Filozófia | Tanulmányok, esszék » Hiu M. Chan - The Philosophy of Ang Lee, Review

Source: http://www.doksinet Film-Philosophy 19 (2015): Book Reviews Review: Robert Arp, Adam Barkman and James McRae (eds.), The Philosophy of Ang Lee, Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2013, pp. 314 Hiu M. Chan Cardiff University Books about ‘the philosophy of’ something or other have recently become trendy in contemporary publishing; not only books about films, but also about a wide range of pop culture products, including The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Superman, and so on. Indeed, I personally contributed an essay to The Philosophy of Inception: Ideas to Die For (2012), for which editor Thorsten Botz-Bornstein explained to contributors that this kind of book targets a crossover audience of academics and a wider general readership. However, The Philosophy of Ang Lee is a first For, editors Robert Arp, Adam Barkman and James McRae write in their introduction that ‘the purpose of this book is to explore the philosophy of Ang Lee’s films’ and that

‘the chapters draw from both Eastern and Western philosophies to examine the multicultural themes present in Lee’s works so that readers will gain an insight into Lee’s films and the rich philosophical heritage in which they are grounded’ (1). The ‘philosophy of’ books generally offer an interpretation of their chosen texts through a philosophical lens, or they seek philosophical metaphors that the texts indicate. This book, however, revisits the classic discussion within philosophical-cultural studies of the East/West phenomenon. In doing so, it would seem that we have not gone beyond a binary East/West structure, with the book suggesting perhaps that we still need this binary in order to build up a dialogue between the two symbolic sides. The book is itself divided into two parts: Part 1 – The Eastern Philosophy of Ang Lee, and Part 2 – The Western Philosophy of Ang Lee. The editors suggest that Lee’s films can been seen as the director’s own autobiography, while

also mentioning Friedrich Nietzsche to suggest that all philosophy is also autobiography (22). Lee left his native Taiwan to study in the USA at an early age, and he also has a father who was an expert on Confucius; such a hybrid cultural background explains the reason why we can see the philosophical fusion of East and West in Lee’s style and mode of cinematic thinking. What is more, as the editors point out, the central philosophical theme of all of Lee’s films is ‘the struggle for authentic self-identity’ (23). In the first part of the book, almost every writer mentions about how Confucianism is embedded in many of Lee’s works. Scholars even manage to decode the non-Chinese context in which Lee has made several films in order to reveal the secret Eastern wisdom hidden therein. www.film-philosophycom 108 Source: http://www.doksinet Film-Philosophy 19 (2015): Book Reviews James McRae’s ‘Conquering the Self: Daoism, Confucianism, and the Price of Freedom in Crouching

Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ sets out the principles of self-cultivation as developed in Confucianism and Daoism, before arguing that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Taiwan/Hong Kong/USA/China, 2000) explores the tension between the two philosophies. Through his study of both philosophies in the film text, McRae’s conclusion is to propose an ambitious philosophical enlightenment: ‘It is only by balancing these values that we can conquer the self, and it is only by conquering the self that we can flourish’ (37). McRae finds evidence for this balance/harmony in Lee’s film, and thus by extension in Lee’s philosophy. Renée Köhler-Ryan and Sydney Palmer’s ‘What Do You Know of My Heart? The Role of Sense and Sensibility in Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ echoes McRae’s chapter. The writers propose that ‘sense’ and ‘sensibility’ might replace what McRae calls the ‘natural freedom of Daosim’ and the ‘refined order of

Confucianism’. To Köhler-Ryan and Palmer, Lee’s characters in both films embody both sense and sensibility, while at the same time showing a desire to transgress them. While Elinor (Emma Thompson) and Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) respectively represent ‘sense’ in Sense and Sensibility (USA/UK, 1995) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Marianne (Kate Winslet) and Jen (Zhang Ziyi) represent ‘sensibility’, with all of these characters struggling to balance the weight of both external and internal repression. Köhler-Ryan and Palmer suggest that Lee’s uniqueness as an auteur lies in his balancing of these two elements, which allows him to convey some sort of wholeness to his audience. Michael Thompson’s chapter, ‘The Confucian Cowboy Aesthetic’, attempts to find the Eastern philosophy in Lee’s most (literally) Western text and context, Brokeback Mountain (USA/Canada, 2005). He does this by arguing with some originality that Lee uses the cowboy as an attitude in his

