Meiji Gakuin Japanese Film Workshop

[ryan.cook at yale.edu]

Dear KineJapaners,

For everyone in the Tokyo area, please join us for the next meeting of the
Japanese Film Workshop at Meiji Gakuin University on Friday, February 25th,
from 7 to 9 PM at the Shirokane Campus of Meiji Gakuin University. The 
venue is
*room 7418* on the 4th floor of the Hepburn hall (a tall building 
standing next
to the main building). Directions from stations and the campus map are linked
to below as a PDF file. The workshop is open to all, and welcomes participants
from any discipline. After the presentation and discussion, we usually move to
an 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