The Japanese Aesthetic

For many moviegoers, the films of Ozu are typically Japanese, drawing on a history of theater, printmaking, and Zen rituals that are very different from the West. Do you find an aesthetic or "feel" to Tokyo Story that is different from American or even European films? If you know anything about Japanese culture, do you see parallels between this film and other Japanese art or rituals? Do you gain a sense of mono no aware, the appreciation of the inherent sadness of life due to the transcience of beauty?

The Post-War World

Two films we have screened, Bicycle Thieves and Tokyo Story, are set in the years immediately after World War II, in countries defeated by the United States and its allies. What can we learn about the nature of the war from its aftermath? What do these films tell us about the costs of the war? Do we have any clues about the ascent of America and its culture in the post-war world?

Down and Out in Paris and Rome

Two films we have screened, Boudu Saved from Drowning, and Bicycle Thieves, portray the sometimes harsh life of those at the bottom of the economic ladder. How are the poor and homeless portrayed in both films (Boudu and Antonio Ricci) ? How are they similar and how different? Who or what is responsible for the character's poverty? Is there is a political message in either film?

Jay Gatsby vs. Charles Foster Kane

Most of us read The Great Gatsby in our junior English class. Both Gatsby and Citizen Kane, produced about twenty years apart, focus on a man who some might say is the epitome of success. What similarities and differences do you see? Are these works celebrations or critiques of these men, or somewhere in between? Or something else?

Rosebud

Rosebud is perhaps the most famous symbol in movie history. What is the significance of the name "rosebud?" What is the significance of the sled? Is it the key to understanding Kane's life or just one missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle that does not explain much at all?

Faulkner, and Joyce and Eliot -- Oh My!

Citizen Kane has a distinctive narrative technique in which Welles tells Kane's story from multiple perspectives and uses flashbacks rather than a chronological order. Do you see any connection between Welles' storytelling and modernist fiction? Why do you think he tells his story using these innovative techniques rather that just a straightforward narrative?

Newspapers on Film

We have seen two films, His Girl Friday and Citizen Kane, in which the protagonists work in the newspapers business. What do these films tell us about the job of a reporter or publisher in the 1940's? What is the role or status of the newspaper at that time? How have things changed since that time?