Feeling at Home in Munich and Mongolia: (Dis)orientation and Queer Diaspora in Uisenma Borchu's Schau mich nicht so an (2015)

Abstract:Drawing on Sara Ahmed's theories of orientation and Gayatri Gopinath's writings on queer Asian diaspora and impossible desires, this paper dissects how the critically acclaimed drama Schau mich nicht so an (2015; Don't Look at Me That Way, 2016) utilizes the queer diasporic Asian woman at the center of the film to reflect on a representational conundrum. The Mongolian-born, Munich-based filmmaker Uisenma Borchu takes up the challenge of embodying the seemingly impossible queer diasporic Asian woman in the film. Both the inability to pigeonhole her character Hedi to a single orientation and Borchu's own disorienting diasporic experiences queer the film's themes of sexuality, nation, and kinship, offering new and sometimes imagined alternatives. In the end, the film envisions a future that weaves together new approaches to familial bonds, culture, spatiality, and home without obscuring the differences and challenges that shape these relationships.