Present perfect cinema and the implicated subject: the utilization of photographs in Ōshima Nagisa's Diary of Yunbogi

• Published in: Journal of Japanese & Korean cinema Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 74 - 90
• Main Author: McKiernan, Kevin J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 02.01.2025
• Subjects: 1960s; implicated subject; photography; Present perfect cinema; Ōshima Nagisa
• ISSN: 1756-4905; 1756-4913
• DOI: 10.1080/17564905.2025.2475528

This article shows how Ōshima Nagisa works in the mode of filmmaking I call present perfect cinema throughout his short documentary film Diary of Yunbogi. Composed entirely of still photographs, this 'film document' complicates the singular and static temporality of photography by bringing the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula into the present, illustrating the ongoing colonization of the peninsula. Remediating the photographs into a film asks the viewer to confront Japanese imperialism in the contemporary moment. I demonstrate how Ōshima's utilization of still photographs renders him what Michael Rothberg calls an 'implicated subject.' Rather than directly identify with the postcolonial subject, Ōshima asserts his solidarity as a citizen of Japan with Korean students. Diary of Yunbogi forges a new form of solidarity, whereby the recent colonizing state of Japan and South Korea are linked by their shared American occupation. The absolute poverty that accentuated South Korea and Japan's respective postwar environments opens a space for dialogue between two places under the regime of American neocolonialism.