Description:
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An introductory scrutiny of major Japanese directors and genres with attention to film composition, choices of subject and character, ideas of the cinematic, and the relationship of cinema to Japanese culture and society. Students will analyze and critique films. Discussion of films will deal with the production of their historical, social, and cultural context, as well as issues dealing with popular culture and equity.
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Course Narrative
In each of the above listed classes, we went over an array of cultural and lingual concepts about Japan and its people. Each class incorporated an element of traditional or pop culture in Japan, its relevance to modern culture and the global perspective. I was presented with various elements of culture that I previously did not know about or understand, until presented with the new perspectives. For example, in Japanese 310: Japanese Cinema, the class analyzed movies and how they applied to modern culture, as well as the culture of the era in which it was made. This evaluation of culture presented on screen, and presented in a format of imagery that when reading between the lines presents a piece of Japanese culture. After viewing the 1954 film Gojira (Godzilla), we looked at the nuclear conflicts, regarding both bombs and power, and how that had an influence in the creation of this creature and the message the film makers were trying to convey to the audience. We also had a look at family and its dynamic through cinematography in multiple movies. These movies portrayed family in different ways, such as Departures, which showed the cultural traditions of tending to the dead and that effect on family (see sample), as well as the family dynamics and how they have been affected by change and cultural reassignment, especially after dramatic changes, such as in Always Sunset on Third Street (see sample).
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