Japanese Film and Literature: The Art of Storytelling

Catalog description

The course covers modern Japanese literature (from 1868 to the present) and post-war Japanese film (from 1945 to the present). The modern film and literature have inherited unique premodern characteristics such as an open-ended plot without any closure, a non-linear as well as linear way of storytelling, and a preference of atmosphere and beauty over a structured plot. On the other hand, partly owing to the Western influences, they have seen innovations in the art of storytelling (e.g., contextualization of modern self in an open-ended story, filming techniques). The course focuses on the artistic media (e.g., language, sound, color, film techniques) of each film and literary work and their interactions with the plot and the historical and social contexts of each work. It also explores how the art of storytelling is in tandem with the vicissitudes of human condition as illustrated in Japan's variety of films and literature in the twentieth and twenty-first century. Analyses of each storytelling not only reveal cultural dynamics behind Japanese modernity, but also invite students to find new insights into Japanese culture and their ways to perceive our globalized world. What kind of cultural exchanges took place between modern Japan and the West? How are Japan's traditional values transformed in the face of modern technicalization and industrialization, compared to the modernization of other countries? And, in turn, what kind of impact has modern Japanese culture had on today's world? Tackling these questions among others, the course also extends to such issues as the legacy of traditional Japanese culture, the modern Emperor system, the World War II experiences, emerging voices of minorities and the popular culture (e.g., anime and subculture). Course Website: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RU2iXs7Vyc-6F-HRozPu7_YdV7oYuOGn/view