Ritið : tímarit Hugvísindastofnunar - 01.05.2010, Page 34

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BjöRN ÆGiR NoRðfjöRð
Bestu nýgræðingarnir
1. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Taíland.
2. Lucrecia Martel, Argentína.
3. Lisandro Alonso, Argentína.
4. Bong Joon-ho, Suður-Kórea.
5. Carlos Reygadas, Mexíkó.
6. Cristi Puiu, Rúmenía.
7. Cristian Mungiu, Rúmenía.
8. Corneliu Porumboiu, Rúmenía.
9. David Gordan Green, Bandaríkin.
10. Abdellatif Kechiche, Frakkland.
ABSTRACT
What is World Cinema?
The essay addresses the concept of world cinema from various angles; offering
both a survey of its typical uses in addition to putting forward its own theoretical
explorations. Divided into three subchapters it begins with a discussion of the
concept of national cinema, and its shortcomings in dealing with cinema in the era
of globalization. The second subchapter introduces the concept of world litera-
ture, surprisingly marginal in discussions of world cinema, considering the for-
mer’s long history and extensive debates regarding its meaning and political
implica tions. Despite the fundamental differences between the two media, world
literature scholarship has much to offer film studies. For one thing it is argued in
the article, drawing on literary scholars including Edward W. Said and David
Damrosch, that world cinema is best understood as an amalgam of certain texts
(defined in a variety of ways) and as an analytical approach (a way of reading such
texts). Finally, the last section offers a survey of global art cinema during the first
decade of the twentieth century resulting in an alternative world map to that
which informs today’s geopolitics, and thus prompting many interesting questions.
Short analyses are offered of celebrated filmmakers, and their diverse relations
and responses to both local and global challenges are emphasized.
Keywords: national cinema, world cinema, world literature, globalization, global
art cinema, Tsai Ming-liang, Wong Kar Wai, Michael Haneke