HIST 3640 Japanese History Through Cinema

Japan’s cinema tradition is one of the world’s strongest, including many of the best directors, actors, and themes in cinema history. The course examines what Japanese motion pictures can teach us about the making of Japan itself. Samurai, geisha, Emperor’s soldiers, yakuza, “military comfort women,” Godzilla, and the cinema of the everyday and tomorrow’s “Akira” and “Neo-Tokyo” will be examined through the use of films as historical documents and guides as to how the Japanese have grappled with Japanese tradition and the changing contemporary world.
Credits: 3.0