Aaron Gerow
Courses
EALL 271, FILM 448
Japanese Cinema after 1960
The development of Japanese cinema after the breakdown of the studio system, through the revival of the late 1990s, and to the present.
EALL 280, EAST 260, FILM 307
East Asian Martial Arts Film
The martial arts film has not only been a central genre for many East Asian cinemas, it has been the cinematic form that has most defined those cinemas for others. Domestically, martial arts films have served to promote the nation, while on the international arena, they have been one of the primary conduits of transnational cinematic interaction, as kung-fu or samurai films have influenced films inside and outside East Asia, from The Matrix to Kill Bill. Martial arts cinema has become a crucial means for thinking through such issues as nation, ethnicity, history, East vs. West, the body, gender, sexuality, stardom, industry, spirituality, philosophy, and mediality, from modernity to postmodernity. It is thus not surprising that martial arts films have also attracted some of the world’s best filmmakers, ranging from Kurosawa Akira to Wong Kar Wai. This course focuses on films from Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea—as well as on works from other countries influenced by them—covering such martial arts genres such as the samurai film, kung-fu, karate, wuxia, and related historical epics. It provides a historical survey of each nation and genre, while connecting them to other genres, countries, and media.
EALL 571, FILM 882
Japanese Cinema after 1960
The development of Japanese cinema after the breakdown of the studio system, through the revival of the late 1990s, to the present.
EALL 872, FILM 880
Theories of Popular Culture in Japan: TV
Exploration of postwar theories of popular culture and subculture in Japan, particularly focusing on the intellectual debates over television and new media.