Professor
Michael Emmerich
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Most Helpful Review
Actually took J70 The class was quite interesting to me. The workload was not that hard as weekly assignments could be done quickly in about 10-15 minutes after you watched a movie. The readings were at times dry but the films were inspiring. The professor showed an obvious passion for the subject and it was quite refreshing. Take this class, I quite enjoyed it.
Actually took J70 The class was quite interesting to me. The workload was not that hard as weekly assignments could be done quickly in about 10-15 minutes after you watched a movie. The readings were at times dry but the films were inspiring. The professor showed an obvious passion for the subject and it was quite refreshing. Take this class, I quite enjoyed it.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2026 - Overall the class itself is actually interesting and changed the way that I analyze and digest films! The workload is fine, the grading is a little harsh (sometimes unreasonable, but manageable), but the films are interesting! Where I run into the issue is how unforgiving and not understanding the professor is!!!! Starting at the end of week 7, the professor began to take lecture attendance by handing out a paper quiz in the beginning of class (I am currently mid-lecture as I write this review). So far, he has taken attendance for 2 lectures. The first lecture, I will admit, I missed due to my own personal decisions. The second lecture, I had a midterm scheduled at the exact same time, so obviously I could not attend. I emailed both my TA and the professor and went up to the professor before the lecture began. I explained my circumstances to him, and he said “That sucks that you had a midterm at the same time. I won’t give you the points though. Just participate in discussion and maybe those credits will help your grade.” What I am hearing is that if you were to get into a near-fatal car crash, break every single bone in your body, and show up to lecture the next day putting on a brave face, he would not care about any points you lost at all! Despite getting above a 97% in every category, because I have missed 2 lectures, I am projected to get an A- and MAYBE an A if I score extremely well on the final paper. The issue I have with this lecture participation is that there is no set amount of points allocated for this category at the beginning of the quarter. The professor gets to decide how many quizzes and how much it can weigh in on your grade whenever he chooses. This is completely unfair and honestly a form of tyranny for an Anime professor. This brings me to my next point. The only instructions for our essays are “Students are required to submit two five-page, double-spaced papers, each presenting a carefully argued, well substantiated close reading of an anime we watched for class. Papers must cite specific scenes, providing precise UCLA Media Reserves time stamps.” Other than these two sentences, there was no rubric or explanation about the paper at all. However, the professor had high expectations and told the TAs to grade us harshly and look for specific things. While I scored well on the essay, I know that a majority of people scored lower than what they expected. I believe this is extremely unfair considering we were provided little to no instruction and guidance. Overall, if you are interested in film analysis and difficult/unforgiving professors, take this class!
Winter 2026 - Overall the class itself is actually interesting and changed the way that I analyze and digest films! The workload is fine, the grading is a little harsh (sometimes unreasonable, but manageable), but the films are interesting! Where I run into the issue is how unforgiving and not understanding the professor is!!!! Starting at the end of week 7, the professor began to take lecture attendance by handing out a paper quiz in the beginning of class (I am currently mid-lecture as I write this review). So far, he has taken attendance for 2 lectures. The first lecture, I will admit, I missed due to my own personal decisions. The second lecture, I had a midterm scheduled at the exact same time, so obviously I could not attend. I emailed both my TA and the professor and went up to the professor before the lecture began. I explained my circumstances to him, and he said “That sucks that you had a midterm at the same time. I won’t give you the points though. Just participate in discussion and maybe those credits will help your grade.” What I am hearing is that if you were to get into a near-fatal car crash, break every single bone in your body, and show up to lecture the next day putting on a brave face, he would not care about any points you lost at all! Despite getting above a 97% in every category, because I have missed 2 lectures, I am projected to get an A- and MAYBE an A if I score extremely well on the final paper. The issue I have with this lecture participation is that there is no set amount of points allocated for this category at the beginning of the quarter. The professor gets to decide how many quizzes and how much it can weigh in on your grade whenever he chooses. This is completely unfair and honestly a form of tyranny for an Anime professor. This brings me to my next point. The only instructions for our essays are “Students are required to submit two five-page, double-spaced papers, each presenting a carefully argued, well substantiated close reading of an anime we watched for class. Papers must cite specific scenes, providing precise UCLA Media Reserves time stamps.” Other than these two sentences, there was no rubric or explanation about the paper at all. However, the professor had high expectations and told the TAs to grade us harshly and look for specific things. While I scored well on the essay, I know that a majority of people scored lower than what they expected. I believe this is extremely unfair considering we were provided little to no instruction and guidance. Overall, if you are interested in film analysis and difficult/unforgiving professors, take this class!
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