Kirjahaku

This study explores one of the most popular and successful of genres, yet one that has not fully enjoyed critical recognition to match. Combining a detailed analysis of individual musicals with an in-depth consideration of racial and gender issues, Susan Smith examines the rich interactions that occur between music, performance and narrrative, as well as the use of the female voice and the female singer in certain 'Pygmalion'/'Svengali'-style narratives. Films studied include Show Boat (1936, 1951), Cabin in the Sky (1943), Singin' in the Rain (1952), A Star is Born (1954), West Side Story (1961), My Fair Lady (1964) and Funny Girl (1968).

Ema Saiko (1787-1861) was a remarkably evocative poet, one of the few known woman writers of kanshi poems--verse written in classical Chinese but read as Japanese. Writing in this form, Saiko distinguished herself during the Tokugawa period, when composition in Chinese was largely a men's province.