Professor Kerim Yasar's Exposition on Ozu's "Late Spring"

[Anthony Pollard]

     We discussed several scenes from director, Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring featuring a character named Noriko. For high school students, CCSS suggests students research the writer of literature. By learning about a writer, a student gains insight into the writer's intent for their publication.

     For example, a writer/director illustrates their perspective, but a viewer makes an interpretation of the visual they see based on their prior knowledge and inferences. If we use Late Spring to teach our students analytical skills, Ozu's deliberate and lengthy pauses in action and speech, gives our students an opportunity to discuss what is the intent of the action. For teaching and discussion, student will have our guidance based on our experience, and will be able to apply a 21st century perspective as well (undoubtedly, students may not feel the saem way Noriko felt about getting married, and then having to leave home.)

    Another lesson we could teach is the plot map. Professor Yasar performed a wonderful work translating the film. There are several ways we could address a analysis and writing conventions: It was mentioned many students lack writing skills when they reach seventh grade (this is about the time when they really learn what writing a paragraph is supposed to do); they can write several sentences, in paragraph form, describing what they see because they will not actually understand the language. Sure, they will see the subtitles, but the action doesn't really match the langauge. Students can analyze and describe what they feel (most likely, this was an intent by Ozu, for viewers to feel something. Persuasive technique=PATHOS)

Lecture: Waves of the Ocean: Gender and Generation in Ozu’s Late Spring