Session 5 - August 7, Kerim Yasar, USC

[Anthony Pollard]

     Surely, Ozu has intentions for each scene he films. He was a celebrated director. Professor Dube and Professor Yasar both reiterated the deliberate illustrations the characters perform, as Ozu directs with specific detail in his scenes. This scene had a sad tone, but seemed to portray the decision made for Noriko to marry was the right choice. However, later, it seemed the father was distraught about his daughter leaving. We learned, when a daughter marries, she goes to be with the husband's family. 

     It would be interesting for high school students to view the scenes, and attempt to predict the outcome. 1.) Whether Noriko is actually going to be happy or get divorced later (based on 21st century freedoms), or 2.) Did her father do the right thing persuading his daughter to marry, whether it was for her own good or to satisfy traditions. There are several discussions that can be held. These CCSS Speaking and Listening 1.c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives. d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task. 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

In the article Vanished Men, Complex Women: Gender, Remembrance, and Reform in Ozu’s Postwar Films by Mauricio F. Castro, the author speaks of the stories in the postwar films and how they “reflect changes in Japanese family law, the effects of war remembrance on family life, the meeting of cultures in the occupation, and the complex codes of masculinity and femininity.”  The film The Late Spring by Yasujiro Ozu explores all these elements with his own style as Prof. Yasar pointed out today.  It is important to talk about these themes in social studies classes. Every family goes through a similar situation at one point or another in their lives.  A family goes through changes throughout its existence. As an International Baccalaureate School, I feel it is extremely important that I present some of these elements not only in relation to China but as a comparison of the postwar era in the U.S. as well as Japan.  How is their postwar history different and why?

Who writes history?  The victors. Where are the victors of war in this movie?  It would be very interesting to have a class discussion or debate revolving around this topic in my classroom. Students would take notes during a few scenes I would show in class and have a group discussion about what they saw and what is significant about the postwar era in Japan.  As another lesson they would work in another group to compare what they know about the Japanese population in the U.S. in the postwar era. Finally, with the help of a graphic organizer, students would compare the postwar Japanese people in Japan and in the U.S. and their experience.

 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

Prof. Yasar suggested the following questions to discuss with our students after watching some scenes of the film The Late Spring: 

Questions for Students:

• How do gender roles differ in Noriko and Ayako’s generation compared to that of their parents?  How do they differ from gender roles today in the U.S.? 

• What does the film tell you about recent history (relative to when it came out) in Japan? What doe it leave out?

• Where is the camera positioned throughout much of the film?  How much does it move, and in what ways?

I would incorporate these as either another lesson or as a follow up one.  Students would discuss these questions in small groups and would analyze them.  They would come up with a presentation for the class and be ready to defend their analysis.

 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

I loved her talk as well.  I am trying to find a movie I could watch as I think it would be as beautiful as her TED talk.  These true connections are so important, especially, for us teachers.  I know that most of us know the names of our students. However, if you teach many classes, you have to know so many names.  It is so important to know them though.  Just like connecting with students on a personal level to encourage them is so vital.  This is a very elementary remark, but I thought of it when I watched her video in class.

[Joy Chao]

Hi Monica, I share the same sentiment with you. I moved here from Taiwan for college and later grad school, then eventually stayed here to work and started a family. Like you, I would sacrifice my happiness for my children and parents. Being here for 20+ years I still find it hard to get past many of my upbringing from the Chinese society. Even though we don’t have an underlying rule that children should not move away from their parents, but we know the parents would always prefer to see their children settle down close by. I think our family values really shape who we are, regardless how old we become and where we are.

[Gerlinde Goschi]

What an amazing message Naomi Kawase sends to the world in her TED Talk.  I was moved by her eloquence, strength, humility, elegance and beauty. I think this is a must see for all students today.  Our colleague mentioned how she tries to bring in positive message to girls in her classes. What better way, I would dare say!  I will definitely incorporate her talk into my classes. As Prof. Yasar ended his session … no one can top that!

 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

Prof. Yasar mentioned  that the German director Wim Wenders produced the documentary Tokyo-Ga about the Japanese director Yasujiro Ozo.  In my research about this, I came across this excerpt of Wender’s narrating voice  “ If there were still sanctuaries in our century … if there was something like a holy treasure of cinema for me, that would be the work of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu.  He made 54 films. Silent movies in the 1920s, black and white films in the 1930s and 1940s and finally color film until his death on the 12th December 1963, on his 60th birthday.”  This next analysis done by Wenders reminds me of the one done by Mauricio F. Castro in his the article Vanished Men, Complex Women: Gender, Remembrance, and Reform in Ozu’s Postwar Films: “ Although these films are distinctly Japanese, they are also global.  In them I recognized all families, in all countries in the world, as well as my own parents, my brother and myself.  Never before and never again was film so close to its essence and its purpose. Showing an image of the human in our century.  A useable, true and valid image, one in which he cannot only see himself but rather learn something about himself.” (https://wimwendersstiftung.de/en/film/tokyo-ga-2/#) I would incorporate the documentary and the Wenders comments into a lesson that allows students to research these elements.

