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
University Hall 121: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
AY25: This class topic was updated May 15 and is now Introduction to Japanese Cinema I: From Early Cinema to the Golden Age
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
Evaluation Method
Attendance and Participation; Quizzes; Short Essays
Class Materials (Required)
All readings are available on Canvas as individual files.
All films will be screened in class and can be streamed through Canvas
Class Attributes
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area