Reminder: Meiji Gakuin Film Workshop

[ryan.cook at yale.edu]

A last-minute reminder to those in the Tokyo area about the Meiji Gakuin
Japanese Film Workshop meeting tonight, February 25th, from 7pm to 9pm.

The workshop will take place at the Shirokane Campus of Meiji Gakuin 
University.
The venue is *room 7418* on the 4th floor of Hepburn hall (a tall building
standing next to the main building). Directions from stations and the campus
map are linked to below. The workshop is open to all, and welcomes 
participants
from any discipline. After the presentation and discussion, we usually 
move to a
nearby Izakaya to continue the conversation. We look forward to seeing you
there!

This month's presentation is by Patrick Terry, from his MA research on films
about Japan's Zainichi-Korean community.


Presentation Abstract


This paper seeks to complicate the issue of Japan's imagined homogenous
population through films addressing the Zainichi-Korean community. While many
were born, raised in Japan and primarily speak Japanese they are still
considered foreigners by the government and required to possess an alien
registration card at all times. However, over the past decade a significant
shift has occurred in the representation of this group on film providing an
entry point to discussing key issues such as social standing, political
rights and legal status. Three films, GO, Pacchigi!, and Blood and Bone 
form the
crux of an analysis which critiques the ability for mainstream cinema to
successfully address issues of place, citizenship, and identity. Each of these
films utilizes a blend of drama, comedy, stylized violence, and fantasy
sequences to engage high stakes issues in a form manageable for general
audiences. The critical and financial success of these films has helped open a
larger discussion about the rights of the Zainichi-Korean community and
more broadly any foreign resident living in Japan. Although, with these films
what trades-offs are made in the space between social critique and box office
receipts? Are these films capable of expanding social and political acceptance
in Japan or do they simply represent pieces of entertainment cashing in on the
easily malleable themes of love and tragedy?


Patrick Terry is a Master's Student in the Department of East Asian Languages
and Literatures at the University of Oregon and currently studying in the
Department of Modern Japanese Literature at Meiji University as a MEXT 
research
award recipient.


A map of the campus can be found here:
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/campus/shirokane/index_en.html


For more information, please contact: ryan.cook at yale.edu


Ryan Cook
PhD Candidate, Yale University
Visiting Researcher, Waseda University