HISTORY OF PREMODERN ASIA
Princess Mononoke
The film, Princess Mononoke (125 min.) will be shownWed., Nov. 30 from 7:00-9:30 in Beck 101. The movie is also on two-hour reserve in the library. This paper is due on Wed., December 14. If you watch the film on reserve, please watch it in Japanese with subtitles, even though the English dubbing is decent.
ASSIGNMENT: Directed by noted Japanese animator Miyazaki Hayao, Princess Mononoke is a mythlogical tale set after the fall of the Heian period (the Kamakura era) that saw chronic warfare and the rise of the samurai as the dominant social force in premodern Japan. This movie is arguably one of the finest representations of Japanese anime, though others consider Miyazaki’s animation a style onto itself that has inspired animators around the world including Walt Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks. Many of Miyazaki’s films focus on ecological themes, especially humanity’s tendency to want to control and exploit nature rather than finding a means to live with it harmoniously. Contemporary Japanese society is largely a patriarchal society, however, his films are well known for the strong female characters as well complex accounts of gender interactions that defy typical or stereotypical social perceptions of “proper” gender roles. Thus, there is an image of Japanese premodern society being dominated by samurai, yet considering the Heian era, where aristocratic women also held some power (as evident in the literature), the notion of “masculine” Japan is overstated.
- Essay: Write an essay (approximately three pages) that answers the following questions:
Explain how Princess Mononoke is a Japanese cultural production. In other words, for someone with knowledge of premodern Japan (the role of Shinto, the influences of Chinese civilization-Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, the privilege existence of the aristocracy, and matriarchal culture of the Heian period), importance of nature, in relation to Shinto, to the Japanese experience, and how can one use this film to convey the particular attributes of premodern Japanese civilization?
For both writing options, it will be necessary to use the readings from class in order to support/substantiate the analysis. Remember the assignment is not a review of the film, thus avoid providing a mere summation of the movie. Additionally, since this is a formal analytical paper, avoid making personal comments whether one liked the film. Also, you want to avoid watching the movie in a “passive” sense. I would recommend taking notes and getting direct quotes from the movie to strengthen the evidence presented in the paper.
FORMATTING: The movie essay is to be typed, approximately three pages long (this essay length does not include title page or bibliography page), pages numbered, 12 size font, double-spaced (3 lines to an inch), with 1 inch margins and stapled. There must be a title & bibliography page. Name should only appear on the title page and nowhere else on the paper. You need to provide two copies of your paper, one paper copy and one electronic copy (emailed as an attached file-save as a MS Word document). All papers will be checked by Turnitin.com for plagiarism.
CITATIONS: When citing evidence from the readings, use the citation format as indicated below. Put reference citations in parentheses in the text like this: (Reid, 1999, 38). Then at the end of the paper, on a separate page, make an alphabetized list of the sources used in the paper and place a header entitled “Bibliography” (which is the header at the top of the page). Create a bibliography that has been modeled in previous assignment sheets.
SUGGESTIONS: Although some of the suggestions for writing a good paper may be self-evident, it never hurts to state the obvious again. Read thoughtfully, collecting concrete facts to support the analysis and interpretations. Before starting to write, take time to think through what to say and how to organize it. Write the first draft quickly, and only when it is finished go back and revise, revise, revise, going over and over each sentence by sentence, trying to think of ways to put ideas more clearly and precisely. When finished with each revision, read it aloud or have someone read it out loud to catch any awkward constructions-poor syntax. It is usually evident to the grader those who have not taken the time to revise (in other words, writing it the night before leaves little time for improvement), which is the key to lucid writing. Proofread the final version to correct typos and misspellings, as typos/misspells give an impression of carelessness.
GRAMMAR: Since this assignment is considered to be formal writing, there are a few basic rules to keep in mind. Do not use contractions. DO NOT write in first person or plural first person (I, we, our, you, us, etc.). Make sure pronouns (especially “this”) are used carefully; it should be clear what the reference is to the pronoun. Make sure you are consistent in verb tense and try to avoid writing in passive voice (write in the active-voice). Do not end sentences with a preposition. Avoid words such as “so,” “a lot,” and other informal spoken words. “However” is better utilized within a sentence set off by commas rather than being used at the beginning of a sentence. Make use of transitions to give your paper more lucidity. Use modifiers sparingly as too much use often creates sensational writing. Also be careful in using absolute words such as “always,” “never,” “all” etc. A good reference book for grammar, prose, and syntax see William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, The Elements of Style Fourth Edition, 1999.
PLAGIARISM: For 99% of you it is unnecessary to say this, but just in case anyone is unaware: plagiarism, which is submitting as your own work that is not your own, is regarded as academic misconduct. When using someone else’s ideas or facts it is necessary to indicate the source. If there is a direct quote, make sure quotation marks are used along with a proper citation. Although I encourage students to work in small groups to help sound out analysis and interpretations, students need to be very careful that their paper does not read like another paper. Students need to make sure that their work is uniquely their own.
Sources:
Rhoads Murphey, East Asia: A New History Fourth Edition, (New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc. 2007)
