Speaker:
Dr. Tatu-Ilari Laukkanen, Tampere University, Finland
Moderator:
Dr. Daniel Elam, Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Literature, HKU
Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Time: 5:00 pm (Hong Kong Time)
Venue: Room 1069, 10/F, Run Run Shaw Tower, HKU & on Zoom
In the last two decades both Chinese and Russian “blockbusterized” films about war have become some of the biggest box-office successes of all time in these countries. This presentation analyzes these Russian and Chinese nationalist blockbusters comparatively through close textual readings and pointing out industrial and politico-economic needs and practices that have given rise to these films. The dual nature of these productions as being a mimicry of and antidote to Hollywood will be discussed. Dealing mostly with films depicting the World War II era, this lecture discusses the cinematic revival of “The Great Patriotic War” under Putin, and its uses in screen culture and propaganda after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In addition, a few recent co-productions between China and Russia will briefly be discussed in light of the two countries’ geopolitical relations.
Dr. Tatu-Ilari Laukkanen obtained his PhD in Comparative Literature at HKU and now teaches film at Tampere University and the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies (Asianet). A member of the Tampere Research Centre for Russian and Chinese Media (TaRC), he has written on film in China, Russia, and the other BRICS countries. His most recent work on Sino-Russian cinema is the upcoming book chapter, ”A Double-Edged Sword? Nationalist Blockbusters of China and Russia,” in Eastern Europe and Eurasia in the Global Age: Narrating Geopolitics and Culture,Kaasik-Krogerus et al., eds. (Bloomsbury Academic, forthcoming).
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