Pop with Gods, Shakespeare, and AI

Popular Film, (Musical) Theatre, and TV Drama​

Iris H. Tuan

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9789811572975
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Cultural & Social Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

Applying the theories of Popular Culture, Visual Culture, Performance Studies, (Post)Feminism, and Film Studies, this interdisciplinary and well-crafted book leads you to the fascinating and intriguing world of popular film, (musical) theatre, and TV drama. It explores the classical and contemporary cases of the literature works, both Eastern and Western, adapted, represented and transformed into the interesting artistic medium in films, performances, TV dramas, musicals, and AI robot theatre/films.

'Iris Tuan's book is wide ranging in scope and diversity, examining theatre, music, film and television productions from both Western and Asian countries. Tuan also surveys an extensive range of critical and theoretical perspectives, especially from performance studies and popular cultural studies, to offer context for her descriptions of the many different works. Some of her examples are well-known (Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, Disney's The LionKing ) while others little known outside their place of origin (such as the Hakka Theatre of Taiwan) -- all are approached by the author with enthusiasm.'

— Susan Bennett, Professor of English, University of Calgary, Canada

'Tuan takes us through multiple examples of contemporary popular performance in theatre/film/TV ranging from "high" art sources (Shakespeare or Journey to the Wes t in films, Hirata's robotic theatre experiments) to "low" (Taiwanese TV soap operas Hakka Theatre: Roseki and Story of Yangxi Palace, Korean film Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds ). The reader moves at a speed-dating pace through contemporary culture production and interpretive theories, encountering significant works, controversies (i. e., yellow face), and conundrums selected from China, Korea, Japan and the U. S. and filtered through a Taiwanese female gaze.'

— Kathy Foley, Professor of Theatre Arts, University of California Santa Cruz, USA

© The Author(s) 2020

I. H. TuanPop with Gods, Shakespeare, and AIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7297-5_1

Begin Abstract

1. Introduction: Popular Visual Culture in Film, Theatre and TV Drama

Iris H. Tuan¹

(1)

National Chiao Tung University, Jhubei, Taiwan

Iris H. Tuan

Email: [email protected]

Keywords

Popular CulturePerformance StudiesFilm StudiesVisual CultureShakespearean Research

End Abstract

Introduction

Facing the pandemic thread of COVID-19 in 2020, most people in the world nowadays since March are asked by their governments to stay at home being locked down. How do people, while trying to survive, keep healthy and safe, find something meaningful to do, and make progress without feeling bored to death? Without the burden and pressure of the sophisticated advanced scholarly complex theories in the higher education, more and more people choose to enjoy Shakespeare, history, religion, literature and philosophy through seeing films, theater performances, and TV drama. This interdisciplinary monograph, walking out from the academic Ivory Tower, leads you to the fascinating and intriguing world of popular film, (musical) theatre, and TV Drama.

This interdisciplinary, well-crafted monograph leads you to the fascinating and intriguing world of popular film, (musical) theatre, and TV Drama. This monograph is in the international field of Performance Studies and Film Studies, in arenas ranging from theatre, film, literature, TV drama, and AI, to theories of culture, humanities and media, inspiring the readers to know the scholarly exchange between the East and the West and bring the populace critical thought. Each chapter contains its issues, and all connects with the common thematic vein of performance practice in life represented via theatre and films. You’ll find contemporary and classical literature works, Eastern and Western, adapted, represented and transformed into interesting artistic media in films, performances, TV dramas, musicals, Robot theatre and AI films.

Synopsis of Each Chapter

Featuring examples as well as the insightful perspectives, you will be enriched with the useful theoretical knowledge in Chap. 1 of the methodology and theories of Popular Culture, Visual Culture, Shakespearean research, Performance Studies, Feminism, and Film Studies. Chapter 2 entices you to compare the famous films adapted from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet . Chapter 3 lets you enjoy the spectacles of the Korean film Along with the Gods. Chapter 4 applies Anthropology (Myth and Levi-Strauss) within the mythological structure to interpreting the original musical in Taiwan and the Chinese film The Monkey King : Kingdom of Women. Chapter 5 explores the arousal by face and identity transformation in the analysis of Miss Saigon dispute and the five cases, including Asian American play Yellow Face , the musicals Cats , The Lion King , War Paint , and the Japanese stage performance Jekyll & Hyde & So On (2018) staged in TIFA in Taiwan.

In Chap. 6, let’s see the sexy cast dance Tango and women sing for revenge in the musical film Chicago and the musical The Visit . Chapter 7 attracts you to watch the popular Chinese TV Drama to understand how to struggle to fight to win in the end as the heroine Wei, Yin-Lo in Story of Yanxi Palace (2018). Chapter 8 examines the colonial and postcolonial history via Taiwan Hakka Theatre: Roseki TV Drama. Chapter 9 comments on Japanese Director Oriza Hirata’s two robot theatre performances (produced by Seinendan Theater Company collaborated with Japanese Professor Hirosi Ishiguro whose expertise in Robotics at Osaka University) and the eleven popular AI films. Chapter 10 makes a conclusion to illustrate the international appeal of popular visual culture in film, TV drama, and theatre manifested by human and AI.

Theories and Methodology

Theories of Popular Culture and Visual Culture

For the academia theory lovers, this monograph also provides you with plentiful theories and criticisms as methodology for you to get addicted to it. “Performing Shakespeare in Digital Culture” as W. B. Worthen indicates in the chapter of the book Shakespeare and Popular Culture edited by Robert Shaughnessy:

“Not only is our access to Shakespearean mediated by digital technology (even in live performance, where computers operate most theatre systems), our imagination of Shakespearean drama is shaped by the forms and moods of digital culture: the “penny dreadfuls” of Julie Taymor’s Titus, Ethan Hawke’s editing and re-editing of his pixelated experience in Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet, the animated clouds in the storm scene of Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, to say nothing of the thoroughgoing impact of digital editing in all three films” (2007: 228).

Not just Shakespearean drama is mediated by digital technology to be imagined, but also performing arts knowledge and history can be absorbed via theater, films and TV drama, especially manifested in popular culture. This monograph applies the theories of Popular Culture, Performance Studies, Film Studies, Shakespearean Research, Visual Culture, Modern Culture, Media Studies as methodologies to exploring Miss Saigon Disputes and the total 31 cases. There are 10 chapters arranged in the three parts in this monograph—Part I Literature, Film, and Theatre, Part II Asian American Play , Asian Theatre , and Musical Theater, and Part III TV Drama, Robot Theatre and AI Films .

In Chap. 2 Shakespeare and Popular Culture: Romeo and Juliet in Film and Pop Music

Shakespeare’s drama Romeo and Juliet is represented in the popular modern and postmodern four films and the adaptation lyrics is heard in the pop songs two music cases in Chap. 2. In Chap. 2, applying the ideas of Raymond Williams’ book article “The Analysis of ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. Introduction: Popular Visual Culture in Film, Theatre and TV Drama
• Part I. Literature, Film, and Theatre
• Part II. Asian American Play, Asian Theatre, and Musical Theater
• Part III. TV Drama, Robot Theatre and AI Films
• Back Matter