characters that stands in contrast to society, in order to elaborate an Eastern notion of Confucian social interconnectivity throughout the development of story. Meanwhile, Jeff Bush’s ‘East Meets Western’ carefully examines both cowboy characters Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal), suggesting that they respectively embody the Eastern philosophy of Mencius and the Western philosophy of John Corvino. Contrasting the representation of cowboys in Brokeback Mountain with those found in traditional Hollywood westerns, Bush proposes that Lee’s cowboy film contains an Eastern twist. Indeed, Bush proposes that the East meets Western characteristics in Brokeback Mountain, encouraging the audience to comprehend homosexuality in an ethical and moral way, rather than through the perspective of sexuality. Meanwhile, Misty Jameson and Patricia Brace seek Eastern philosophy in scenery and landscapes with their chapter ‘Landscape and Gender in Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility

and Brokeback Mountain’, and Carl J. Dull, in www.film-philosophycom 109 Source: http://www.doksinet Film-Philosophy 19 (2015): Book Reviews his chapter ‘Can’t Get No Satisfaction: Desires, Rituals and the Search for Harmony in East Drink Man Woman’, rounds off the first part of the book with an analysis of how harmony, as a recurrent concept in the Confucian philosophical tradition, can help us to understand the family conflicts, as well family structure more generally, in Yin shi nan nu/Eat Drink Man Woman (Taiwan/USA, 1994). In the second part of the book, the chapters switch direction away from traditional Chinese philosophy and towards modern Western philosophies and concepts. Basileios Kroustallis’ ‘Lust, Caution: A Case for Perception, Unimpeded’ discusses three variants of the role that perception acquires in the film, and argues that Lee has bravely explored the complex interrelations between perception and action, and, through the characters of Se,

jie/Lust, Caution (USA/China/Taiwan, 2007), the human and the environment. In ‘The Power to Go Beyond God’s Boundaries: Hulk, Human Nature and Some Ethical Concerns Thereof’, Adam Barkman discusses how Hulk (USA, 2003) can be seen as a parable about Paradise and a film that questions the essence of human nature. Timothy M Dale and Joseph J Foy’s ‘Displacement, Deception, and Disorder: Ang Lee’s Discourse of Identity’, meanwhile, proposes that Lee’s signature style suggests a pessimistic philosophy regarding the possibility of finding an authentic identity, since this is irreconcilable with the social and political world. David Zetsma closely examines the antiwar narratives in both Taking Woodstock (USA, 2009) and Hulk, while Nancy Kang focuses on desexualization as an approach to identity construction in the former film. Susanne Schmetkamp discovers a philosophy of love and recognition in The Ice Storm (USA, 1997), and David Koepsell and George T. Hole in separate

chapters both see the same film as illustrating existentialism and nothingness. Finally, James Edwin Mahon discusses Ride with the Devil (USA, 1999), proposing that the proverb ‘all’s fair in love and war’ is the perfect summary of the philosophy in this film. The Philosophy of Ang Lee demonstrates how Ang Lee’s films make manifest both Eastern and Western philosophical traditions and concepts. However, how the project could be taken further is, by using Ang Lee’s works and his ‘auteurism’ as a case study through which to explore the possible dialogue and cultural negotiation between the East and the West, to look for the sameness in the differences, rather than reinforcing the differences once more. Among all the chapters, perhaps only Jeff Bush’s ‘East Meets Western’ shows some effort to produce cross-cultural conversation and thus a new model of thinking. Unfortunately, the bipartite structure of the book demonstrates a priori that the editors consider the

philosophy of Ang Lee to have two distinguished parts, East and West, rather than an organic whole where the two amalgamate. For a book that discusses a Taiwanese director, his works and their relation to Chinese philosophy, what is very useful, however, is the inclusion of a glossary of www.film-philosophycom 110 Source: http://www.doksinet Film-Philosophy 19 (2015): Book Reviews Chinese terms in pinyin ( ), in both Chinese characters ( ) and English translation. Even better would be for the project to include the original Chinese characters of any term or names that are used in texts, thereby avoiding confusion and showing evidence for the co-existence of a symbolic binary combining East and West. Bibliography Botz-Bornstein, Thorsten (ed.) (2012) The Philosophy of Inception: Ideas to Die For, Chicago: Open Court. www.film-philosophycom 111