Negotiating representation: gender, city and nation in South East Asian transnational cinema

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper aims to examine modes of representation in transnational films, which in their production, distribution and exhibition relate to two or more countries in South East Asia, particularly Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. The paper uses the concept of transnational cinema to explain how representations of gender, city and nation are constructed in this type of film. Through a textual analysis, the paper argues that Thailand, particularly Bangkok, is usually represented by male characters, while Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia are depicted by either female characters or male characters that are sentimental, and led by emotion rather than by reason. Masculinity in the films is related to capitalism, working life and public spaces, whereas femininity is connected to cultural tradition, family life and private spaces. Therefore, cities in the films are divided into two contrasting types. The first is a modern city, in which a lack of human intimacy is foregrounded; this is usually represented by Bangkok. The other is a romantic city, intended to evoke nostalgic feelings, typically cities such as Luang Prabang, Pakse and Mandalay. Though such cinema is transnational in terms of film funding, production and distribution, the narrative content itself maintains the motif of the national subject to the same extent as purely national cinema.