Fwd: The 10 Western films that have affected Japan the most.

[John Gorman]

Which 10 Western films do you feel have affected Japan the most?

I am a graduate student at University College Dublin, Ireland working on a master's thesis. Having lived in Japan for an extended period, I am very interested in the affect of Western cinema on Japanese culture specifically regarding democracy, women's roles and individualism. (I would like to look beyond the affect of Western films on Japanese films.) While I would be delighted to find for example that after the showing of a certain film the divorce rate doubled or kimonos were abandoned in favor of Levis, I imagine it will be rather daunting to prove direct causal relationships between specific films and specific changes in Japanese society. 

I am beginning my research by seeking the views of recognized experts on Japanese culture and cinema. Based on the results, I hope to narrow my research down to three films. I will then conduct focus groups and a survey upon three generations of Japanese; seniors, middle aged folks and current university students. (I will also pursue as much documentable fact as possible including; links between films and specific events, box office receipts, awards won, reviews published, etc.)

I would greatly appreciate if you could assist me by submitting your list to KineJapan, if possible including your rationale for at least your top three choices. Further I would be delighted if you would join the Yahoo! group I have established to research this topic further as it is rather divergent from the main purpose of KineJapan, will allow the participants to more clearly focus on the various threads of the discussion and will allow me to better manage the information generated through the greater resources available on the Yahoo! group site.

To join please send an email with your name and position to: 

WCi_Japan-owner at yahoogroups.com

Thanks much, Yoroshiku!

John Gorman