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Spicer Paul

Research Faculty of Media and CommunicationSpecially Appointed Associate Professor
Center for Language LearningSpecially Appointed Associate Professor

北海道大学大学院メディア・コミュニケーション研究院に所属する准教授として、日本映画、文化倫理、そして日本映画における歴史的・美学的・情動的諸側面を中心に研究を行っている。特に溝口健二の作品を対象とし、伝統芸能、歴史的記憶、文化的継承との関係性を踏まえながら、知覚、価値、情動、文化的遺産といった諸問題を検討している。

2016年から2019年にかけて、科研費による研究プロジェクトを実施し、溝口作品を文化的・倫理的・歴史的観点から総合的に分析した。本研究では、国内外での研究成果の公開、資料調査、インタビュー調査などを行った。博士課程において構築した価値論、倫理的な出会い、芸術経験の現象学を中心とする方法論的枠組みは、その後さらに精緻化され、現在執筆中の単著 Cinema as Ethical Encounter: Perceptions, Value and Cultural Inheritance in Mizoguchi Kenji’s Films においても応用されている。本書は現在、刊行に向けて検討中である。

研究領域は日本映画にとどまらず、ポピュラー音楽研究にも広がっている。特に価値論、情動、音楽経験の倫理的側面に関心を持ち、英国ポピュラー音楽や日本のサブカルチャーに関する研究成果を発表してきた。現在、以下の査読論文を準備・投稿している。

The Smiths and the Construction of a Value World: Axiology, Emotional Life, and the Ethics of Popular Music（投稿済み）
The Manager Will See You Now: Inside Kinoko Hotel’s Architecture of Pleasure and Control（投稿済み）
Performing Eroticism Across Media: Erotic Groove Vinyl and Shōwa Cultural Memory（執筆中）
Everyday Ethics and Emotional Life in the Films of Ogigami Naoko（執筆中）
Takako Irie and the Cultural Memory of Early Japanese Stardom（執筆中）

また、2021年には Bloomsbury より刊行された Exploring the Spiritual in Popular Music において、Paul Weller の歌詞における宗教性と精神性を論じた “Above the Clouds: Discourses of the Spiritual and Religious in the Lyrics of Paul Weller” を執筆した。

2025年には、北海道大学より優秀教育賞（Outstanding Teaching Award）を受賞し、学部教育への卓越した貢献が評価された。

研究関心は、日本映画史、文化記憶、倫理学・美学、ポピュラー音楽研究、価値論、情動研究、そして芸術経験と文化的継承の関係性など、多岐にわたる。

Researcher basic information

■ Degree
  • Ph.D (Film and Cultural Studies), University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom, Jul. 2012
  • MPhil, University of Portsmouth, Jun. 2007
  • MSc, University of Portsmouth, Jul. 2005
■ URL
researchmap URLホームページURL■ Various IDs
J-Global ID■ Research Keywords and Fields
Research Keyword
  • Popular Music Studies
  • Cultural Studies
  • Film History
  • Film Studies
Research Field
  • Humanities & Social Sciences, Historical studies in general, Popular Music, Societal History, Cultural History
  • Humanities & Social Sciences, Theory of art practice, Film studies
  • Humanities & Social Sciences, Theory of art practice, Cultural representation studies

Career

■ Career
Career
  • Sep. 2006 - Jan. 2009
    University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom, School of Creative Arts, Film and Media, Lecturer
Educational Background
  • Jul. 2007 - Sep. 2012, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom, School of Creative Arts, Film and Media, Doctoral Program, United Kingdom
  • Oct. 2001 - May 2005, University of Portsmouth, School of Creative Arts, Film, and Media, Entertainment Technology (BSc Hons), United Kingdom
  • Oct. 2003 - Jun. 2004, Kyoto Int. University, Liberal Arts, Liberal Arts Program (Placement Year), Japan
Committee Memberships
  • Apr. 2019 - Present
    Asian Cinema Studies Society, Member, Society
  • Nov. 2018 - Present
    Japan Society for Cinema Studies, Member, Society
  • Apr. 2016 - Present
    The International Academic Forum, MEDIASIA Conference Committee, Others

