Teaching Goes to the Movies

I'll take any excuse to see Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki...in this case, by showing it to my College Prep English class at Emerson Preparatory Institute. We've been reading John Hersey's Hiroshima (and associated resources gathered by Steve Rothman of Arlington, Mass. at his amazing site herseyhiroshima.com). Our goal is manifold: to understand how Hersey crafted his narrative, to figure out how to embrace a complex topic, and to ponder the psychosocial effects of catastrophes on large populations.

I came across a review by Mark Stevens in New York Magazine of the recent art-o-spective "Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture," and the connection hit me: why not examione Japanese anime as part of our work?

It's been fascinating. To prepare for Spirited Away, we studied ancient Japanese myths and demonology, as well as popular culture. Most of all, when we dimmed the lights, we were all of us captivated by the magic and menace of the ghostly bathhouse where Chihiro is lost, the lonely ghost No-Face who becomes possessed and destructive when given what he wants, the river spirit who protects Chihiro and reunites her with her parents, and the twin witches--one good, one bad--who do battle near the end of the film.

They don't know it yet, but my students are gonna see Terry Gilliam's Brazil on down the line. And Monsoon Wedding, too, if I can manage to tie it in with our other theme, family and place. And maybe, if they're very curious, The Laramie Project.