Tokyo! is a 2008 French / Japanese / South Korean / German anthology film containing "Interior Design" by Michel Gondry, "Merde" by Leos Carax, and "Shaking Tokyo" by Joon-ho Bong, all of which were filmed in Tokyo. This cinematic triptych of three Tokyo-set stories is concerned with how the experience of self-alienation is related to urban life, that is, how to survive in a city as a self. The problem of life is the struggle for self-preservation. In Tokyo! the three film directors have shown that urban life is both self-deconstructing and self-preserving. In this paper, our purpose is to examine different modes of urban life by using two concepts reformulated by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida: the urban ipseity and auto-immunity. According to Derrida, ipseity is a system subjected to a circular structure. Such a system cannot avoid the general logic of auto-immunity; i.e., the structure of ipseity functions as both self-deconstructing and self-preserving. The three episodes contained in Tokyo! testify, each in its own way, to the function of that logic. In bringing to light the three modes of self: appropriation, dis-appropriation, and in-appropriation, we claim that the modality of urban life is confronted with the autoimmune reaction.
@article{ART002177554}, author={Junga Shin and Yong Ho Choi}, title={Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!}, journal={Cross-Cultural Studies}, issn={1598-0685}, year={2016}, volume={45}, pages={245-268}, doi={10.21049/ccs.2016.45..245}
TY - JOUR AU - Junga Shin AU - Yong Ho Choi TI - Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo! JO - Cross-Cultural Studies PY - 2016 VL - 45 IS - null PB - Center for Cross Culture Studies SP - 245 EP - 268 SN - 1598-0685 AB - Tokyo! is a 2008 French / Japanese / South Korean / German anthology film containing "Interior Design" by Michel Gondry, "Merde" by Leos Carax, and "Shaking Tokyo" by Joon-ho Bong, all of which were filmed in Tokyo. This cinematic triptych of three Tokyo-set stories is concerned with how the experience of self-alienation is related to urban life, that is, how to survive in a city as a self. The problem of life is the struggle for self-preservation. In Tokyo! the three film directors have shown that urban life is both self-deconstructing and self-preserving. In this paper, our purpose is to examine different modes of urban life by using two concepts reformulated by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida: the urban ipseity and auto-immunity. According to Derrida, ipseity is a system subjected to a circular structure. Such a system cannot avoid the general logic of auto-immunity; i.e., the structure of ipseity functions as both self-deconstructing and self-preserving. The three episodes contained in Tokyo! testify, each in its own way, to the function of that logic. In bringing to light the three modes of self: appropriation, dis-appropriation, and in-appropriation, we claim that the modality of urban life is confronted with the autoimmune reaction. KW - Tokyo!;urban ipseity;auto-immunity;appropriation;dis-appropriation;in-appropriation DO - 10.21049/ccs.2016.45..245 ER -
Junga Shin and Yong Ho Choi. (2016). Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!. Cross-Cultural Studies, 45, 245-268.
Junga Shin and Yong Ho Choi. 2016, "Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!", Cross-Cultural Studies, vol.45, pp.245-268. Available from: doi:10.21049/ccs.2016.45..245
Junga Shin, Yong Ho Choi "Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!" Cross-Cultural Studies 45 pp.245-268 (2016) : 245.
Junga Shin, Yong Ho Choi. Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!. 2016; 45 245-268. Available from: doi:10.21049/ccs.2016.45..245
Junga Shin and Yong Ho Choi. "Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!" Cross-Cultural Studies 45(2016) : 245-268.doi: 10.21049/ccs.2016.45..245
Junga Shin; Yong Ho Choi. Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!. Cross-Cultural Studies, 45, 245-268. doi: 10.21049/ccs.2016.45..245
Junga Shin; Yong Ho Choi. Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!. Cross-Cultural Studies. 2016; 45 245-268. doi: 10.21049/ccs.2016.45..245
Junga Shin, Yong Ho Choi. Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!. 2016; 45 245-268. Available from: doi:10.21049/ccs.2016.45..245
Junga Shin and Yong Ho Choi. "Aspects of the Urban Life in Tokyo!" Cross-Cultural Studies 45(2016) : 245-268.doi: 10.21049/ccs.2016.45..245