JAPA 255 - Japanese Film and Animation: From the Salaryman to the Shojo

This course examines some of the enormous body of Japanese film, focusing on works from the 1930s to the present. We will see the work of well-known directors like Mizoguchi, Ozu, Kurosawa, and Oshima, as well as recent films by directors like Kitano, Iwai, and Morita. Thematically, the films will be united by a single topic, which changes with each offering (previous topics have included “Love, Sex, and Death” and “Families On Film”). Methodologically, the course considers how to approach Japanese film, and engages with a number of critics who have argued that Japanese film is intrinsically different from other national cinemas, particularly from classical Hollywood norms. We will consider the strengths and weaknesses of this argument, and we will also address recent research which calls for analyzing film within an evolving media system. No Japanese language ability required. All films shown with English subtitles. Every year. (4 Credits)