Film, Theater and Society In and Beyond Japan

Dr. Darren-Jon Ashmore.

Course Name: Japanese Film & Theater Year Available: 1st Year

Course Code: PART/JPNA150 Subject Area: Performing Arts

Class Style: Lecture Number of Credits: 3

Term(s) Offered: Fall Semester Prerequisites: None

Instructor: Darren Ashmore Retake Examination: Not Applicable

COURSE DESCRIPTION This PBL (Project Based Learning) 1 course is designed as a survey of important aspects of Japanese film and theater. Through lecture, discussion, debate, group work and presentation it explores the history and society of Japan. We shall examine significant examples of Japanese media, look at the national/global impact of Japanese cinema and consider how the Japanese perspective on media has come to affect the way the whole views this nation.

For every semester, this course will be evaluated and reflect upon student course evaluation and feedback. 1 Project-based learning (PBL) is involves a classroom approach which places student participation, and teaching (AKA the flipped classroom) alongside more normal lecture and discussion elements. PBL compliments paper-based and teacher-led instruction by ensuring each student has an opportunity to query or offer alternative viewpoints to the material being examined.

COURSE OBJECTIVES Over the course of the program, student will: Develop an understanding of some of the more important aspects of

modern Japanese film and theater. Be able differentiate between the important different aspects of the

Japanese media landscape. Recognize unique and borrowed social forms that are found in Japan

media. Appreciate Japanese artistic and cultural properties. Understand the nature and purpose of comparative media studies. Students Should: Possess high communication skills in both Japanese and English. Possess Critical, Creative, Independent and Global thinking skills. Possess an inter-cultural understanding and be open-minded towards

other cultures. Student Feedback Note that the course is ever in a state of evolution, and feedback is

essential for its continued growth.

STUDY MATERIALS: Supplied each week in class – no formal text-book required.

NOTE: Attendance is compulsory. A register will be taken each

session. 1. Each unexcused absence with reduce your overall grade by an incremental amount. 2. If a student misses 30% of the total number of classes without reason (5 classes),

they will automatically lose the ability to submit a final paper or research project. 3. If you are to be absent for a legitimate reason (medical, family, etc.), please be sure

to see me ASAP. Note that part-time work does not constitute a legitimate reason between the hours of 9am and 6pm on a week-day.

4. Pre-study and class preparation: all students in this course should be sure to fully cover any provided study materials and other work before class. Be sure to devote enough time to this so that both class work and assignments run smoothly.

Also, sleeping in class will be considered an unexcused absence. We are all busy, but dozing is disrespectful to the rest of the class.

Student’s achievement of the stated course objectives will be measured in terms of their performance in the following areas:

1. End of Theme Exams 35% 2. Final Essay 30% 3. Other Tests 20% 4. Class Engagement 15%

The Final paper may be on any topic of interest to the student. However, it should be a topic to which the themes, theories and principles of media studies can be appropriately applied. These written projects should be around 2500 words in length.

Students must select or agree topic of paper by end of week eight to agree your essay question. Failure to do so will make it impossible to submit paper at end of semester. Pre-Approved Essay Questions 1: How does Charlie Chaplin represent the Great Depression in City Lights, especially in the characters of the Little Tramp, the Flower Girl and the Millionaire? For what is Chaplin appealing from his audience in this masterwork? 2: "Rashomon is a film which allows you to come up with your own ending, and that ending is likely to be all about what you do not like about yourself" - Akira Kurosawa. Review Rashomon from the point-of-view of the camera - the only witness who sees the truth, yet lacks a voice of their own. Who is telling the truth for you? 3: Review A Matter of Life and Death from the point of view of the social structrue in England at the end of the Second World War. How do Powell and Pressburger deal with the antagonism that many English felt towards America for bleeding the little island dry? 4: What is The Matrix? Literally. Explore the inspirations (anime, SF, Messianic Prophecy, etc.) from which the directors forged their nightmare world. Pay special attention to the issue of Pre-Millennial tension and the significance of releasing the film in 1999. 5: Biography: The life and works of Itami Juzo - focussing on his views on Japanese society as hypocritically nationalistic and blind to its own real nobility and strengths. 6: Do Androids Really Dream of Electric Sheep? Why does Roy Batty choose the spare Dekard's life in the climax of the film? Analyse his relationships with the other replicants and his increasing sense of self and address the critical question of why Roy would give up his revenge at the moment of triumph. 7: Apocalypse Now: Heroes and Villains are built up and pulled down in this masterwork of a film. Yet, who are the heroes and who the villains. Examine the characters of Willard and Kurtz and how they reflect official American attitudes towards the Vietnam War. What lives at the centre of the USA's own Heart of Darkness? 8: Review: Kwaidan - focusing on the use of color, sound and cinematography in creating horror without the use of more conventional material (gore, shock, etc.). 9: Biography: Sergei Eisenstein - focusing on his relationship with the company Mosfilm, and his reaction to Soviet Government attempts to manage his work.

iCLA ACADEMIC DISHONESTY POLICY

Acts of Academic Dishonesty: In accord with University policies and good practices in higher education,

acts of academic dishonesty such as plagiarism, cheating, forgery (on a paper, examination, test, or other

assignment) will result in the failure of the course at a minimum. An act of academic dishonesty during

the final examination or assignment in lieu of the final examination will result in failure of all courses

registered in the relevant academic term. Cases of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of

Academic Affairs for relevant action.

Class Format: CLASS FORMAT: Each session is two classes, divided into a Lecture and an open seminar session. The lecture will present the main views on each subject area and provide the students with a starting point for their own thought. The follow-up seminar will require the students to discuss and/or make presentations on their understanding of the material. All films where possible will be subtitled in English, however in some cases it may only be possible to provide English synopses and in others no language support at all. Be advised.

