Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba is a part Japanese and Vietnamese artist who creates films which explore Vietnamese history and national identity, and have referenced issues such as the displacement of Vietnamese "boat people" after the Vietnam War. But Hatsushiba's principle theme revolves around Alienation.
"For the Courageous, the Curious, and the Cowards" was a 13 minute video by Hatsushiba exposing the difficulty and hard labor that the job of dragging the cyclos through the ocean floor had involved. This video acts in the same way as a documentary, it consisted of real Vietnamese fishermen, no actors were employed. The viewer is forced to acknowledge the fact that all physical struggles evident in this video are real, this also brings out the absurdity of such tangible barriers the men may face. According to Wikipedia, Cyclos are used for local transport, mostly used in the South, Southeast and East Asia, where the passengers are pulled by a person on foot. The fisherman drag the cyclos completely underwater, across the sea floor towards about thirty mosquito nets, spread across the sea bed by the artist himself. The fisherman remain calm and determined until needing to breathe, they then rush up to the surface and gasp for air.
Concepts and ideologies from the Renaissance, Modernism are evident in the video. Interest in the future (scientific or the technological) as to capture the footage underwater would require a specific video camera. By capturing the real scene and atmosphere of dragging the cyclos, the audience better absorbs the real issues. Hatsushiba also shows interest in he everyday and mundane human lifestyle of the Vietnamese. He really focuses on their hardships and struggles.
As said by Hewit, (2008), “the arduous job of dragging the cyclos through the ocean speaks to the difficult burden of the past in the face of modernization.” From Hatsushiba's work we are exposed to the lifestyle of some Vietnamese people who struggle with change, modernization an industrialization. The people who do not accept the westernized ways and methods.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun_Nguyen-Hatsushiba
http://www.nyartbeat.com/nyablog/2008/07/for-the-courageous-the-curious-and-the-cowards/
This work is very interesting as it takes the concept of struggle so literally, and still holds the depth of the ideology behind it by using symbolic scenes in the footage (ie. rushing to the surface to gasp for air, finally succumbing to the change). I like your description at the end of the post regarding the struggles some go through during times of change, and how some don't accept the newer methods. However, maybe in poorer countries with lack of infrastructure like Vietnam, these people have little or no means to make a change and still keep their livelihood, dignity, traditions and income?
ReplyDeleteI like how real life fisherman were used instead of actors. it makes the documentary work a lot easier to sympathize with and the work becomes more real. It feels less planned out that if actors were employed because they can never do as good a job as the true people can. I am impressed with how well shot it all is also, the lighting is brilliant and the colours underwater are superb. All in all I think the video is very well done and I find the concept very interesting, especially getting a feel for the struggle that went on.
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