Cinema, Censorship, and the State: The Writings of Nagisa Oshima, 1956-1978

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Nagisa Oshima is generally regarded as the most important Japanese film director after Kurosawa and is one of Japan's most productive and celebrated postwar artists. His early films represent the Japanese New Wave at its zenith, and the films he has made since (including "In the realm of the Senses" and "Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence") have won international acclaim. The 40 writings, presented here, are arranged in chronological order and cover the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s. Following a historical overview of the contemporary Japanese cinema, a substantial section articulates the theoretical and political rationale of Oshima's film production. Among many other topics considered in his essays, Oshima questions the economics of film production, the ethics of the documentary film, censorship (both political and sexual), and the relation of aesthetics and social taboos.

Author Bio

Annette Michelson (1922-2018) was widely considered one of the twentieth century's most influential writers on film. During her more than five-decade career, she was an art editor and critic for the New York Herald Tribune, a writer for Artforum, a founding editor of the journal October, and Professor in the Department of Cinema Studies at New York University. Some of Michelson's essays on film were collected in On the Eve of the Future- Selected Writings on Film (MIT Press). Annette Michelson (1922-2018) was widely considered one of the twentieth century's most influential writers on film. During her more than five-decade career, she was an art editor and critic for the New York Herald Tribune, a writer for Artforum, a founding editor of the journal October, and Professor in the Department of Cinema Studies at New York University. Some of Michelson's essays on film were collected in On the Eve of the Future- Selected Writings on Film (MIT Press).