FF:JPNB51 World War II in Jap. cinema - Course Information

JPNB51 World War II in Japanese cinema

Extent and Intensity

2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

Ing. Ivo Plšek, M.A., M. P. P., Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Jiří Matela, M.A., Ph.D.
Department of Japanese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Japanese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts

Timetable

Fri 16:00–17:40 C33

Prerequisites

English fluency. Students should be comfortable conversing about abstract topics in a classroom setting, be able to read scholarly literature and write a research paper in this language.

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 6 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

In its long history, Japan has waged only few wars with outside powers. The most consequential of them, the Pacific War, still haunts the country. Never before had Japan engaged so many nations in a military conflict, and never before had the country been defeated so completely. Japan’s attempt at conquest of Asia, and its crushing defeat eventually, has left a deep scar in the nation’s psyche. For much of the postwar era, the country has tried to come to terms with this experience. The debate – as to why, how and for what purpose – is still ongoing. Every day, newspaper articles, scholarly treatises, radio or TV documentaries and others material appear on this subject in Japan. The Japanese film, too, has been an important cultural vehicle through which the nation has attempted to make sense of its dark years. Over 200 feature films have been produced since 1945. And this body of work - the Japanese cinematographic approach to WWII - is the subject of this class. By watching selected war movies, we will try to understand how the country remembered WWII, what lessons it took from it and what meaning it ascribes to it today.

Our main goal is finding answers to the following questions:
- What themes does Japanese postwar film tackle most in regards to WWII, what themes does it avoid?
- Who are the producers, script writers, directors behind Japanese war movies?
- How do they portray the experiences of the Japanese people? And what portrayals do they use for Westerns and Asians?
- What are the core messages of these films? How does the public react to them?
- What do the Japanese war movies get “right” and what do they get “wrong”? How does their content fare against available historical evidence?
- Has the interpretation of WWII changed in Japanese cinema over the past decades? If so, in what direction?
- How do the Japanese war movies compare to their counterparts in China and Korea? Which are historically more accurate?

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this course:

A) Students will get a much firmer grasp the Pacific War. We will study how the conflict came about and what motives drove its participants. We will thus gain a richer understanding of modern history of the region and come to appreciate why the so-called “history problem” has plagued East Asia for so long.

B) We will study postwar Japan. Particularly we will focus on the various divisions that existed between major groups within the public and the elites on how to interpret Japan’s imperial past and how to move forward after 1945. These disagreements have formed one of the enduring social cleavage in Japanese postwar society.

C) Will acquire knowledge of the Japanese film industry – its structure, its movers and shakers, its acclaimed directors and film stars.

D) We will have watched over 20 feature movies.

E) We will develop a comparative understanding of the differences in film approaches to WWII in China, Korea and Japan.

Syllabus

• PART 1: Theoretical and historical background (2 sessions)
• a. Introduction to Japanese film and film industry
• b. The Pacific War from viewpoints of its participants
• c. WWII in Japanese society after 1945
• PART 2: Film viewing, analysis & debates (10 sessions)
• We will watch Japanese classics as well as lesser known war movies made in the 1945 - 2019 period.
• PRELIMINARY list:
• - Children of Hiroshima (1952)
• - I want to be Shellfish (1959)
• - Human Condition (1961)
• - Japan’s longest day (1967)
• - The Human Bullet (1968)
• - Battle of Okinawa (1971)
• - Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972)
• - Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
• - Black Rain (1989)
• - Pride: The Fateful Moment (1998)
• - Best Wishes for Tomorrow (2007)
• - Caterpillar (2010)
• - The Eternal Zero (2013)
• - Kuujin (2016)
• PART 3: Asian film in comparison & Paper project debates (3 sessions)

Literature

• YOMOTA, Inuhiko. What is japanese cinema? : a history. Translated by Philip Kaffen. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019, xi, 228. ISBN 9780231191630. info
• Fifteen lectures on Showa Japan : road to the Pacific War in recent historiography. Edited by Kiyotada Tsutsui, Translated by Makito Noda - Paul Narum. First edition. Tokyo: Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2016, xiii, 300. ISBN 9784916055606. info
• SERAPHIM, Franziska. War memory and social politics in Japan, 1945-2005. 1st pbk. ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center, 2008, xv, 409. ISBN 9780674028302. info
• STANDISH, Isolde. A new history of Japanese cinema : a century of narrative film. New York: Continuum, 2006, 414 s. ISBN 0826417906. info
• IRIYE, Akira. Pearl Harbor and the coming of the Pacific war : a brief history with documents and essays. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999, xii, 258. ISBN 9780312147884. info
• DOWER, John W. War without mercy : race and power in the Pacific war. Toronto: Pantheon books, 1986, 398 s. ISBN 0394751728. info
• RICHIE, Donald. Japanese cinema : film style and national character. New York: Anchor Books, 1971, xxvi, 261. ISBN 0385094418. info

Teaching methods

Structured class discussion will be the basic teaching method. Students will have to prepare on a weekly basis before they come to class. This will entail reading assigned texts and watching assigned movies. The materials (including movies) will be provided to students through the IS system and through data sharing services.

The class is suited to students who enjoy intellectual challenges, who like to think think on their own and share these ideas with others.

Assessment methods

The course grade will consist of:

1) 10% participation

2) 40% in-class work

The concrete format will depend on the size of the class and will be announced during the first meeting. The purpose of in-class assignments will be to test students’ weekly preparedness.

3) 50% final paper
Each student will write a research paper, using the methods of film and history analysis learned in the course. As a source material, selected movies (apart from those watched in the course) will be used. The concrete form and content of each research essay will be discussed with the class instructor.

This course will be interactive and entertaining. Students will come to class to exchange their ideas and to challenge others for more persuasive interpretations and insights. It will be therefore necessary that all members are engaged and participate regularly.

PLEASE NOTE: It is imperative to attend already the first session. Apart from going over the entire mechanics and schedule of this class, we will already begin with real course work that will count towards the final grade.

Grade distribution:
A 100% -90%
B 89% - 80%
C 79 - 75%
D 74% - 70%
E 69% - 65%
F 64% - 0%

Language of instruction

English

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Study Materials
General note: Předmět je určen i pro studenty mimo mateřské obory.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2020, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2020/JPNB51