Last Class of the Term

On Thursday we have our guest speaker to talk on -- & demonstrate -- dramatic performance. The actress is Ms. Karen Budra, a lecturer at Langara College: she will provide specific understamding of the dialogue Shakespeare writes between women and men.
It is also the day for Course Evaluations, & a general word about the Final Exam. Remember that I will have extended Office Hours every day of the week before the Exam: check back here for specific dates & times.

Japanese Dramatic Æsthetic in Anime

A classfellow offers this summary analysis of the import Anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion

The story becomes very involved with the characters and what is happening to them both mentally and emotionally as well as the effects their choices have on other characters and the world. Near the end of the show it starts to focus more on Shinji, a 14 year old boy who is very afraid of his father and of himself. It shows his development as the plot rolls on. The plot itself is involved withShinji's father who leads the government organization Nerv, which was created to defend Earth from an alien threat called angels. He has his own secret agenda though which comes into conflict with the government committee called Seele. The story does not have a very satisfactory ending, much like Madame de Sade, as it leaves something unfinished at the end. I guess that is the'ketsu' of the anime. The aesthetic elements of Japanese culture we have gone over in class can be seen in the series the more I think about it as there is a sudden break in the last 2 episodes and then sudden action. It also could be attributed to the fact that the creator suffered a mental breakdown during the series due to the stress of the plot elements becomingmore deeply involved and complex.

I love the, uhm, ambiguity in the concluding reflection....

Buddhism & Suffering

The two Buddhist concepts which infuence the mono no aware sensibility in Japanese drama, poetry & literature are the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path (the latter elaborates the fourth of the former.)
You will see that mono no aware is a very real & powerful mood in Yukio Mishima's play Madame de Sade.
This is not, I should clarify, not to say that these Buddhist doctrines influenced Mishima. The contrary, in fact, since hedonism violates the fourth noble truth. Rather, the doctrines are the historical background to mono no aware -- a mood which Mishima does deliberately invoke in his drama.

Japanese Æsthetic Concepts

For summary detail on the some of the Japanese æsthetic concepts presented in lecture, click on this link. I will have the article on the ki sho ten ketsu composition form, by John Hinds, on Course Reserve next week.

Extra Office Hours

With Thursday's deadline for the mid-term paper in sight, I hope that at this point you have your thesis clearly stated, a draught of your all-important opening paragraph, and an outline of your essay's structure (how many paragraphs you will have, what the specific content of each will be, how the logic & transitions of each cohere, and an approximation of the sentence order.)

For help with any points of technicality, I will be in office hours this week as follows:

Monday, 12:00-3:00.
Tuesday, 10:30- 11:20, 1:45-3:00
Wendesday, 12:00-3:00
Thursday and Friday as usual.

I can also arrange individual appointments those three days from three o'clock until a quarter to midnight.