The Research Training Group GRK 2833 “East Asian Futures” is pleased to invite you to our public outreach event “Visions of the Future in East Asian Cinema.” Across two afternoons in March, we will explore cinematic visions of the future from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. The selected films engage with questions of technology, society, apocalypse, memory, and imagination. Each screening will be introduced and contextualised by our PhD researchers and Qualifying Fellows, followed by a discussion. The event is open to everyone, and admission is free of charge. All four movies will be screened in their original language with English subtitles.
On March 5, 2026, 4–9 PM, we will screen the Japanese anime film Metropolis (2001) and the Taiwanese genre-bending comedy Marry My Dead Body (2022). This screening takes place in cooperation with the Studienkreis Film (SKF) at Ruhr University Bochum in lecture hall HZO 20.
On March 18, 2026, 4–9 PM, we will present the South Korean science fiction anthology Doomsday Book (2012) and the Chinese sci-fi comedy Moon Man (2022). This second event is organised in cooperation with the local cinema Endstation Kino (Wallbaumweg 108, 44894 Bochum).
We warmly invite all students, colleagues, and members of the public who are interested in East Asian cinema, future imaginaries, and cultural perspectives on societal change to join us for one or both afternoons. Please find further information on the four movies to be screened below.
Metropolis (2001, Japan)
Synopsis
In an unspecified future setting, private detective Higeoyaji and young Ken’ichi pursue a case that leads them into Metropolis, a hyper-modern megacity where humans and robots coexist. Their goal is to find Dr. Roton, internationally wanted for developing problematic bioengineered androids, who is working for the de-facto ruler of the megacity, Duke Red, to create a highly advanced robot, resembling in appearance the Duke’s deceased daugther, to further their pursuit of world domination.
However, Roton’s secret laboratory is set ablaze by an unknown assailant. Ken’ichi, who was searching the area nearby, rescues a mysterious girl named Tima who was trapped inside. Having lost her memory, Tima teams up with Ken’ichi to brave the dangers lurking in the streets of Metropolis. Unbeknownst to her, the fate of robots and humans, and indeed of Metropolis itself, will soon come to rest upon her shoulders …
The movie draws inspiration from the German 1927 sci-fi silent film Metropolis by Fritz Lang.
Marry my Dead Body (2022, Taiwan)
Synopsis
During a drug bust, Wu Minghan of Zhenggang Precinct goes undercover as a gay man at a gym to apprehend a drug dealer. Days later, while pursuing another suspect with fellow policewoman Lin Tzuching, Minghan picks up a red envelope containing a man’s photo and hair as evidence. An elderly woman named Mao approaches him and declares that picking up the envelope meant he’d be forced into a ghost marriage with her deceased grandson. Unconvinced, Minghan throws the envelope back on the ground and storms off.
Returning to the precinct, Minghan is demoted for excessive force during the drug bust at the gym. Following a continuous string of inexplicable misfortunes, he reluctantly accepts the arranged marriage to avoid further damage. After the ceremony, the ghost of his now-husband Mao Pangyu (Maomao) appears while Minghan is showering, declaring he hadn’t consented to the marriage. Enraged by Minghan’s constant taunts, Maomao possesses Minghan’s body and runs into the streets naked and dancing wildly, soon pursued by police. Minghan seeks out a Taoist shaman, who reveals a profound connection between him and Maomao from a past life. Resigned to his fate, Minghan eventually agrees to a deal: If he helps Maomao fulfill his final wish to be reincarnated, he may rid himself of the ghost and return to his police work …
Doomsday Book (2012, South Korea)
Synopsis
The anthology film Doomsday Book tells three distinct stories of human self-extinction by sentient AI, a zombie virus, and an intergalactic comet delivery to earth:
In a future where robots have replaced human labour, RU-4, a guide robot from Cheonsangsa Temple, attains enlightenment and begins delivering sermons. Its manufacturer deems this a threat to humanity and orders its decommissioning. However, the monks, who have began to worship the robot as their Reverend Inmyeong, oppose this decision. At the brink of decommissioning, in a tense standoff, engineer Bak Dowon steps in front of Inmyeong, defying his superiors’ orders …
Researcher Yun Seoku, left alone after his family departs for an overseas trip, heads out for a blind date without separating his food waste for recycling. He indulges in the beautiful Gim Yumin, delicious meat dishes, and a fun club. After all manner of revelry, a strange change comes over Seoku’s body as he punishes the high school students who interrupt his sweet kiss with her using superhuman strength. Soon, waves of zombies engulf the streets. The media’s frenzy over the identity of this strange virus—neither mad cow disease nor bird flu—pales as Seoul hurtles towards ruin …
Elementary school student Bak Minseo, who smashed her billiards-obsessed father’s 8 ball, accesses a mysterious website and orders a replacement. However, two years later, a bizarre comet shaped like a giant billiard ball is discovered racing towards Earth. Facing imminent doom, Minseo’s family takes refuge in an underground bunker designed by her eccentric uncle. Years later, captivated by an intensely bright radiance, an adult Minseo bravely ventures back to the surface …
Moon Man (2022, VR China)
Synopsis
In the year 2033, humanity deployed the United Nations Moon Shield Project (UNMS) on the lunar surface to defend Earth against the impending impact of asteroid ‘π’. The project aims to launch an array of super missiles against the asteroid, obliterating it and using the moon to shield earth from the impending debris. When the asteroid arrives and one of the missiles fails to launch properly, all 300 personnel on the moon’s surface are evacuated. Former flight dynamics engineer Dugu Yue, now employed as a maintenance technician for the UNMS, misses the evacuation notice from team leader Ma Lanxing due to an accident and is left stranded on the moon.
Unexpectedly, the Moon Shield Project fails, and Dugu Yue witnesses a large fragment of the destroyed asteroid veering off-course and hitting earth, seemingly wiping out its entire population. Dugu Yue is left as the ‘last human in the universe’ and begins a life of resignation and self-destruction on the moon …