Dissertation Diary 1

Things I've done recently:

I read a qualitative methodology book by David Silverman. In light of the guidance of the book, I have put down some note to articulate my idea now about my research project. Basicly, I have clarified my goal not to be solely focused on the use of game, but the development of subjectivity. Use of game is setting as a short cut to look into the subjects lives for several reasons that I will put on here later on.

I asked my students for their permission of carrying out interviews. I have three subjects so far (as I understand, more or less agreed), I think I will put the progress on here tomorrow.

I sensed this strong belief

Writing about Paris, Texas

I sensed this strong belief in love, which forced people to get lost, return, and thrown themselves again into the forests unknown.

I sensed this strong belief, which I don't believe anymore, as if all the intensities left in the past.

But I am touched. Vaguely remembering someone said, watching films is not about understanding, but enjoying the process.

Enjoyed it as if it's a whole length of life.

A good film, is where, you have no way to insert critism into.

Not even pointing your finger into the fundamentality behind it, that you don't believe.

A good film, is what, shuts you up, and leaves you a lasting aftermath in vain.

Oriental women? Satisfy all your fantasies all in one time.

I think you can tell by the title what I want to write. Yes, Memoirs of a Geisha. I can make it very simple: I don't like it. But I'm also urged to moan more. Because, this thing is getting bigger and bigger, and it's devastating. (Maybe I have exaggerated it, I'm just very fond of the word devastating recently). Anyway, what thing? As told in the title: fantasies to oriental women. No, there's absolutely nothing wrong with whoever you are attracted to, it's even better if you are open to all races and ethnics. Openminds are absolutely something I want to celebrate and promote. But not when it becomes a collective conspiracy. Good that this film exposes such conspiracy in its naked body. This is basicly a story, with three most acclaim oriental beauties, who all uneceptionally devoted their life goal to 'find my true love, be with the right man' sort of bullsh*t. Good that they set it in Japan, where I don't know much about the women. Dare they set it in China, I will go to Stephen Spilberg and slap him right on his left cheek. Don't just make oriental women what you want them to be, with your money and the wide distribute, some innocent people will take it as a partial truth. It is suggesting, look, whatever you can't find in the liberated (more or less) western women, you find it in oriental women: loving, loyalty, devoting, you name it. I don't believe that sort of crap that a person (most likely to be woman) only love the one and only throughout her/his whole life, well, not unless you only meet one person in your life or something. This time, they do not only tell you one oriental woman is like that, they showed oriental woman of different characters, but no matter how much they vary, all they pursue in is a MAN. ..... I nearly expected there to be some lesbanism, which could be quite a natural thing I would expect to happen in such an environment the Geishas seeped with, and how naive am I in front of the hollywood blockbusters.

Not that I hate Zhang Ziyi. I don't like her much, but she was very impressive in 2046. You could at least, see her striving for her own life, love but with senses, though always under the male gaze, you could see the struggling, and you make every way to understand.

Anyway, that's all for today, when I start to rant, I can't talk much sense. So I'm not going to make anymore stereotypes here.

:)

Couch-potatalisation

This is a word I read from an intrigued article written by Henry Zhao (Hong Ying's husband). The article is titled 'Dumbing down'. It is such a buzzword that writing about it is seemingly becoming a cliche in the west. But not when it is put in Chinese discourse, no one had even put forward an adquate translation to this phenomenon. Henry Zhao translated it as '往下笨'. I think this is a very cute and lively translation. Anyway, it is in this article he played with the word couch potato a little bit, and put it into: 沙发土豆化 (couch-potatalisation) to verbalised the generation of television in the west.