Topics in Modern Japanese Literature

This course examines the dilemmas of applying an English-language film genre - in this case the horror movie - to the cinema of a non-English speaking culture. Do Western definitions of the horrific and the monstrous work in the case of Japanese cinema? How do notions of genre and the global influence of Hollywood impact the production and reception of national cinemas? Should American remakes of Japanese horror films be called "J-horror?" By reading a combination of texts on genre, horror theory, and Japanese cinema, the course will consider the history and development of the "horror movie" in Japan in a course of study that takes into account both domestic cultural and filmmaking traditions as well as the larger, transnational world of popular film.
Course Attributes: BU IS; AS HUM; AS LCD; EN H; BU Hum; FA HUM; AR HUM

Topics in Modern Japanese Literature

JAPANESE 365

Section 01