This course will examine how the phenomenon of 'Ero Guro Nansensu' (Erotic Grotesque Nonsense) permeated modern culture in Japan in the 1930's and has since heavily influenced Japanese film, literature and fashion. We will begin with 1926's A Page of Madness From there, Students will discover the nouvelle vogue (French New Wave) influence on the 'Mukokuseki' or Borderless Action films from Nikkatsu studios in the 1960's, and savor the nihilist anarchy of 1960's samurai films. Japanese culture will be reflected in the dichotomy between the trends of the yakuza genre: the ninkyo-eiga (chivalry films) of the 1960's and the gritty Jitsuroku (true document) gangster films of the 1970's. We will study the economic downturn that spawned the deranged female exploitation/female empowerment of the farcical but hugely influential (in Japan and abroad) pinky violence genre of the 1970''s. Students will understand how the singular vision of Shinya Tsukamoto's innovative cyber-punk film Tetsuo opened the door to even more startling, provocative films that culminate in Battle Royale, and the new apocalyptic vision of unhinged Japanese low-budget artistry, Suicide Club

Erotic Grotesque Nonsense will provide students a thorough grounding in the history of Japanese cult and exploitation cinema. While enriching their understanding of the breadth of Japanese cinema, this course will also explore the histories and trends of the Japanese film studios, of economic and cultural cycles and evolving Japanese concepts of cultural identity.

Readings follow the film list. Films in parenthesis are the home rental assignment for that week. Words in bold before the title reference the genre, field, type or realm of the film.

THERE WILL BE A SCREENING AT 8PM FOLLOWING THE FIRST CLASS ON SEPT. 3
SEPT 3 Avant-Garde: A Page of Madness (1926) Tenosuke Kinugasa (Tale of Zato Ichi (1962) Kenji Misumi)
SEPT 10 Hysterical Horror: Jigoku (1960) Nobuo Nakagawa (Matango (1963) Ishiro Honda)
SEPT 17 Taiyo Zoku (sun tribe) Angry Youth: Warped Ones (1960) (Onibaba (1965) Kento Shindo)
SEPT 24 Mukokuseki (Borderless) Action: Youth of the Beast (1964) Seijun Suzuki (Samurai Spy (1965) Masashiro Shinoda)
OCT 1 Chanbara: Samurai Wolf (1966) Hideo Gosha (Bloody Territories (196) Yasuhara Hasebe)
OCT 8TH - NO CLASS YOM KIPPUR
OCT 15 Ninkyo-eiga (chivalrous Yakuza) Red Peony Gambler 3: The Hanafuda Match (1969) Tai Kato (Legends of the Poisonous Seductress #1: Female Demon Ohyaku(1968) Yoshihiro Ishikawa)
OCT 22 Ero-Guro: Blind Beast (1969) Yasuzo Masumura (Face of Another (1966) Hrioshi Teshigahara)
OCT 29 Ero-Guro Freaks: Horror of the Malformed Men (1969) Teruo Ishii (Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972) Kenji Misumi)
NOV 5 Pinky Violence: Female Convict Scorpion - Jailhouse 41 (1972) Shunya Ito (Lady Snowblood (1973) Toshiya Fujita)
NOV 12 Pinky Violence Nunsploitation: School of the Holy Beast (1974) Norifumi Suzuki
(Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (1973) Atsushi Mihori)
NOV 19 Jitsuroku (true document) Yakuza: Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973) Kinji Fukasaku (The Wolves (1971) Hideo Gosha)
YES, THERE IS CLASS THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING
NOV 26 Cyber Punk: Crazy Thunder Road (1980) Sogo Ishii (Akira (1988) Katshuhiro Otomo)
DEC 3 Cyber Punk 2:Tetsuo (1989) Shinya Tsukamoto (Cure (1997) Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
FINAL PAPERS DUE DECEMBER 10TH!
DEC 10 High School: Battle Royale (2000) Kinji Fukasaku (Suicide Club (2002) Sion Sono)
DEC 17 New Ero Guro Nasensu: Gozu (2003) Takashi Miike

Credit Student Assignments:
1) Students will rent one film each week to watch at home or students will be assigned to see a film playing in theaters.
(For rental delivery try www.Netflix.com)
Ticket stubs or rental receipts must be turned in to professor every week.
2) Readings

Students will read the following three books:

Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination Edogawa Rampo
Rampo is the non de plume of Taro Hirai, a prolific author of detective fiction.

Confessions of a Yakuza: A Life in Japan's Underworld by Junichi Saga (translated by John Bester)

Inventing Japan: 1853 - 1964 by Ian Buruma

. 3) Students will write a one-page (250 words) journal entry or short essay every week. Journal topics will be assigned by the professor and are due each week.
4) Students will write one 1000-word paper interpreting the film of their choice in light of the readings and class discussion. Final paper subjects will be discussed with students and if the student prefers, a topic can be assigned.
o FINAL PAPERS DUE DECEMBER 10TH o
5) Class participation forms a significant part of your grade. However, if you would prefer not to speak in class, you may email the professor in confidence. You will not be called upon you in class and will be assigned one extra 250-word journal entry each week as a make-up assignment for not speaking.
Absence Policy: Only two absences are permitted. After two absences, students will lose one full grade. Credit students must attend all the Screenings; the same policy applies. If you miss more than two screenings, you will lose one full grade. You must be on time for class; if you arrive after 6:15 you will be considered absent.
o No cell phones, pagers, Blackberries or text messaging is allowed during class.
o Final paper: 40% of grade
o Journals: 30% of grade
o Class participation: 30% of grade

David N Meyer is the author of Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballard of Gram Parsons and his Cosmic American Music, a biography, published in November 2007 by Random House Books and chosen by Rolling Stone one of Five Best Rock Books of 2008. He wrote A Girl and A Gun; The Complete Guide to Film Noir on Video (Avon Books) and The 100 Best Films To Rent You've Never Heard Of (St. Martins Press). A former writer/producer at HBO, Cinemax & CBS, Mr. Meyer is the film critic and Film Editor for the arts magazine Brooklyn Rail..