Research activity information

■ Awards
  • Jul. 2025, Hokkaido University, Outstanding Teaching Award
    Outstanding contributions to undergraduate teaching
    Paul Spicer
  • Jul. 2005, British Sky Broadcasting, Outstanding Dissertation Award
■ Papers
  • The Manager Will See You Now: Inside Kinoko Hotel’s Architecture of Pleasure and Control
    Paul Spicer
    投稿済み・査読中。, 2026, [Peer-reviewed], [Lead author]
    English, Research society
  • The Smiths and the Construction of a Value World: Axiology, Emotional Life, and the Ethics of Popular Music
    Paul Spicer
    投稿済み・査読中。, 2026, [Peer-reviewed], [Lead author]
    English, Research society
  • Nationalism, Censorship and Subversion: An Exploration of meaning in Kenji Mizoguchi's War Years Pictures (1939-1945)
    Paul Spicer
    Thammasat Review, 22, 2, 135, 149, Thammasat University, Dec. 2019, [Peer-reviewed], [Lead author], ［Internationally co-authored］, [International Magazine]
    English, Research society, The late-1930s, and early-1940s was a time of great political upheaval and social change in Japan. Increasing military influence on domestic policy and a focus upon nationalistic thought had a profound effect on the social role of cinema and the creative freedoms of film-makers. Even as a recognised director, Kenji Mizoguchi did not escape these strictures. This primary purpose of this paper is to analyse three key elements that had a profound effect on both Japanese cinema and Mizoguchi’s film style, during this period. Firstly, I will analyse this period in terms of politics and the rise of nationalism in a socio/political context. Secondly, it is important to examine how cinema in Japan was subject to extremely strict censorship, and how Mizoguchi respondedto these strictures.Lastly, I will explore both Mizoguchi’s personal, and professional position during this period in which the director worked. Mizoguchi’s film style changed quite dramatically during this time, and here there are questions to be considered. Did the director have to develop a film style which embraced a more Japanese aesthetic at the level of mise en scène? If so, was this a conscious decision, or, one where the director instinctively resorted to motifs and modes of expression rooted deeply in traditional Japanese culture? With this in mind, and by offering a deep textual reading, two key films of this period will be considered, Genroku Chushingura (1941-1942), and Meito Bijomaru (1945). Employing a reading which is reliant upon the contemporary socio/political climate, and the influence of traditional art, will allow us to understand both the pressure, creative restriction, and the ideology of an artist working during a particularly turbulent and harrowing period of Japanese history.KeywordsKenji Mizoguchi, Japanese Cinema, Censorship, Nationalism, Film History, 11648827
  • Theatrical Transcendence: Mizoguchi, Noh Theatre and Film Style
    Paul Spicer
    16:9 Filmtidsskrift, 16:9 Filmtidsskrift, Denmark, May 2019, [Peer-reviewed], [Invited], [Lead author], ［Internationally co-authored］
    English, Symposium
  • Mizoguchi, Melodrama, and the Psychology of Nature: Exploring Relationships Between Worlds in Kenji Mizoguchi’s Musashino Fujin(1951)
    Paul Spicer
    Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 36, 2, 125, 139, Informa UK Limited, 17 Feb. 2019, [Peer-reviewed], [Lead author], ［Internationally co-authored］, [International Magazine]
    Scientific journal
  • From Osaka to the Gion: Vernacular Modernism in Kenji Mizoguchi’s Osaka Elegy (1936) and Sisters of the Gion (1936)
    Paul Spicer
    IAFOR Journal of Media, Communication & Film, 4, 1, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), 31 Jul. 2017, [Peer-reviewed], [Lead author], [International Magazine]
    Scientific journal
  • Theatrical Tradition and Japanese Cinema: Dramatic Artifice and Screen Realism in Kenji Mizoguchi's Theatre Trilogy
    Paul Spicer
    Bulletin of Hiroshima Jogakuin University, 63, 63, 59, 74, 広島女学院大学, Feb. 2016, [Lead author]
    English, Research institution
■ Other Activities and Achievements
  • History in Dialogues : The Case of Hiroshima Jogakuin
    Masashi Sawamura; Paul Spicer; Akiko Minato, Proceeding of 2015 ACUCA Management Conference, 239, 247, Jun. 2016
    English
  • Bosozoku
    Paul Spicer, Eye Magazine, 7, 20, 22, 2015, [Invited]
    English, Introduction commerce magazine
■ Books and other publications
  • Cinema as Ethical Encounter: Perceptions, Value and Cultural Inheritance in Mizoguchi Kenji’s Films
    Paul Spicer, Author
    刊行検討中, 2027, [Single work]
  • Exploring the Spiritual in Popular Music Beatified Beats
    Chapter IV: Above the Clouds: Discourses of the Spiritual and the Religious in the Lyrics of Paul Weller
    Bloomsbury Academic, Jan. 2021, 9781350086920, English, Scholarly book, This book highlights how the diverse nature of spiritual practices are experienced and manifest through the medium of popular music.
    The cross-disciplinary approach of the book makes it accessible and appealing to scholars of religious studies, cultural studies, popular music studies and theology. Unlike existing collections dealing with popular music and religion that focus on a specific genre, this innovative book offers a range of music and case studies, with chapters written by international contributors., ［Internationally co-authored］, [Peer-reviewed], [Contributor]
  • Cinema and Landscape: Film, Nation and Cultural Geography
    Paul Spicer
    Intellect, Mar. 2010, 9781841503097, English, Scholarly book, ［Internationally co-authored］, [Peer-reviewed], [Contributor]
  • Film: The Essential Study Guide
    Paul Spicer
    Routledge, Oct. 2008, 9780415437004, English, Scholarly book, [Peer-reviewed], [Contributor]
■ Lectures, oral presentations, etc.
  • From Ozu to Obayashi: The Importance of Onomichi Within the Historical Legacy of Japanese Film
    Paul Spicer
    The Asian Conference on Media, Communication & Film 2024, 17 Oct. 2024, Oral presentation
    15 Oct. 2024 - 19 Oct. 2024
  • 〔Major achievements〕An Analysis of Mise en Scene in Tsukiyori no Shisha (1934)
    Paul Spicer
    Film Histories in Context - Online Symposium, 12 Jul. 2022, English, Others
    12 Jul. 2022 - 12 Jul. 2022
  • Miss Nippon: The Life and Career of Takako Irie during the Japanese Silent Film Era
    The Asian Conference on Media, Communication and Film - Tokyo; 25-27 Oct 2019, 26 Oct. 2019, English, Oral presentation
    25 Oct. 2019 - 27 Oct. 2019

