One feature of this module is the use of film. Films are used in order to investigate how the medium can be used to inform us, as historians, about contemporary social commentary, philosophical and religious views, political and environmental issues and collective memory. Additionally we examine the ways in which film shapes Japanese popular culture and contributes to the formation of collective memory. In this module we examine two film genres:

• Cinema as social commentary, the ‘Noriko trilogy’ directed by Ozu and released during or just after the American Occupation of Japan. These films comment on the changing roles of women and the breakdown of the traditional family after the war.

• Anime and the formation of Japanese popular culture and collective memory. The Anime used here cover a range of issues including the idea of post-nuclear apocalypse, Japanese views of the spiritual and natural world and Japan’s wartime memories.