I found the discussion to be interesting. I haven't seen many of the films discussed but I appreciated the information on the history of Japanese cinema.

Japanese film industry was like the old American system.
The film Rashomon changed things in 1950 different versions of the same event. The ideas of multiple perspectives is an idea that I've done in my English classes with news articles, eye witness accounts, and other situations when perspective is evident.

This film gathered international attention and changed Japan's film industry and brought Japanese cinema to the world.

Later, the Civil Rights Movement and the changes of the people's views the film industry began to change. After WWII, there were more people going to college, people's film taste starts to change, world cinema becomes big.

French new wave has some similarities with Japanese film. I've studied the French Nouvelle Vague mouvement in high school and college, and literature of the same period while a student in Paris.

Late 1950s Kurosawa became a well-known Japanese film maker.

I appreciated the film clips. There wasn't enough time for this. I agree.
Last Samurai shows the image of a stereotypic Japanese samurai. this would be a great way to show students and give them a typical samurai, even if it is cheesey.
Shall we Dance looks like a wonderful film I plan to watch.
Memoirs of a geisha stereotype of women in Asia. I would not show this to students. It is not even played by Japanese actors.
The film Love Letter, an iconic love story in which woman calls out the traditional saying of How are you, I am fine. Way to start a letter. My students who enjoy love stories, dramatic movies would love this clip. Many are obsessed with Japanese culture, anime, manga, film.
"Crying out loud." Made in 2000 about a love story in the 80s. Walk man communication depicting a "pure" love story. This sounds like an interesting story.
"Fairy tale" was mentioned as a love story that is also well-known.

This was a sad reality, that Japan has a very high suicide rate. Many social problems are associated. It is partially blamed on bullying, and other problems. I would like to understand this issue.
Movie Suicide Club was shocking and would not be something I would show to students. Girls decided to jump on tracks.
Horror: Audition. About a TV exec who auditions girls and chooses the most demure and she's the most psycho. She tortures him. Unwatchable, another film I would not show to students.
Evalengelion anime beginning and the end. This would appeal to my students.

I don't know if you've been helped already, but I can name a few, most by Akira Kurosawa:
Seven Samurai
Ran
Throne of Blood
Kagemusha
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
13 Assassins
Ninja Scroll (very violent but classic anime)
Samurai Champloo (series of 24-26 episodes but beautifully animated and written)

Hope this helps!

I appreciated the background this speaker gave on cinema in general, in that it set up the context for the discussion we had, but as Cyndi mentioned in a previous post I wish we would have gotten a little bit more of the history of Japanese cinema and how it evolved. I did enjoy the different clips we saw, in that it help establish the different themes that existed within Japanese films. For example, it was interesting to see how the Last Samurai depicted images of everyday Japanese life, and I also found it interesting when the speaker showed the clip on the first dance lesson. It was definitely a stark difference in Japanese life from the Samurai military clip he showed us before (definitely contrasting Japanese masculinity). These two clips would definitely be great to show to students and have them compare and contrast their thoughts on how Japanese culture is depicted. I would also have them make connections to what they have in the media and how this contrasts to the clips shown. Another video clip that impacted me greatly this class was the suicide circle film where the girls jumped on the train track and committed suicide. The fun, carnival music played during this time definitely contrasts what is actually going to happen, which is interesting but also a little disturbing.

I was really hoping to see more clips to enhance the discussion of Japanese cinema as I have a great appreciation for the medium of film. In fact, at some point I would really appreciate the opportunity to even teach a film class. I have used film to enhance many of my lessons, most notably by pairing Apocalypse Now with Heart of Darkness as a culminating essay for my AP Literature course. I am particularly interested in films dealing with imperialism and colonialism from multiple perspectives. I didn't get a chance to ask about such films regarding the attempted Japanese colonization of neighboring Korea. That would certainly shed new light on the old paradigm of Western hegemony over Africa, Asia and the Americas. I find it fascinating to consider two cultures that more similar than they are different navigating the idea of one dominating the other.

I agree with Arturo, this class was over the top. I usually watch international films, however, I had never seen something like this before. The film that struck me the most was the group suicide at the metro station. I've read about suicide rates in Japan, but never thought that someone would be directing a movie as such. I need to learn more about Japanese cinema to understand all this ambiguities.