Block One - Theater Session One Class Orientation, text distribution and assignment discussion.

Session Two Theme: The Prehistory Theater Introducing the subject of theater studies in Japan, we will examine both the history of narrative art in various countries throughout the world, coming to rest eventually on the styles which developed in the Japan into the stage arts into which our subjects evolved.

Session Three: Religion and Japanese Theater (Video to watch - Kagura) Lecture: Looking at the beginning of Japanese Theater, and considering the religious roots of performance in this country. Discussion: Possession and Theater.

Session Four: Samurai and Theater (Video to watch – The Ground Spider) Lecture: Looking at the militarization of Japanese Theater in the middle ages: exploring the values of proto-bushido. Discussion: Masks in Theater.

Session Five: Everyone and the Theater (Video to watch – Kanjincho) Lecture: Looking at the popularization of Japanese Theater in the Edo Period: exploring the money to be made in Kabuki. Discussion: Class division in the Edo period.

Session Six: End of Theme Test – The World of the Stage. There will be a Q/A followed by the exam itself.

Block Two – Film Comes to Japan

Session Seven Theme: Prehistory Film Introducing the subject of Film studies, we will examine both the history of narrative art in various countries throughout the world, coming to rest eventually on the styles which developed in the Japan into the film of the post war years.

Session eight: Inspiration (Video to watch – City Lights) Theme: Interpreting the Silver Screen: An Introduction to Social Analysis – using Chaplin’s City Lights as an example. Questions for Discussion on the: 1: How does Chaplin gain sympathy for the character of the 'Little Tramp' and the 'Flower Girl' throughout this film? Pay attention to Chaplin's use of character development in the light of the times in which the film is set (The Great Depression). 2: How is America painted in this period - through the interaction of The Little Tramp with a variety of people in the film? What message is Chaplin attempting to send to his audience, and why? 3: Analyse the final sequence - often considered to be the finest single moment of film ever recorded. What does it mean?

Session Nine: ‘Japaneseness’ in Film (Video to watch – Late Spring)

Theme: Using Ozu’s impressive exploration of social expectations of post war Japanese feminity, combined with the director’s technical accomplishments to view how Japan learned from creators like Chaplin. Questions for Discussion on the: 1: How does Ozu Build Empathy for each one of the main characters in the film, and does that empathy survive the film’s resolution? 2: How is Japan painted in this period - through the interaction of Father, Daughter and friends, in both their rural home and metropolitan Tokyo? 3: Analyse the final bar scene. What does it all mean?

Session Ten: Theme Test – Early Forms American and Japanese. There will be a Q/A followed by the exam itself.

Session Eleven: Perspective in Film (Video to watch – Rashomon)

Theme: Akira Kurosawa’s Greatest film. A lurid look at Kamakura Japan in which the social breakdown of the age is painted large and directly applied to modern Japanese minds. 1: How does Kurosawa use the camera in the key sequences to set emotional proximity, but physical distance between the cast and the audience? Pay careful attention to the woodcutter's walk into the wood as well as the scenes in the court and the various fights. 2: How does Kurosawa use the cap-scenes at the beginning and end of Rashomon to reference post-war Japan, even though the story is set in the early years of the Kamakura Period? Pay attention to the dialogue of the characters when not speaking directly of the main storyline, as well as his use of light, rain and the ruined gate. 3: In the end, why does it not matter who is telling the truth?

Session Twelve: The Social Cinema (Video to watch – Tampopo) Theme: Juzo Itami was Japan's most impressive social film maker until he committed

suicide (or was murdered) in the late 1990s. Of all his films, it is Tampopo which stands as his 'Nationalistic' masterpiece - painting a wonderful image of Japan's obession with all things foreign. Discuss the nature of each of the main characters (Tampopo, Goro, Gun, The Master, Pisken, The Banker, etc.) and how each of them expresses the true heart of Japan, as well as the country's fascination with the foreign.

Look kids. It's Ken Watanabe....... (Applaud)

Session Thirteen: The Social Cinema (Video to watch – Kwaidan) Esoteric Film 2 - "Kwaidan" - Theme: Kwaidan (怪談) is a 1964 Japanese portmanteau

film directed by Masaki Kobayashi; the title means 'ghost story'. It is based on stories from Lafcadio Hearn's collections of Japanese folk tales. The film consists of four separate and unrelated stories. Kwaidan is the archaic transliteration of Kaidan, meaning "ghost story". It won the Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination. Session Eighteen - 24th June: Screening. Session Nineteen - 29th June: Kwaidan is often described as a horror film, yet it is not gory or sensational, relying instead on slow buildups of tension and on quiet suspense. 1: How does Kobayashi's visual style (expressionist - using obviously artificial sets and colorful backdrops) lend the film a surreal quality. 2: We shall discuss each tale in turn. Choose one, and prepare questions or comments on it and its reflection of Japanese culture, lore and society.

Session fourteen: End Theme Test – The Critical Japanese Cinema. There will be a Q/A followed by the exam itself.

Session Fifteen: Inspiration (Video to watch – Blade Runner)

Theme: Ridley Scott’s impressive interpretation of ‘Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep’. The most important Film of the 1980s and one which paved the way for the Cyberpunk generation. 1: How is the film's theme - the difficult quest for immortality - supplemented by the ever-present eye motif and how does the eye refer to the important question: what does it mean to be truly human? 2: Is Dekard a replicant? This is a question which has followed the film version for decades What is your idea?

Session 16 - Final Assignment due at end of Exam week