Displaying items by tag: Gender

Written by Molly Powers.

Lien Fan Shen, an Associate Professor in the Department of Film and Media Arts at the University of Utah, was born and raised in Taiwan. Shen became fascinated with comic books at an early age and knew that she wanted to produce her own animations. Her creative work includes manga, a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, as well as animation, and digital arts, all of which have been showcased internationally.

Her most recent animated documentary, Seeing Through the Eyes of Crocodiles, is a discussion of Taiwanese lesbian sexuality and identity.

“The film Aims to represent female masculinity in a more localized scope. The title was inspired by the Taiwanese novel, Notes of a Crocodile. The novelist, Qiu Miaojin, was unapologetically lesbian and had a profound influence on LGBT literature in Taiwan” says Shen.

The short film features animated interviews with “T,” a term referring to masculine lesbians in Taiwan, and explores the interviewees’ sexuality and their views of female masculinity.

Seeing Through the Eyes of Crocodiles has been screened at the Beijing Queer Film Festival, TWIST Seattle Queer Film Festival, and won the Best Editing Award at the Shanghai Pride Film Festival in 2016. Earlier this month, Seeing Through the Eyes of Crocodiles was screened at Wicked Queer, The Boston LGBT Film Festival, in the international shorts category, where it won the Audience Award. Shen has worked on the film for more than five years, and is eager to see where the animation takes her next.

Although Shen’s animations have won several international awards, and have been screened and exhibited in Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and the United States, her career has not been limited to filmmaking. She has also published five manga in Taiwan including: Let’s Fall in Love, I’ll be Your Paradise 1-2, and Clair de Lune 1-2, which received an award for Best Taiwanese Romantic Comedy.

Shen holds a Ph.D. in Art Education from Ohio State University as well as a MFA in Computer Art from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Her scholarly research focuses on the intersection among the pleasure, power, and politics of viewing animation, as well as the subject’s persistent practices in visual fields.

“Japanese anime materializes desire, but this form of desire may empower anime fans to actively perform their visual pleasure through creative practices, such as fans’ manga adaptations, fan anime video, and anime costume-role-plays.”

Lien will continue this research direction and is drafting a book proposal, The Anime Subject and Pleasure: The Alternative Gaze and Persistent Practice in Japanese Animation.

Currently, Shen is set to begin production for an environmental project in Summer 2017. This new project, entitled The Floating Utah, will utilize 3D technology to create ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock prints, of Utah’s polluted landscapes.

By Emerging Leaders Ambassador and Guest Writer, Rachel Luebbert

One of the first things you do each morning is put clothes on. You make decisions of what to wear and what not to wear, covering your body in very specific ways. This is an act of drag and although it might be unconscious at times, it influences the way the world receives us.

Shane Davis, a third grad student in the Modern Dance program founded a new class this semester entitled “Dragging Gender into the 21st Century” that explores these themes. Davis explained, “My course looks at how drag, both the intentional art form and the subconscious daily routine, can be used to examine gender normativity.” This course presents a critical lens to analyze the role of drag across history and in the 21st century.

Natalie Oliver, a grad student in the Art & Art History Department decided to take this course because it aligned with her own studio practice research. Oliver explains, “I develop different personas in my studio work. This course has helped me understand the history of Drag as well as the different ways to perform my created characters.” This class, for example, is structured with a variety of readings that unpack the history of drag, along with performance exercises, guest speakers, and even make-up tutorials. Each of these classes is intended to prepare students for their creative final performance. Oliver explained that one of the most impactful readings for her surrounded the Medieval European transvestite saints who were women who would dress like men, then join the church in order to escape a forcefully oppressive life. Oliver mentioned, “This topic allowed me to consider Drag history from a female perspective, as opposed to a male perspective.” Throughout this course, Davis initiates conversations on what is considered masculine and feminine and how we can co-switch between all these symbols as we negotiate identity within the body.

In addition to this course, Davis is presenting his thesis “We Gender and So Can You” which also explores the interplay of drag, gender, and the body. This original work premieres on March 24th and is composed of nine different puzzle pieces that each react to different parts of gender. Davis explains, “I explore how we can be less serious about the institution of gender to create more of an openness to others.” One of these pieces was inspired by the societal construct that has taught women to take up less space than men. This piece includes a quartet of women that are taking up space, eating it up, splicing through it and commanding a reaction. This will be an exciting evening of exploring the identity we as individuals adopt based on the forces of society, drag, gender, and the body.

“We Gender and So Can You” premiers March 24th at 9:45PM, $5 entry fee at the Metro Music Hall (615 West 100 South).

*Must be 21 and up (a later presentation will be shown that is open to all ages).