Quirkiness, Monstrosity and Hegemonic Exposure: Possibilities of a Queer Cinema from the "Pinku Eiga"

Abstract

The difficult conceptualisation of queer cinema gives rise to an accumulation of meanings: whether as works made by people who identify as queer; as the representation of LGBTIQ+ identities; or as a synonym for LGBTIQ+, among others. In this work, the aim is to go beyond hegemonic conceptualisations and, therefore, to investigate the possibility of queer cinema as something rare, minority, counter-hegemonic and counter-cultural; using the positive queerness that is socially claimed from queer spaces and identities. For this, the Japanese genre of ''pinku eiga'' is used as an example: where marginalised themes of bodily relations, sex-affectivity, BDSM and relational dynamics of aggression are dealt with. Thus, the aim is to analyse possible common characteristics between this genre and queer, trying to establish relations that allow us to understand ''pinku eiga'' as a kind of queer cinema. Consequently, the selected material has been nine films that illustrate recurring themes both from the social reality of queer as well as in this film genre. Through the categorical analysis of the material, their possible connections in the confluence of a queer cinema mediated by queerness and panic of socio-cultural and sex-affective hegemony are discussed. By way of conclusion, it postulates the potential of thinking about queer cinema with the characteristics analysed and reflecting on ethical relational futures from the queer and this type of minoritarian audiovisual narratives.