Syllabus – keep handy for reference
Dr. Aeon J. Skoble
341 Tillinghast, x2460
Email:
askoble@bridgew.edu Web:
http://webhost.bridgew.edu/askoble
Office hours: M 10-11, T,TH
1:45-2:45, or by appointment
Required Texts:
The Philosophy of the Western, McMahon and Csaki, eds.
(Univ. Press of Kentucky), plus
additional
readings to be distributed in class or via web
For
required film viewings, you can either (a) borrow them from your local public
library, (b) rent/stream them from Netflix, or (c) buy/stream them at Amazon
Overview and objectives:
This colloquium will be
devoted to a study of two popular genres, the Western and the Samurai
film. At first glance, there seems to be
little in common between feudal-era Japan and the American West in the
post-Civil War period. On the other
hand, there are many notable cases of influence and even explicit remake. Akira Kurosawa, for example, was influenced
by John Ford, but then Kurosawa became an influence on John Sturges
and Sergio Leone. Beyond influence in
terms of film technique, it turns out that there are cross-cultural
similarities. The “gunslinger” of the
Westerns and the “ronin” of the samurai films are not
similar archetypes by mere coincidence, but, as it turns out, because similar
social, political, and geographical conditions existed in these otherwise
disparate contexts which made them possible.
Besides explicit remakes, we see parallel themes in both genres. Both Ford and Kurosawa, for example, use
themes of revenge, honor, and individualism to explore – and sometimes
deconstruct – conventional notions of heroism and virtue. In this colloquium we will examine films from
both genres with an eye towards understanding the underlying cross-cultural
similarities as well as the differences between the two cultures, and also
toward a better understanding of these themes and their cinematic
representation.
Requirements:
This is a one-credit
class. We will meet once a week to
discuss the films and the readings, and you will write an 8-10 page paper on a
topic to be determined later by mutual agreement, which is due Dec 1. You must watch the films and do the
associated readings prior to the day we are to discuss them. In our final meeting, Dec 8, we will discuss
the papers.
Required film viewings:
Westerns: High Noon, Fort
Apache, My Darling Clementine, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers,
The Magnificent Seven, A Fistful of Dollars
Samurai: Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, The Hidden
Fortress, Seven Samurai
Course Calendar:
Sept 8 – intro to topic
Sept 15 High Noon
Sept 22 Rashomon
Sept 29 Fort Apache; Throne
of Blood
Oct 6 Seven Samurai; The Magnificent Seven
Oct 20 The Hidden Fortress;
Star Wars
Oct 27 The Searchers
Nov 3 Yojimbo;
My Darling Clementine
Nov 10 Yojimbo
revisited; A Fistful of Dollars
Nov 17 Sanjuro;
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Nov 24 The Man Who Shot
Liberty Valance revisited
Dec 1 -- Papers due; final
discussion of films and readings
Dec 8 – discussion of student
papers