The fourth Taki Plaza Lecture, “MOVIES IN TAKI: Adventure for Summer,” was held on July 12 and 19, 2024 at Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza (Taki Plaza), Tokyo Tech’s flagship exchange hub on Ookayama Campus. The event was co-organized by the Student Support Center’s Student Success Support Section, the Student Support Division’s Support Planning Group, and the Tokyo Tech Alumni Association.
Participants watching film in Taki Plaza’s Event Space
This event was one of several sessions comprising the , an initiative supported by Tokyo Tech alumnus and Gurunavi Inc. Chairman and Director Hisao Taki, which aims to encourage students who are actively engaged in various activities at Taki Plaza.
Screenings
- July 12
Inception (Warner Bros.)
- July 19
Stand By Me (Columbia Pictures)
This academic year, Student Success Support Project student organizers selected two films to be screened under the theme of “Adventure for Summer.” Inception (2010), directed by internationally acclaimed director Christopher Nolan, and Stand By Me (1986), considered by many to be a masterpiece of adolescent-themed cinema, attracted an audience of roughly 90 participants. Both movies were screened in English with Japanese subtitles. Popcorn and cold drinks were handed out to viewers on a first-come, first-served basis.
Before each screening, student moderators Teru Hashimoto and Namkyong Kim offered humor-laced introductions to create a comfortable atmosphere at the venue. Institute for Liberal Arts (ILA) Associate Professor Yuto Koizumi also provided insightful commentary on how to get the most out of the films, sharing his interpretation of movie highlights, social backgrounds, and other explanations that added to the enjoyment and revealed new aspects of the works. Quizzes on the films were organized after the screenings to encourage further interaction among the participants.
Film commentary by ILA Associate Professor Koizumi
Before each screening, Koizumi introduced the film and its director. After the viewings, he explained the themes of the films and details of the storylines further. Participants listened intently to the explanations, which included background knowledge of the film, examples of episodes in the production process, and comparisons with other films.
ILA Assoc. Prof. Koizumi providing commentary on Stand By Me
Comments from Student Success Support Project student organizers
Teru Hashimoto
2nd-year master’s student, Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering
I am pleased to have been involved in the planning of this event. I was initially a bit worried about whether the event would attract participants, but on the actual day, many people joined us even though the theme did not have much to do with science. Thanks to Associate Professor Koizumi’s commentary, we also learned about movies from the perspective of an academic and film critic, and I think this created important links to my studies.
I would like to thank everyone who participated in this event, as well as Associate Professor Koizumi, Professor Sachiko Ito from the Student Support Center, and all the faculty and staff who provided support. We will continue to organize various events in the future, and we look forward to working with a wide variety of people.
Ryota Uehara
2nd-year master’s student, Materials Science and Engineering
It was such a pleasure to watch movies with many Tokyo Tech students, faculty, and staff at Taki Plaza in line with the theme of “Adventure for Summer.” Although I have had many opportunities to interact with people from abroad in my daily research activities, I had never experienced watching a movie together, so I think this was a meaningful experience. This will help me to interact more smoothly with people from different countries in the future.
At this MOVIES IN TAKI event, we wanted to give Tokyo Tech students a taste of what it feels like to be on an adventure before their summer vacation. We screened two films. One of these was Inception, an adventure through memory, and the other was Stand By Me, an outdoor adventure involving elementary school students.
We thought that the first of these films would attract a big audience as it is a science fiction film, but perhaps the second would not. However, on the day of the screening of Stand By Me, many more people than we had expected attended, including plenty of students who had not made advance reservations. We are certain that the viewers truly enjoyed this event as they were immersed in the films from start to finish.
The event was made even more enjoyable thanks to Associate Professor Koizumi’s film commentary. Many students who viewed the films commented that they would like to hear more of his contributions.
We will continue to do our best to plan interesting events for many Tokyo Tech students in the future.
Namkyong Kim
4th year, Materials Science and Engineering
This event was planned under the theme of “Adventure for Summer.” Both Inception and Stand by Me are similar to adventures that have appeared in my dreams, and after watching the films, I strongly wanted to try something new myself. This event allowed me to imagine what it takes to turn something like a dream into a movie, and it really motivated me academically from the perspective of materials science and engineering. The film commentary also taught me about a variety of things, including stories related to the directors and actors, and other films related to the ones screened.
The student staff, including myself, not only selected the films, but also created quizzes about the films. We also devised a way for participants to share their answers at the end. I feel that we were able to greatly enhance our appreciation of films by listening to the commentary and learning about other people’s opinions through the quiz. We practiced the ability to perceive things from multiple perspectives, and that can be applied in our future research and presentations.
(from left) Assoc. Prof. Koizumi, Uehara, Hashimoto, Kim, Student Support Center’s Prof. Ito
