2012/01/01 by Alicia Kozma · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Japanese History and Culture #Asian Culture and Media Studies #Cinema and Media Studies
paper · doi:10.1386/jjkc.3.1.37_1
openalex publication_date 2012/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
This article examines Pinky Violence films, exploitation movies from 1960s and 1970s Japan, focusing specifically on radical portrayals of gender and sex. Utilizing the subversive space of exploitation cinema, Pinky Violence films provide alternative constructions of gender and female sexuality through the character of the sukeban: the girl gang boss. An evaluation of both the cultural and the historical factors that led to the development of Pinky Violence films demonstrates how the changing post-war society indelibly influenced new iterations of gender for Japanese women. An assessment of the tropes of the films and an analysis of the ideology behind them pinpoints Pinky Violence as an unvalued, and hence understudied, area in transgressive Japanese cinema. By doing so, the article ultimately attempts to position Pinky Violence films as a valuable source of untapped material that can offer a unique insight into constructions of gender in Japanese cinema.