Student Learning Objectives:

1. To develop a broadly interdisciplinary approach to an understanding of film and its role in society

2. To be conversant with the history of international cinema and be able to use that history to provide context for other works they encounter

3. To be exposed to the theoretical and disciplinary tools necessary for the analysis and assessment of film and filmic images

4. Develop critical responses to cinematic work based upon aesthetic or cultural values other than the entertainment model that dominates the mainstream Hollywood distribution system

Broader Course Objectives:

This course will offer a survey of some of the major Japanese films and film directors from the "golden age" of Japanese cinema in the 1950s and 1960s to the present. Works by directors such as Ozu Yasujiro and Kurosawa Akira will be screened in order to give students an appreciation for some of the classic works of Japanese cinema. Contemporary films and anime will be examined as well. The work of the course consists of reading the two books on Ozu and Kurosawa respectively, viewing the films in the assigned time slots, coming to class prepared to discuss the films, and periodically submitting brief film critiques or "commentaries" on WISE as indicated. Film showings will be Tuesday evenings in the Film Studies Room, Ford Hall.

Course Requirements:

1. Regular Attendance (no more than 2-3 absences)

2. Participation in class discussions

3. Do the readings as assigned

4. View the films as scheduled

5. Take leadership responsibilities for film discussions as assigned (small groups of students each week)

6. Complete the "Short Commentaries" or critiques on WISE due regularly on most films

7. Complete four (4) main short papers for the class, and one more impressionistic one as assigned; Due Feb. 14, March 8, April 10, April 17 (Seven Samurai) and May 5.

For the most part, these papers will be evaluated on the basis of

1) their Organization and Clarity (i.e., strong Introduction with a claim/thesis statement, effective arguments in the Body of the paper, and a Conclusion that reinforces the thesis or claim spelled out in the Introduction);

2) their effective use/analysis of materials from the readings and the films--e.g., dialogue, key scenes, filmic techniques employed, etc; and

3) their general Flow and Coherence--good, crisp, clear, efficient prose.

Readings:

	David Desser, ed. Ozu's Tokyo Story
	Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto, Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema
Selected Articles, Handouts and Online Materials	Good websites to know about:   http://us.imdb.com/ http://pears.lib.ohio-state.edu/Markus/Welcome.html (Kinema Club)

Feb. 21	Discussion of Stray Dog Introduction to Kobayashi Masaki (http://www.filmreference.com/Directors-Jo-Ku/Kobayashi-Masaki.html)	Sign Ups for Yoshimoto Ch. 10, pp. 147-178
Feb. 21	Film Showing: Harakiri (1962)	Some Reviews of Harakiri More Reviews of Harakiri
Feb. 23	Finish Stray Dog Discussion also Talk About Harakiri	Short post on WISE for Harakiri Discuss/Assign 2nd paper on early Kurosawa films

Feb. 24-24 3:00 pm Paulus Lecture Hall at the Law School, Symposium on "Lessons of Fukushima"

Keynote Address by Brett Walker, envrionemental historian, The Triple Disaster and Japan's Environmemtal Past. Events continue on Saturday. See Schedule.

Spring Break March 26-30

No Classes

A final paper, 5-6 pages, See a short prompt here. Due Saturday, May 5, (though I will be out of town so you may have until Monday if you wish) on one or more of the later Kurosawa films (Ikiru, Kagemusha, or Rhaposody in August); or, an essayAfter Life and Departures with possible cross overs.

Director Frank Capra wrote that only the morally courageous are worthy of speaking to their fellow human beings for two hours in the dark. Kurosawa possessed this courage. His cinema is deeply formalistic, yet those forms are simply his means to an end that he regarded as paramount. That end is the recognition of common humanity and of common suffering. Few filmmakers had the drive, the overpowering sense of responsibility,and the gifts necessary to take viewers on this journey. Kurosawa did and, in doing so, he showed what cinema might yet accomplish.

Stephen Prince, The Warrior's Camera, p. 358.