Session 5 - August 7, Kerim Yasar, USC

[Xiaowei Hunt]

Dr. Dube,

Thank you for the information. This seminar has opened new windows for me to see the other side of the world. 

Xiaowei 

[Jennifer Chang]

I really enjoyed learning about Professor Yasar’s Ozu’s postwar film analysis and reading Castro’s Vanished Men, Complex Women. We were able to analyze the film clip by clip, which really helped me understand a lot of the nuances in the film that I otherwise would have missed. I definitely think I will use this type of exercise with my students, instead of watching the entire film and having them answer questions at the end. 

 

The article states that “women did not become stereotypically “modern” by working in an office or wearing Western clothing nor were they steadfastly traditional by virtue of being housewives or wearing traditional clothing.” It was really interesting to see examples of this in the film. We saw women still upholding the tradition of serving men such as when Noriko pours sake for her father’s friend. However, we also saw what more progressive women would look like - Ayako living by herself with her job as a stenographer, dressed in Western clothes, and divorced. It also seems that the transition did not happen full force - they seemed to be in that in-between phase of holding onto old traditions and values, but with a new outlook. 

While I might not be able to use this is middle school, I can definitely use some of these scenes to have the students compare and contrast gender roles. 

 

[Petrina Jap]

Nichole,

I like that you point out that this film can be used for multiple subjects. As we were going through the clips in today’s lecture, I noticed how Dr. Yasar was able to expound on the material from different aspects — historical, social, and political contexts, literature, film and art techniques, cultural understanding... there is so much potential with a film like this!

[Petrina Jap]

The complexity of filial piety is apparent throughout Ozu’s “Late Spring.” Even from the short clips we watched during Dr. Yasar’s lecture today, it was clear that there is tension in observing filial piety. In the film, Noriko’s reluctance to marry is largely stemmed for her love for her father; while her father surely appreciates Noriko’s care for him, he reluctantly realizes that he must marry Noriko off for her benefit. The ending of the film is bittersweet, as both have remained faithful to each other’s priorities, yet have lost each other. 

I would be curious to find how Western students react to this film, particularly the ending. In this day and age, (western) society often encourages people to be true to themselves and their own desires, a notion that stands against Noriko and her father’s actions. I would like to see if students are able to understand, and perhaps even support, this example of familial piety demonstrated in “Late Spring.”

 

[Monica Munguia]

Petrina, I know that I am much older than you but through my cultural and western values, I would sacrifice my happiness for my child or parent.  It depends on a person, and how they have changed from their traditional values.  I am a first generation American, and I have become very Americanized but still wrestle with my traditional Mexican values.  As an example, my mother is 87 years old and for the most part Americans tend to place parents in assisted living conditions.  Some siblings wanted that route for my mother; whereas, my brother and I said we would take her in our home and care for her.  This is what is best for her and expected from us.  She took care of me now I take care of her.  But, I also have to say that in a traditional Mexican household, there is an underlying rule that children do not move away far from the family.  I broke this rule when I moved away and studied, and now my son has gone away to study at a university.  This my mother worries about daily and wants him home with us.

[Anthony Pollard]

     We discussed several scenes from director, Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring featuring a character named Noriko. For high school students, CCSS suggests students research the writer of literature. By learning about a writer, a student gains insight into the writer's intent for their publication.

     For example, a writer/director illustrates their perspective, but a viewer makes an interpretation of the visual they see based on their prior knowledge and inferences. If we use Late Spring to teach our students analytical skills, Ozu's deliberate and lengthy pauses in action and speech, gives our students an opportunity to discuss what is the intent of the action. For teaching and discussion, student will have our guidance based on our experience, and will be able to apply a 21st century perspective as well (undoubtedly, students may not feel the saem way Noriko felt about getting married, and then having to leave home.)

    Another lesson we could teach is the plot map. Professor Yasar performed a wonderful work translating the film. There are several ways we could address a analysis and writing conventions: It was mentioned many students lack writing skills when they reach seventh grade (this is about the time when they really learn what writing a paragraph is supposed to do); they can write several sentences, in paragraph form, describing what they see because they will not actually understand the language. Sure, they will see the subtitles, but the action doesn't really match the langauge. Students can analyze and describe what they feel (most likely, this was an intent by Ozu, for viewers to feel something. Persuasive technique=PATHOS)

Lecture: Waves of the Ocean: Gender and Generation in Ozu’s Late Spring

[David Ojeda]

Kerim Yasar's lecture was great. The lecture reminded me that film can and should be taught as a form of literature/narrative. One is able to use visual narratives to dive into the historical context of a specific event and attain the director's commentary. I teach 6th-grade English and Social studies, so I envision myself doing what Yasar did:

1. Provide a text for students to attain the historical context of an event.
2. Provide a visual narrative (though a film was chosen, the visual could also be a picture, painting, or a combination of all mediums to attain different perspectives and see how the text compares and contrasts with the visual representations)
3. Provide three questions (1st would be personal experience, 2nd would be historical context, and 3rd would be style/technique)

What I found very interesting about Noriko's character is that she seems to start off somewhat as a nonconformist in the film's exposition. However, by the dénouement, she has accepted marriage. This reminds me of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Like Noriko, Elizabeth began as a nonconformist of the time; she did not care much about marriage, but all of her sisters and mother did (commentary on women in the Regency Era). When I taught Pride and Prejudice, students often argued over if Elizabeth fell from grace because she accepted marriage or if she ascended to grace because she married by the dénouement and was finally well established in society. It would be interesting to create a unit that compares both protagonists.

