| ID | 161646 |
| Title Proper | Flight school for the spirit of Myanmar |
| Other Title Information | aerial nationalism and Burmese-Japanese cinematic collaboration in the 1930s |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Ferguson, Jane M |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In 1935, two Burmese filmmakers traveled to Tokyo with the intention of acquiring the latest sound recording equipment and training in sound-on-film production. In addition to these stated goals, in Japan they co-produced the feature film Japan Yin Thwe/Nippon Musume, ‘Japanese Darling.’ The film depicts daring young Burmese aviators and a budding romance with a Japanese woman. The active harnessing of the symbolic capital of aviation – the ideological notion of airmindedness – through the mimetic capacities of cinema, could be seen as a prescient example of Pan-Asianism, predating Daitoa Kyoeiken ‘Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’ propaganda. The film’s explicit encouragement of Burmese techno-nationalism offers a compelling contrast to other examples of anti-colonial nationalism, which emphasize notions of ethnic history and Buddhist morality and concerns of religious decline in the face of foreign imperialism. However, a comprehensive analysis of the film industry and commercial aviation in Japan in the 1930s reveals a structural impetus for this collaboration, arguably overshadowing ideological motivations and results. |
| `In' analytical Note | South East Asia Research Vol. 26, No.3; Sep 2018: p.268-282 |
| Journal Source | South East Asia Research 2018-09 26, 3 |
| Key Words | Japan ; Burma ; Aviation ; Film ; Cinema ; Pan-Asianism |