I view culture—it’s an artificial construct.” (Quote from interview by Pernilla Holmes, Art News Online, October 2002)
( Read more below )
Beyond Victoriana: Live at Livejournal!
Nov. 22nd, 2009 11:47 pmFor those of you who may have noticed, starting this week I have opened up public posts on my Livejournal to host Beyond Victoriana. Now, you LJ-ers will have the thrill and excitement of viewing this weekly series on your very own flist!
Beyond Victoriana on Livejournal
Please note that since LJ is my private journal, don't be offended if I don't friend you back. I do hope, however, that this will make enjoying BV much more easier. ^-^
Beyond Victoriana on Livejournal
Please note that since LJ is my private journal, don't be offended if I don't friend you back. I do hope, however, that this will make enjoying BV much more easier. ^-^
Beyond Victoriana #5: The Wild, Wild East
Nov. 22nd, 2009 10:06 amA few weeks ago, Jha Goh wrote a post about whether steampunk Westerns could be considered non-Eurocentric, arguing that as long as the narrative is in the hands of the “neo-Europeans” aka, those people whose culture had derived from Europe, then these narratives are still “Eurocentric,” even if they take place outside of Europe.
Taking this into consideration, I’d argue that although Western narratives can be considered “Eurocentric,” the themes that are within the Western genre are non-Eurocentric and has evolved to become less Eurocentric. For this argument, I’ll examine Western filmmaking in particular, although other forms of Western genre exist in books, games, and other media.
The themes of Westerns include a focus on frontier lawlessness, the struggle for survival, vigilante justice, the struggle of good versus evil, the conflicts that occur during the process of industrialization, and the fight for independent living—these themes that have occurred in many places and times in history. Thus, the Western genre over time became co-opted by other filmmaking cultures which then created their own forms of “westerns.” Examples include Russian “Osterns,” which focused mainly on the Russian Civil War era after the Russian Revolution and took place in the steppes of Siberia and central Asia; interestingly enough, they are also Stalin’s favorite film genre (I consider Russia not a European, but a Eurasian country). Another is the recent Indian film Sholay that has been dubbed a “Curry Western.”
Moreover, as the Western genre evolved, its influences have drawn upon non-Eurocentric sources. One of the biggest ones upon the genre (and an influence for many other filmmakers in general) is Japanese cinema icon Akira Kurosawa and his samurai films. Kurosawa had a love for American westerns, which directly influenced several of his films. The Western motif is prominent in Seven Samurai, which, in turn, directly spawned The Magnificent Seven. Also, Kurosawa’s Yojimbo and the sequel Sanjuro with its “no name” protagonist influenced Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing, featuring Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” character. There is even a listing dubbed “Kurosawa westerns” that feature several major films and their Kurosawa influences.
This cross-cultural cinematic relationship continues today. This week, I’ll review three “Asian westerns” that have come out in the past couple of years and examine how each film puts its own cultural spin on the traditional Westerns. And, of course, I think each one has its own potential for qualifying as Asian “Weird West.”
( Spoilers ahead for Sukiyaki Western Django, The Good, the Bad and the Weird, and Dynamite Warrior )
Linkspam:
Overview of the Western film genre on filmsite.org
Western genre on Wikipedia
Scholarly information and analysis of the Tale of Heike - A website dedicated to the tale of Heike created by Stanford alumni John Wallace
Syllabus for the class Samurai, Cowboy, Shaolin Monk: National Myths and Transnational Forms in Literature and Film A class that was part of the Expanding East Asian Studies program at Columbia University. If I had gone to Columbia University in four years ago, I would’ve totally signed up.
Kurosawa’s samurais Article on flickerfilm’s Blogspot
Kurosawa’s Lasting Impact on Western Film - Article about the directors influences in Western cinema on Buzzle.com
Taking this into consideration, I’d argue that although Western narratives can be considered “Eurocentric,” the themes that are within the Western genre are non-Eurocentric and has evolved to become less Eurocentric. For this argument, I’ll examine Western filmmaking in particular, although other forms of Western genre exist in books, games, and other media.
The themes of Westerns include a focus on frontier lawlessness, the struggle for survival, vigilante justice, the struggle of good versus evil, the conflicts that occur during the process of industrialization, and the fight for independent living—these themes that have occurred in many places and times in history. Thus, the Western genre over time became co-opted by other filmmaking cultures which then created their own forms of “westerns.” Examples include Russian “Osterns,” which focused mainly on the Russian Civil War era after the Russian Revolution and took place in the steppes of Siberia and central Asia; interestingly enough, they are also Stalin’s favorite film genre (I consider Russia not a European, but a Eurasian country). Another is the recent Indian film Sholay that has been dubbed a “Curry Western.”
Moreover, as the Western genre evolved, its influences have drawn upon non-Eurocentric sources. One of the biggest ones upon the genre (and an influence for many other filmmakers in general) is Japanese cinema icon Akira Kurosawa and his samurai films. Kurosawa had a love for American westerns, which directly influenced several of his films. The Western motif is prominent in Seven Samurai, which, in turn, directly spawned The Magnificent Seven. Also, Kurosawa’s Yojimbo and the sequel Sanjuro with its “no name” protagonist influenced Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing, featuring Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” character. There is even a listing dubbed “Kurosawa westerns” that feature several major films and their Kurosawa influences.
This cross-cultural cinematic relationship continues today. This week, I’ll review three “Asian westerns” that have come out in the past couple of years and examine how each film puts its own cultural spin on the traditional Westerns. And, of course, I think each one has its own potential for qualifying as Asian “Weird West.”
( Spoilers ahead for Sukiyaki Western Django, The Good, the Bad and the Weird, and Dynamite Warrior )
Linkspam:
Overview of the Western film genre on filmsite.org
Western genre on Wikipedia
Scholarly information and analysis of the Tale of Heike - A website dedicated to the tale of Heike created by Stanford alumni John Wallace
Syllabus for the class Samurai, Cowboy, Shaolin Monk: National Myths and Transnational Forms in Literature and Film A class that was part of the Expanding East Asian Studies program at Columbia University. If I had gone to Columbia University in four years ago, I would’ve totally signed up.
Kurosawa’s samurais Article on flickerfilm’s Blogspot
Kurosawa’s Lasting Impact on Western Film - Article about the directors influences in Western cinema on Buzzle.com