[Zoey McKinney]

As someone who just got married and moved away from my parents last month, Ozu's theme of the restructuring of families really struck a chord with me. We discussed the universality of the story, and I really think this is true. Although the style of cinematography and acting might seem slow or stiff to Western audiences, I think everyone can relate to the idea of painful changes within the family. When I moved out of my parents' house, I lived about seven minutes away from them. Now I live about an hour away. Relatively speaking, I didn't move a very far distance, but it was still difficult for both my parents and me to adjust to. Not only is that because we were used to the way our family had been structured, but also because, like in the movie, my parents are also getting older and planning ahead for when they need care. I think it's interesting that in the film, Noriko is the one to bring up caring for her father in his old age while the aunt has to assure her that he will be okay. With regards to this issue, we usually see the older generation with the expectation that their children will care for them, while the younger generation is less likely to plan for that. Noriko is demonstrating her filial piety through her insistence on staying with her father, but in this case she actually comes to the realization that it is not the right path for her. It's a very interesting take on generation and Noriko's duty to her father vs. her duty to get married.

[Marcos Rico]

I enjoyed Professor Yasar’s lecture and his approach to showing the movie in short clips, then allowing time for discussion and observations. I feel that this way of studying a film would work even with 1st graders, short movie clips would keep their attention span focused into the movie. The first movie that comes that I would like to try this strategy is with Coco. I believe that by using short clips it would be a good tool to study the traditions of “Dia de los Muertos” with my 1st graders.

Now that I have watched parts of Late Spring, I would like to watch the whole movie and then the other two movies of the “Noriko Trilogy” ( Early Summer and Tokio Story). I wonder why did Ozu decided to use the same name for the main female character?

 

[Scott Craig]

I was really fascinated by the film's perspective/portrayal of the US occupation post-WWII. This is a part of history that we so often overlook. I've been guilty of covering Japan when talking about WWII, but after the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and then not really covering anything about Japan until we get to the global economy. After this lecture, I'm planning on showing a couple of clips from the movie to begin a discussion on US occupation of Japan. This really sparked some great ideas that I have to work on to create a full lesson.

[Scott Craig]

I agree that students retain so much more from film than from a lecture or reading. In history it helps them visualize and understand different eras. I too was really impressed with the technique of looking at clips and then examining not just the content, but the perspective and what was missing from the scene. I thoroughly enjoyed the lecture's content, but was even more impressed by the teaching technique that was used.

[Deanna Wiist]

This was one of my favorite sessions so far. Professor Yasar really worked to be interactive with his approach to Ozu’s film, Late Spring. He also kept his focused narrowed. The use of selected film clips and discussion gave everyone a chance to interact and broadened my understanding of the film. His was an approach that would work well in the classroom when working through any film. It would allow you to use films that might otherwise be off-limits because the teacher could be selective in the choice of clips. I even liked how he did the opening curtain with his Power Point.

[Nelson Ta]

As a developing film nerd, I was very interested in the lesson that was taught today and the method it was presented. Although we watched only parts of Ozu's Late Spring, I was able to quickly relate to the various characters in the story. It was fascinating to see how developed and layered the female characters were portrayed while the males felt (for the most part) stilted and cardboard. Besides the last scene where the father character sits in the room alone saddened by the departure of his daughter, the guys felt limited in their emotional and range. The female characters, all three that we see, all portray varying emotions and had identifiable personalties. It was interesting to see one of the character's willingness to date for love, divorce, and move to others. It's fascinating to see that these ideas were accepted within film while even in most western cultures, remarrying is frowned upon to an extent. This would be an interesting film to watch in class and compare the way women are portrayed in film throughout different cultures.  

[Kathrin Simmons]

I loved Naomi's Kamase's video presentation about her life and filmaking process. I was intrigued with her personality being so calm and assertive, that was supported through listening to her speaking in Japanese her native language. It sounded beautiful but monoton, which made it even more interesting. I also seemed  more wordy and then the English translation. She caught my attention right at the beginning, when she said that she wanted to catch time, that is passing all of us at the same time, on film. Making the connection to her physical and digital audience all through out the video, through adressing people straight through the camera making them think about their own life experience being able to connect to hers. She explaines how she was intrigued early on, living with her grandmother, that as a filmmaker you have a subjective and objective view at the same time. In her filmmaking Naomi Kamase intention is to  reach out to her audience and make true connections by " being able to call people all over the world by their first name". Sharing her grandmothers view of saying as she was passing: "The world is beautiful".

I have only seen trailers of some of her movies, but would like to watch her films in the future.

For sure I am sharing her attitude in reaching out to people, to my students, connecting with them, making connections to their own experiences and respecting everybody as the beautiful human beings they are.

[Amy Chen]

Great literary connection. How would you present these two literary figures to your students? Would you touch on the Eastern vs. Western setting on the two stories?

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