Introduction to Japanese Film, Media, and Visual Culture (224-0-20)
Topic
Japanese Cinema I
Instructors
Patrick James Noonan
847/467-0283
Kresge Hall - Office 4-550
Office Hours: Varies quarter to quarter, please check with instructor.
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-415: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
AY 23- 24 This course offers a history of Japanese cinema from its earliest days through the so-called "Golden Age" of the 1950s. We will consider how film and other moving image technologies have reflected historical moments and shaped cultural discourses in modern Japan. Focusing on films that raise disciplinary questions related to both the cinematic medium and Japan, we will examine, among other topics, the era of silent cinema; the relationship between nationhood and the formation of a "national cinema;" technological transformations and the coming of sound; the wartime period; cinema during the occupation; and 1950s modernism. We will also study the place of important individual directors - Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Kurosawa - within the broader economic and institutional contexts of Japanese cinema and its global circulation. Students will learn how to critically analyze various films from multiple theoretical perspectives while gaining an understanding of the major figures and movements in the history of Japanese cinema. Syllabus subject to change
Teaching Method
Lecture and Discussion
Evaluation Method
Attendance and Participation Weekly Assignments Short Writing Assignments
Class Materials (Required)
All readings will be available as PDFs All films will be accessible through Canvas
Class Attributes
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area