Writing about Love Letter (1995) with “genre” in your mind:
What is the (mixed) (sub)genre of this film? What are the remarkable elements of Love Letter as such a genre? How do the elements exactly work in one specific scene/sequence, through which we can understand the convention and social function of this genre? (You can cite the course reading to help define the genre.)
Please take editing and sound as the examplary aspects of film language and make a claim about your understanding of Love Letter. (You can also mention mise-en-scene and camera movement if it is necessary for your analysis.)
Guidelines: (this is a writing practice about both film language and genre, also a nice chance for you to prepare for MP1 as a comparative study.)
- Construct a clear, provable thesis while the analysis does not have to be long.
- Stay focused on one scene/sequence (from Love Letter).
- Keep “genre” in your mind and try to make connections to Japanese and/or (East) Asian historical and cultural contexts.
- Bring a comparative perspective by either thinking about genre counterparts (Hollywood romance; other genres such as sci-fi, musical, film noir, etc) or relating to other films we have watched.
- Make full use of the study guides (for editing and sound) in order to strengthen your formal analysis.
