I chose the Seven Samurai Japanese film because it is the most influential and most referenced film in the cinema industry since its release on 25th April 1954. Additionally, the film was the greatest foreign-language film in the international critics’ poll of the year 2018.
This film is about village farmers that resist bandits who wanted to steal their produce after the harvesting season. The farmers hire samurai to fight the bandits and hence protect their crops.
The theme of duty and responsibility is apparent in the film. This is evident when the Samurai sacrifice to protect the farmers’ crops against the bandits. The Samurai sacrificed their lives to keep safe the harvest of the farmers.
Moreover, the theme of unity is also apparent in the film. Kambei tells the villagers about the nature of war. He additionally tells the villagers to protect the others villagers. This way, they would be able to subdue the bandits. This advice is however not taken seriously by many of the farmers and hence led to their harm.

Pick one Japan-related film and explain why you selected the film for your
final essay. In particular, discuss the styles and the themes of the film in relation to the historical context behind the film. It is a good idea to pick a few scenes from the film and discuss functions of shots, editing, lighting, and sound in the scene.
Discuss those scenes and their styles in terms of the historical context.

The Four Pillars of Investing

Introduction

The book titled The Four Pillars of Investment: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio by William J. Bernstein discusses how to develop a sound investment portfolio by explaining fundamental concepts in simple language so that readers can learn how to make smart investment decisions at the individual level.

Sound investments, he writes, are based on four pillars. He uses this architecture metaphor to underpin what he refers to as the best investment portfolio. He advocates for caution and discipline and urges investors to shun Wall Street’s herd mentality while advocating for low-cost index funds. The four pillars cover the theory of investing, the history of investing, the psychology of investing, and the business of investing