Abstract
Abstract This paper analyzes the 2016 Chinese animation film Big Fish & Begonia and its precursor, a 2004 Flash animated short video, in conjunction with Zhuangzi’s philosophy of becoming and transformation. It traces the origin of the film in the auteur’s dream experience and the development of cinematic language and animation technology from the initial short video to the full-feature film. Adopting a form closely associated with the fantastical and speculative traditions of Chinese mythology, Big Fish & Begonia represents animal becomings through the apparatus of the dream, as both crucial content and form, and the formal characteristics of animation. Both the dream and the animation forms allow the expression of desires to break through the ontological and epistemological constraints of the human subject and to render the physical form unstable. By engaging with key passages from Zhuangzi that discuss dreams, knowledge, “free and easy wandering,” and “becoming/transformation,” the paper asserts Zhuangzi’s continued influence in contemporary Chinese animation. The film offers new ways of conceptualizing and addressing modern environmental crises while aligning itself with the cultural–political agenda to create “authentic” Chinese stories.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