 

[David Ojeda]

Pride and Prejudice is set in the Regency Era (1810-1820), and Late Spring, I believe, is 1949. I think I would have the students explore specific years between these films and analyze female representation in film, paintings, and so forth. The latter would be part of an introductory week to both the narratives. Like Dr. Yasar, I would present students with documents pertaining to the historical context of the narrative and the film to see how author and director provide commentary and have the students discuss the Eastern and Western representation (e.g. similarities and differences). I think this would work best in a high school setting.

[Joy Chao]

Kawase's TED talk really was an amazing one. I will always remember what she said about why she fell in love with making movies; "movies let us cross oceans, and let us share our emotions." We can't go back in time, but by looking at the flims we made, those moments can come back to us. It's like a time machine, as she put it. What seems to be just reocordings of ordinary lives turned into a lasting memory. 

[Jonathan Tam]

I'm pretty sure that after I do a post in each seminar and the website, I am just going to do probably 11 film reviews based on all the suggests that have been made regarding foreign films. I am incredibly guilty of not dabbling as much in the work of Ozu or Kurasawa despite the fact that I have constantly been recommended to by friends. The tips that Professor Yasar provided though - in regards to how to view the films as well as the nuances that they portray - are what I think will be the last straws / incentive to finally check them out. It seems as though foreign film has exploded within the last few decades and I think that as more folks find their footing in storytelling, the better the industry is going to be and the more connected people are going to feel throughout the world. Films seem to be providing a great common thread for people to build empathy towards each other and realize that a zombie apocalypse in Korea will pan out more or less the same as one in the midwest. It seems like just a few years ago that I started to recommend some of the Korean horror films in the corners of netflix to my students (for them to watch outside of class), but the works of Naomi Kawase as well as another young director that I know, Jia Zhangke, seem like other great places to find films to recommend to my students.

[Sophia Kang]

I also agree: The smile throughout all the scenes made for some awkward and unsettling tension as if there was more underlying their thoughts. The smile seemed to be Noriko's way of avoiding the discomfort of her blunt commentaries' effects on other characters. What was all the more shocking was the dad's friend, who talks about himself pathetically saying, "I've really done the filthy thing" and laughs. It seems to play on his sense of hopelessness.

[Sophia Kang]

I appreciated the last film that Professor Yasar ended with by Naomi Kawase. I might use films by her if I were to do an inclusive study of films by filmmakers of color. I think the study of Ozu's film angles and techniques are some good strategies after covering a Critical Media Literacy unit on how the supporters and policymakers have an impact on how film gets produced. For example, some questions I might ask are: How did the government and the postwar reform impact the characters and their portrayal? Similarly, in the films that we watch today, how do institutions impact our films?

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

I agree that the film clips have great potential in a history class. I think I can use clips from some of the films we discussed in class as "documents" for students to study and incorporate in their document based essays. We often analyze images, and I use video clips to get students' attention or introduce a topic. However, short clips such as the image of the Coca Cola sign, or generational differences between characters displayed in Late Spring can also be used as documents depicting a moment in history.

[Ann Huyhn]

The film, “Last Spring,” is about a father and daughter relationship that is slowly changing because of the daughter’s marriage at the end of the film.  In the film, the main character has a difficult time leaving her father, but she has an insistence aunt who believed that the woman’s role is to get marry and reproduce the next generation.  This would be very difficult for my students to watch because it is black and white. I think that I will show parts of the film and we have a discussion about what it feels like to have someone you rely on leaves. 

[Nelson Ta]

I loved the TED Talk that she gave. It was a phenomenal way for the professor to end the session. Even though I do not speak Japanese and don't often watch foreign films that only use subtitles, I was able to feel the emotional impact of Kamase. Also, as a person that genuinely enjoys film and film festivals, I like the initiative of eastern countries breaking into the film industry. For years, the Academy Awards have been dominated by Hollywood, especially the animated films. Even though there have been many and groundbreaking animated features from East Asia, they are never recognized. Thus, I like the movement to create significance for their own films. 

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