Anime: Masterworks of Japanese Animation

How did anime emerge as a distinctive national genre in global popular culture at the turn of the 21st century? What social conditions in Japan promoted adaptations of manga (graphic novels) into feature-length films for adult audiences? In this course students will address these questions by analyzing the forms and contexts of ten masterworks by the most prominent directors of Japanese animation. We will study the relation of anime to classic Disney films, live-action Hollywood cinema, and Japanese aesthetic traditions. Students will probe the political and ethical questions anime raises about the atomic bombings of World War II, individual identity, consciousness and the body, and the human impact on the natural environment. We will study several directors and give special attention to Miyazaki as an anime auteur. Films include Grave of the Fireflies, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Perfect Blue, My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and The Wind Rises. 3 hrs. lect.