At Berkeley
Year: 2013
Film Length: 244 minutes
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Discussants: Satō Yoshiaki, Funahashi Atsushi, and M. Downing Roberts

Description

The University of California at Berkeley, the oldest and most prestigious member of a ten-campus public education system, is also one of the finest research and teaching facilities in the world. The film, At Berkeley, shows the major aspects of university life, its intellectual and social mission, its obligation to the state and to larger ideas of higher education, as well as illustrates how decisions are made and implemented by the administration in collaboration with its various constituencies. — Zipporah Films

Where does the public university stand in the age of neoliberalism? How does it work and, more importantly, who makes it work? How should we understand its mission in the new climate of political and ideological opposition to its traditional ideals? Frederick Wiseman's At Berkeley takes on these questions in an epic exploration of the state of American higher education.

We are pleased to invite you to join us for this special public screening of At Berkeley (its first screening in Tokyo), to be followed by a discussion and Q & A.

Discussants

Prof. Satō Yoshiaki has taught American Literature and Popular Music at the University of Tokyo, Komaba, and is Chairman of the Association for the Studies of Culture and Representation. His publications include The Evolution of J-POP (1999) and What Was the Beatles? (2006). A distinguished translator, Prof. Satō has translated Gregory Bateson's Mind and Nature and Steps to an Ecology of Mind into Japanese. He has recently completed the translation of Gravity's Rainbow for Shinchosha, as part of the complete works of Thomas Pynchon.

Funahashi Atsushi is an independent filmmaker working in both dramatic and documentary modes. His first films — Echoes (2001) and Big River (2006) — were produced while Funahashi lived in the United States. Since returning to Japan in 2007, he has directed Deep in the Valley (2009), Nuclear Nation (2012), Cold Bloom (2012), and Nuclear Nation 2 (2014). Funahashi's work has received wide critical attention and screenings at numerous international film festivals.

Language: English | Admission Free | No Registration Required | Organized by UTCP

Download Poster