Publications
The Personal over the Political: Jia Zhangke scales down in his new film
LA Review of Books’ China Channel Blog, April 2019.
This essay takes a look at the evolving style and themes of the preeminent Chinese arthouse director through the lens of his film Ash is Purest White.
The Complicated Epic-ness of The Last Emperor
Bright Wall/Dark Room, April 2019.
Contending with a film that’s both a personal favorite and an often-problematic depiction of China, here I explore what makes an epic an epic and who gets to tell those stories.
Desire is in the Details: Eat Drink Man Woman’s Vision of Love
Bright Wall/Dark Room, December 2018.
I look at how Ang Lee’s film uses food to evoke love in the context of families, relationships, and places inhabited.
The Erotically Deliberate Body in In the Mood for Love
Much Ado About Cinema, July 2018.
A look at how Wong Kar-wai creates tension and sensuality in In the Mood for Love through seemingly un-sexy poise and restraint.
“Art and China After 1989” at the Guggenheim: Defining Chinese Art for a Western Audience
China Hands, June 2018.
My review of the Guggenheim’s survey of Chinese art post-1989, a show that attempts to define what Chinese contemporary art is through pieces from artists trying to answer the same question.
The Great Wall: Zhang Yimou’s Mythic China
China Hands, May 2017.
Working from Tonglin Lu’s codification of the director’s style in her essay “The Zhang Yimou Model,” I examine the issues at hand with Zhang’s 2017 Hollywood co-production The Great Wall.