1. Instructions: As you answer the questions, use the context provided...
Instructions:
As you answer the questions, use the context provided below and in lecture slides. Use
specific examples (i.e., quotations, scenes) from the films and the
short story to support your analysis. Your evidence might include quotations from the story
and film, point of view, narration / narrative / narrator, characterization, lighting, sound
(sound effects, voicing, music), performance, sentence structure, diction, setting, etc.
Context 1
"In a Grove" was first published in Japan in 1922. It is an example of modernist writing.
Question 1 : Using the context provided in the lecture slides from Week 2 and Week 3, how
do you think the context of Japan in 1922 affected Akutagawa's short story? Specifically,
how are truth and history depicted in the short story? What elements of Akutagawa's short
story "In a Grove" is specific to its original context?
Context 2
Rashomon was first released in 1950 in Japan. At that time, Japan was under an American-
led occupation. Although censorship had eased somewhat, there were still strict guidelines
that determined how Japanese films and filmmakers could depict Americans, the atomic
bomb, and post-war Japan.
Question 2: Using the context provided in the lecture slides from Week 2 and Week 3, how
do you think the context of Japan in 1950 affected Kurosawa's film? Specifically, how is
truth depicted in the film?
Question 4 : How does the ending of the film differ from the ending of the short story? In
your answer, be specific. Use quotations from the film and the short story.
Context 3
You're reading "In a Grove" and watching Rashomon in/near Toronto in 2023 at Seneca
College
Question 5 : Imagine you are working for a Toronto-based film production company and
your company wants to adapt "In a Grove" and Rashomon for a contemporary audience.
Think about what choices you would make to reflect our current moment in history. In your
answers, include how you would represent race, gender, and/or nation.
Whatelementsoftheshortstorycouldberelevanttoaudiencesin2023?
Whatwouldyoursettingforyouradaptionbe?
What characters would be in your adaptation?
Thinkabouttheendingofyourimaginedadaptation.Wouldyougiveyour audience closure? Or
2. would you leave the ending unresolved? Why would you make this decision?
