UMSL will screen the 2004 Japanese comedy "Kamikaze Girls" Oct. 5 for "Japan Drama Night."

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a Japanese teenager? If so, “Japan Drama Night” at the University of Missouri–St. Louis can help.

“Japan Drama Night” will begin at 5 p.m. Oct. 5 in the Student Government Chamber at the Millennium Student Center at UMSL. The night will include a screening of “Kamikaze Girls,” a 2004 Japanese comedy based on a novel by Takemoto Novala.

Laura Miller, the Eiichi Shibusawa-Seigo Arai Professor of Japanese Studies at UMSL, will give an introduction and discussion before the film.

The film features Momok, a young woman who enjoys wearing elaborate Lolita dresses from the Rococo period in 18th Century France. She is a fish out of water in her rural and sleepy Japanese town, where everyone buys their clothes (and everything else) at the same store and no one understands her. She then meets punk girl and self-styled ‘Yanki’ Ichiko and their unlikely friendship brings them together and teaches them both more about life.

Miller is an expert on Japanese culture. She co-edited the book “Manners and Mischief: Gender, Power and Etiquette in Japan.” Miller has published more than 50 articles and book chapters on Japanese culture and language, including topics such as the Korean wave, English loanwords in Japanese, the Abeno Seimei boom, girls’ slang and print club photos.

Free pizza and soda will be provided. The event is free and open to the public. It’s sponsored by the Ei’ichi Shibusawa-Seigo Arai Professorship in Japanese Studies at UMSL, Center for International Studies at UMSL and Japan America Society of St. Louis.

A parking permit is required for all visitors to UMSL. To request your free permit, a campus map and to make a reservation, call 314-516-7299 or visit cfis-umsl.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej99JrV6ZVs&feature=player_embedded