You will compose an essay that brings together the threads of this week’s reading, viewings and discussions. More specifically, you will write a considered response to the issues of gender representation in popular culture and, perhaps, the experience of pleasure.
For those of you who do not have as much experience tackling this kind of material and writing an essay with a literary (not historical or anthropological) interpretation, here is an example of a possible answer to the question of what we might see in these forms of popular culture (Kabuki’s Sukeroku and the Takarazuka theater) when we focus on gender. A possible example of an interpretation to guide the focus of your essay might state:’while Kabuki developed in response to a historically patriarchal legal system, surprisingly, the performance of female gender on stage was empowered and charismatic. In contrast, the Takarazuka perpetuates very conservative gender roles even while creating a safe space of female community between fans and actors.’
Your short response essay must be 500 words minimum. Each response should have a main idea and reflect your thoughtful engagement in the reading or work of art. This means that broad, unfounded or unproven statements about Japanese society are not appropriate to this assignment – your work should be anchored in the specific readings and videos of the week. Your first paragraph should clearly state the “main idea” and let your reader know what your interpretation is that you will be arguing in the paper.
Responses that are mere plot summaries or summaries of historical information without direct relevance to your interpretation or ‘main idea’ receive little or zero credit, depending on the extent of the “filler information” (plot or historical summary.)
Please use MLA (Links to an external site.) style conventions for both content and page formatting. Include a ‘works cited’ page at the end of your short response essay. For full credit, be sure to quote texts and cite video material with page numbers and time stamps.
Re-write instruction:
When you reconsider this essay assignment, try to approach it as a literary assignment instead of the historical approach you take here.
Imagine if you took the thesis that I put as a sample in the assignment instructions (of course, you will come up with your own thesis) how you would support that thesis in the essay. You might state evidence from the Shively article about the patriarchal Tokugawa government, but then in the next paragraph you would muster evidence from the Sukeroku video itself showing women speaking their mind freely (Agemaki insults Ikkyu.) You would move on to the Takarazuka material and figure out specifics to continue your point, and then you would conclude! Remember to have a thesis statement.
Use my draft to rewrite. make sure follow the instruction and the rewrite requirement!