    Download
  • Saikaku Ichidai Onna (1952): Melodrama, Classical Tragedy, and the Path to Enlightenment
    Paul Spicer
    The 13th Asian Cinema Studies Society Conference, 26 Jun. 2019, Asian Cinema Studies Society, English, Oral presentation
    Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore, The Asian Cinema Studies Society (ACSS) and LASALLE’s Faculty of Fine Arts, Media & Creative Industries will jointly host the 13th Asian Cinema Studies Society Conference, the region’s premier international event in the discipline of Asian film.

    Attracting close to one hundred presenters of scholarly research within the field, this year’s theme of The Environments of Asian Cinemas has been conceived in a very broad way to encompass not only the all-too-timely topics of ecocriticism and the ecological dimensions of Asian film, but also on Asian cinema’s material, cultural, and regulatory environments of production, distribution, exhibition, and reception., [International presentation]
  • The Films of Kenji Mizoguchi: Tradition History and Culture
    Paul Spicer
    Directions in Japanese Film Studies - Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 18 May 2019, 大学院国際日本学研究院 CAASユニット / Institute of Japan Studies, CAAS Unit, English, Invited oral presentation
    Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
  • Nationalism, Censorship and Subversion: An Exploration of meaning in Kenji Mizoguchi’s War Years Pictures (1939-1945)
    Paul Spicer
    BECIC 2018: Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand, 29 Nov. 2018, English, Oral presentation
    [International presentation]

    Download
  • Theatrical Transcendence: Mizoguchi, Noh Theatre and Uwasa no Onna (1954)
    Paul Spicer
    The Asian Conference on Media, Communication and Film - Tokyo, 11 Oct. 2018, English, Oral presentation
    [International presentation]
  • Teaching Film Language: Structuralism and Issues of Cultural Translation
    スパイサー ポール
    Hiroshima JALT, 03 Dec. 2017, English, Oral presentation
    03 Dec. 2017 - 03 Dec. 2017
  • Political Turmoil, Institutional Mistrust, and the Tendency Film: Contemporary Representations of Political Ideology in Suzuki’s Naniga Kanojo wo So Sasetanoka (What Made Her Do It?) (1930)
    Paul Spicer
    iafor International Conference of Film and Documentary, 27 Oct. 2016, English, Invited oral presentation
    [International presentation]
  • Ideas of ‘Britishness’ in Tom Hooper's The King’s Speech (2010)
    Paul Spicer
    City College - Hiroshima City Public Interest Foundation, 03 Jun. 2016, English, Public discourse
    [Invited]
  • And What You Give is What You Get’: Discourses of the Spiritual and Religious in the Lyrics of Paul Weller
    Paul Spicer
    Birmingham City University, Centre for Media and Culture, 23 Mar. 2016, English, Oral presentation
    Birmingham City University, [International presentation]
  • Gangsters, Gamblers and Schoolgirl Retribution: Politics, Protest and Society through Norifumi Suzuki’s 1973 ‘Revenge’ Trilogy
    Paul Spicer
    Asian Conference on Film and Documentary, 15 Nov. 2015, English, Oral presentation
    Kobe, Japan, [International presentation]
  • Geisha, the Gion, Tradition and Modernity: Vernacular Style in Mizoguchi's 1936 Kansai films
    Paul Spicer
    Iafor International Asian Conference on Film and Documentary, 14 Nov. 2014, English, Oral presentation
    Osaka, Japan, [International presentation]
  • Mizoguchi: Noh Theatre and Transcendental Space
    Paul Spicer
    14 Dec. 2010, University of Portsmouth, English, Invited oral presentation
    UK, [Invited], [International presentation]
■ Syllabus
  • 高度実践英語演習Ⅱ, 2024年, 修士課程, 国際広報メディア・観光学院
  • 大学院共通授業科目（一般科目）：人文社会科学, 2024年, 修士課程, 大学院共通科目
  • 高度実践英語研究Ⅱ, 2024年, 博士後期課程, 国際広報メディア・観光学院
  • General Education Seminar, 2024年, 学士課程, 総合教育部
  • General Education Seminar, 2024年, 学士課程, 総合教育部
  • General Education Seminar, 2024年, 学士課程, 現代日本学プログラム課程
  • General Education Seminar, 2024年, 学士課程, 現代日本学プログラム課程
  • 国際交流Ⅱ, 2024年, 学士課程, 国際本部
  • 国際交流Ⅱ, 2024年, 学士課程, 国際本部
  • 英語Ⅰ, 2024年, 学士課程, 全学教育
  • 英語技能別演習, 2024年, 学士課程, 全学教育
  • 英語演習, 2024年, 学士課程, 全学教育
  • 英語演習, 2024年, 学士課程, 全学教育
■ Research Themes