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Japanese Film and Social Issues: A Survey
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Understanding the interplay between media (film) and society in Japan
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In this seminar we will consider the interplay of media and society, focussing on Japanese films and Japan’s social history. We will examine these issues through close analyses of films before their industrial, social, and political backgrounds. If films are, indeed, ‘a matrix for the articulation of fantasies, uncertainties and anxieties,’ (Hansen, 2000: 14), herein lies the potential for delving deeper into these social issues through the medium of film. We can learn much about a society by looking at the images it produces, of itself and of others. Furthermore, the active spectator model as supported by Hansen acknowledges that ‘[to] engage that public, to address its specific needs and fantasies, films had to be at once robust and porous enough to allow for multiple readings’ (20). The audience’s active engagement with those films highlights their ability to converse with various social issues at stake.
Understanding and analysing the interactions between film and the society we study requires a solid basis in relevant Japanese film- and social history. Hence, this seminar works well in conjunction with other courses offered on Japanese history and society. The seminar is structured around two introductory lectures and five thematic blocks, each consisting of a film, presentations, and discussions. You will work with films as primary texts as well as other primary and secondary resources. Basic film studies skills will be introduced, practiced, and consolidated by applying them to the films shown in class.
All films and clips will be shown with English subtitles.
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Japanese Cinema, Film, Social Issues
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| No. | 内容 | Content |
第1回
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Introduction and orientation
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第2回
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How to “read” a film
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第3回
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Tokyo no kōrasu (1931, Ozu Yasujiro), modernity, and cinema as a sensory-reflexive space
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第4回
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Block 1: Imagined communities and expression under oppression: Rikugun (1944, Kinoshita Keisuke, 84 min)
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第5回
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Block 1: Imagined communities and expression under oppression: Seminar and presentations
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第6回
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Block 2: Documentaries, social struggle, social commentary: Yama—Yararetara Yarikaese (1985, Sato Mitsuo and Yamaoka Kyoichi, 110 min)
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第7回
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Block 2: Documentaries, social struggle, social commentary: Seminar and presentations
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第8回
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Block 3: Social change, violence, and the media: Sono otoko, kyōbō ni tsuki (1989, Takeshi Kitano, 103 min)
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第9回
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Block 3: Social change, violence, and the media: Seminar and presentations
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第10回
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Block 4: Minorities and the industry: Go (2001, Yukisada Isao, 122 min)
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第11回
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Block 4: Minorities and the industry: Seminar and presentations
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第12回
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Block 5: Film, gender, and nostalgia: Gohatto (1999, Oshima Nagisa, 100 min)
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第13回
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Block 5: Film, gender, and nostalgia: Seminar and presentations
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第14回
ALH1
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Presentation on selected block (Week 5, 7, 9, 11, or 13)
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第15回
ALH2
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Report on a relevant lecture, screening, performance, exhibition, etc. (by week 12)
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active and constructive contributions in class: 20%
presentation in class (individual or group): 30%
final essay (2500 words): 50%
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You must read the relevant material for each week prior to the class, as familiarity with concepts presented in the readings are assumed for the lectures and discussions. A film studies background is not expected, please familiarise yourself with basic terminologies and theories from week one, by going through Bordwell and Thompson’s Film Art: An Introduction (see “Textbook”; further information on readings etc. will be given in class). For your final essay, you must find and watch relevant films outside of class.
Note taking during the screenings is essential for being able to actively participate in the discussions and presentation. Your work in this class is not ‘limited’ to ‘your film’ and ‘your presentation’ but includes active and constructive participation throughout. Also, taking effective notes during a screening takes practice, so take the opportunity with an outlook to your own film, presentation, and essay.
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Due to the emphasis on detailed work on films and group discussions, the class size is limited to 20 students.
Depending on running times, classes on the screening days may run over the allotted time.
The syllabus is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion.
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Film Art: An Introduction
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Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson
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McGraw-Hill
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2012
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