"Identity" in Modern Japanese Stories and Film

Literature Courses

"Identity" in Modern Japanese Stories and Film

Instructor: 
Dr. John Wallace
When: 
Repeats every week until Sun Nov 13 2011.
September 25, 2011
Time: 
10:15 am – 12:15 pm
Place: 
Education Studio
Fee: 
$100 members, $125 non-members. Fee does not include texts.

In this class we explore the theme of identity by reading one modern Japanese novel, one graphic novel, and several short stories then use films based on those works for further analysis. We begin with the traditional definition of identity by reading Jun'ichiro Tanizaki's novel, The Makioka Sisters and viewing a 1983 film (director Kon Ichikawa). Next we consider "identity crisis" in post-expansion Japan in the short stories of Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki Murakami and view Tony Takitani a 2004 film. Finally we explore the philosophical issue of what is human identity when humans are extended via technology (human-robot hybrid creatures). We will read a graphic science fiction novel (manga) by Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell (1989), and view one of the films inspired by that work. With these selections our literature covers settings in World War II era Osaka, contemporary Tokyo, and an imagined future Japan while the release dates of the films span about forty years. The changes from literature to film are sometimes surprising, but all the works contribute interesting perspectives to notions of identity in Japan.

 
John Wallace is a Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Culture, UC Berkeley. He received his PhD from Stanford University and has previously taught at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Stanford University. Wallace specializes in Heian period literature and comparative romance. He has previously taught the Tale of Genji and Story of the Stone for the Society.

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