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INTEREST: Professor Uses Godzilla Films to Teach Japan's Constitution, Peace




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Cutiebunny



Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 1747
PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2018 10:47 pm Reply with quote
All I could think about reading this article was Mr. Cartmanez saying "How do I reeech these keeeds?"

Good for those professor to make things more relative to the young'uns. I'm sure watching Godzilla has made learning about the Japanese Constitution relevant to them.
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Kadmos1



Joined: 08 May 2014
Posts: 13555
Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP
PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2018 11:52 pm Reply with quote
While it certainly won't become a trend for that country, using pop culture characters to teach about various educational subjects is a unique way to utilize regional* taxpayers' money. Of course, it can become an issue if used as a political agenda.

*a foreign country's equivalent of U.S. state and counties.
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grooven



Joined: 16 Aug 2006
Posts: 1424
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun May 13, 2018 1:39 pm Reply with quote
It is good to see this being brought out to the masses. I bet tons of younger kids have no idea of how Godzilla came about and the real message that comes with it.
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EricJ2



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 4016
PostPosted: Sun May 13, 2018 4:30 pm Reply with quote
Cutiebunny wrote:
All I could think about reading this article was Mr. Cartmanez saying "How do I reeech these keeeds?"


"Ito is a fan of the Godzilla franchise, and came up with the idea for the class after seeing Shin Godzilla and its success."
Yep, I just read the headline and thought, "Oh dear gods, he's been watching that anti-American Abe-era movie, hasn't he? Rolling Eyes "

That one just makes you appreciate what Ishiro Honda did for coming up with putting those goofy "subplots" into the original later GZ's--
Still, at least Ito intentionally sees Shin's deliberate The-Japan-That-Can-Say-No militarization preaching as a politically bad thing...Hope he can hold that thought by the time he gets to the full-blown paranoid '91 corporate-war "GZ vs. King Ghidorah".

And then let's see the professor interpret the Martian Prophet Girl from "Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster", or the weird aliens from "GZ vs Monster Zero". Wink
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2018 10:56 am Reply with quote
I didn't think the nuclear issue was the main focus of Shin Godzilla. Rather it was a biting satire on Japanese bureaucrats and politicians and their inability to respond to a crisis. My understanding is that Anno made this film in part as a reaction to the Fukushima disaster, and the government's slow response.

Support for the anti-war aspects of the Japanese Constitution increases with age. The strongest supporters for the pacifism clauses are people over sixty. Young people are much less opposed to the proposed constitutional revisions.

Quote:
By age group, respondents in their 60s were most critical of the proposed amendment, at 60 percent, followed by those in their 70s and older, at 51 percent.

The rate of opposition to revising Article 9 among respondents in their 30s, 40s and 50s exceeded 40 percent. In all three age groups, opponents outnumbered supporters.

However, 40 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 support the revision to Article 9, exceeding the 32 percent who are against it.


http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201705160044.html
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Brent Allison



Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 2444
Location: Athens-Clarke County, GA, USA
PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2018 9:50 pm Reply with quote
When political science and filmic studies cross over, it's normally through films dealing with wars and (obviously) politics. I approve of the novel reach into kaijū territory. I wonder if a class on more recent anime like GATE and their relationship to Article 9 revision might be in order.
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crazyidiot78





PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 8:28 am Reply with quote
Brent Allison wrote:
When political science and filmic studies cross over, it's normally through films dealing with wars and (obviously) politics. I approve of the novel reach into kaijū territory. I wonder if a class on more recent anime like GATE and their relationship to Article 9 revision might be in order.


Agreed anything to reach the students. This makes me want to go back and watch some of the older Godzilla films now. Gate would be interesting, but the Author to my knowledge is a strong nationalist and his views are represented in Gate. This of course might make it more interesting to examine. Also I wonder how works like Kantai Collection, and Strike witches could be examined in terms of the war and how Japan views it now.
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