"The Pleasure of Mourning: Korean War Blockbusters in Post-Cold War South Korea" at Pitt, November 19.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present We Jung Yi and her talk "The Pleasure of Mourning: Korean War Blockbusters in Post-Cold War South Korea" as the next installment of its Asia on Screen series on November 19.

WE JUNG YI is Assistant Professor of Asian Studies and Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University. Her book manuscript, entitled Remembering the Unfinished War: Literature, Film, and the Politics of Mourning in South Korea, engages with the cultural turn in Korean literary studies by tracing historical and aesthetic connections among diverse forms of Korean War memories. She is the author of “Between Longing and Belonging: Diasporic Return in Contemporary South Korean Cinema,” collected in Cinematic Homecomings: Exile and Return in Transnational Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2014).

And a description from the Pitt International Week website:

We Jung Yi's talk traces the ways in which the Korean War blockbuster has emerged as a form of remembering the unfinished war on the Korean peninsula, in tandem with neoliberal globalization in South Korea. She will review three Korean War blockbusters as works of mourning in transition and translation: Joint Security Area, Taegukgi, and Welcome to Dongmakgol. Her analysis focuses on how their spectacle-charged forms affectively move their audiences to engage with the traumatic legacy of their nation.

The talk begins at 3:00 in 4130 Posvar Hall (map), and is free and open to the public.

"The Long Defeat: Cultural Trauma, Memory and Identity in Japan" at Pitt, November 18.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present Akiko Hashimoto, Professor Emerita of Sociology, and her talk "The Long Defeat: Cultural Trauma, Memory and Identity in Japan" on November 18. A description, from the Pitt International Week website:

In this talk, Dr. Akiko Hashimoto explores the stakes of war memory in Japan after its catastrophic defeat in World War II, showing how and why defeat has become an indelible part of national collective life, especially in recent decades. Divisive war memories lie at the root of the contentious politics surrounding Japan's pacifist constitution and remilitarization, and fuel the escalating frictions in East Asia known collectively as Japan's 'history problem.' Admission is free and open to the public with particular interest for Japan Studies, History, and Sociology majors. Pizza will be served.

The talk begins at 12:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map).

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, November 17.

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on November 17 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.

Celebrate our city's diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese. For children ages 2-5 and their parents or caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (攻殻機動隊 新劇場版) at Carmike 10 and Hollywood Theater November 10, Southside Works Cinema on November 12.

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont will show the 2015 movie Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (攻殻機動隊 新劇場版) from November 10, as will Carmike 10 at South Hills Village (map), while Southside Works Cinema will show it from November 12. A plot summary, from the official site:

Set in a futuristic Japan after the end of a brutal world war, science has advanced by leaps and bounds giving humanity the choice to prolong life and reduce suffering with the use of sophisticated cybernetics. With all of humanity linked into one system of minds and personalities known as ghosts, the biggest threat to civilization is the cyber terrorists capable of hijacking people’s bodies and memories.

When a ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source. As they delve deeper and deeper into their investigation, they uncover traces of government corruption and a shadowy broker that bears an all-too-familiar face.

When your target can be anywhere and look like anyone, the only choice you have is to trust your ghost, and hope you aren’t infected too.

Tickets can be purchased online via links from the official website.

Vengeance of an Assassin free at Parkway Theater, November 17.

The 2014 Thai action movie Vengeance of an Assassin will play at the Parkway Theater on November 17 at 7:00 pm. The movie, like the others in the theater's Asian Movie Madness series, is free. The theater is located at 644 Broadway Ave. in McKees Rocks (map), a few miles west of the North Side.

Rashomon (羅生門) at Point Park University, November 13.

The Point Park Anime Club and the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will present the 1950 Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon (羅生門) at Point Park University on November 13. A synopsis of the film, from a 2002 Roger Ebert review:

The film opens in torrential rain, and five shots move from long shot to closeup to reveal two men sitting in the shelter of Kyoto's Rashomon Gate. The rain will be a useful device, unmistakably setting apart the present from the past. The two men are a priest and a woodcutter, and when a commoner runs in out of the rain and engages them in conversation, he learns that a samurai has been murdered and his wife raped and a local bandit is suspected. In the course of telling the commoner what they know, the woodcutter and the priest will introduce flashbacks in which the bandit, the wife and the woodcutter say what they saw, or think they saw--and then a medium turns up to channel the ghost of the dead samurai. Although the stories are in radical disagreement, it is unlike any of the original participants are lying for their own advantage, since each claims to be the murderer.

The movie starts at 7:00 pm in the JVH Auditorium in Lawrence Hall (map). For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.

Asian Noodle Bar, coming soon to Oakland since November 2014.

November 6, 2015

The "Asian Noodle Bar" at 3531 Forbes Ave. has been "coming soon" to the old Pittsburgh Pretzel Sandwich Shop location for one year. They did remove the pretzel decals, though.

Golden Dragon Acrobats at Pitt, November 20.

The Golden Dragon Acrobats will perform at the University of Pittsburgh on November 20, part of Pitt's International Week series of events.

The Chinese American Students Association brings the Golden Dragon Acrobats to Bellefield Auditorium for a night of performances. Admission is free for Pitt students (show your Pitt ID) and $10 for non-Pitt students. Students, faculty, and members of the Pittsburgh community alike can all watch amazing contortions, balance acts, and many other impressive feats from this acrobatic troupe from China!

Bellefield Auditorium is located in Bellefield Hall, in turn located on S. Bellefield Ave. in Oakland (map).

Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (攻殻機動隊 新劇場版) at Hollywood Theater, from November 10.

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont will show the 2015 movie Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (攻殻機動隊 新劇場版) from November 10. A plot summary, from the official site:

Set in a futuristic Japan after the end of a brutal world war, science has advanced by leaps and bounds giving humanity the choice to prolong life and reduce suffering with the use of sophisticated cybernetics. With all of humanity linked into one system of minds and personalities known as ghosts, the biggest threat to civilization is the cyber terrorists capable of hijacking people’s bodies and memories.

When a ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source. As they delve deeper and deeper into their investigation, they uncover traces of government corruption and a shadowy broker that bears an all-too-familiar face.

When your target can be anywhere and look like anyone, the only choice you have is to trust your ghost, and hope you aren’t infected too.

The Hollywood Theater is one of several theaters to show the film during its initial limited release in the US on November 10, 11, and 16. The movie was released in Japan on June 20. Showtimes and ticket information is available on the theater's website. The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

"Teaching Chinese Characters and Literacy" at Pitt, November 6.

The University of Pittsburgh School of Education will host the second session in its three-part Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Workshop on Friday, November 6. Titled "Teaching Chinese Characters and Literacy", it runs from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in 1500 Posvar Hall (map).