Desensitization of sex and violence in Action Film: Takeshi Kitano's Style in FilmHow does Takeshi Kitano, a prominent Japanese television personality who debuted his film directorial career with ‘Violent Cop’ in 1989, subvert the typical stylistic elements of action thrillers and sex in drama film in 1980s and 1990s cinema? How can we interpret the depictions of sex and violence in movies such as ‘Violent Cop,’ ‘Boiling Point’ (1990), Sonatine (1993) and Hana-bi (1997)? How do they differ from conventional American action and drama of this period? Does Takeshi Kitano’s subversions of the genre serve to critique its tropes and the genre itself, or to reinforce them and create a new status quo in the depiction of sex and violence in cinema? |