Silver Screen Buddha - Buddhism in Asian and Western Film (Hardcover)

How are Buddhists and Buddhism represented in contemporary films? Are these mediated sources accurate representations of the Buddhist tradition? What kinds of Buddhisms and Buddhists are missing in these films and why?"Silver Screen Buddha" is the first book to explore the representation of Buddhism, race, and gender in contemporary films directed by both Asian and non-Asian directors. It examines the cinematic encounter with Buddhism that has flourished in Asia and in the West in the past century - from images of Shangri-La in Frank Capra's 1937 "Lost Horizon" to Kim Ki-Duk's 2003 international box office success, "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring." The book helps readers see that representations of Buddhism in Asia and in the West are often fraught with political, gendered, and racist undertones that are missed and overlooked by viewers. "Silver Screen Buddha" also draws significant attention to the ordinary lay Buddhism that is often overlooked in popular film. Readers are introduced to some of the key Buddhist texts and doctrines that are implied in Buddhist films yet not explicitly explained, helping them to ascertain the difference between a fictionalized, commodified, and exoticized Buddhism and a more realistic representation of the tradition that includes the laity and, in particular, women and Asian/Asian Americans. The book also engages in a reimagining of Buddhism that expands the popular understanding of Buddhism as the realm of meditating monks and nuns to include an everyday lay Buddhism.

General

Imprint:	Bloomsbury Academic USA
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	December 2014
Authors:	Sharon A. Suh
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 14mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	232
ISBN-13:	978-1-4411-8925-7
Languages:	English
Subtitles:	English
Categories:	Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Films, cinema > Film theory & criticism Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > General
LSN:	1-4411-8925-4
Barcode:	9781441189257

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