I am very excited by the information I gained regarding the History of North Korean Film and am both excited and frustrated that the Library of Congress holds an extensive collection of North Korean Films but unfortunately, most do not have subtitles. 

After reviewing the information presented I am excited to craft a lecture (or unit) entitled Deconstructing the "Message Film."  North Korea found its niche in cinema with Propaganda films that were culturally introduced in 1945-1948 by Soviet Occupation – Soviet advisors brought a team of filmmakers and a studio to North Korea - but by the 1950s – 1970s – film becomes an important part of educating North Korean children from a very young age.  With film as an integral part of the curriculum, indoctrination by film allowed for easy distribution of a constructed product to a controlled audience by artists/filmmakers were mere workers that served the collective good and did not express their individual art.  I would love to view examples of these films with my students and discuss the power of (or critique) the "message," the role of the filmmaker(s), auteurs as the messenger in order critically debate whether or not films should have a message or express the point of view.  And if they do express a point of view, who's point of view should they express? The Filmmaker/Artist?  The Production Studio?  Cultural and Societal Norms? The Government?  After what I hope to be a heavy discussion we will then take a look at Hollywood films and "the formula."  We will analyze the similarities and the differences between North Korean propaganda films and Hollywood's "formula."  Do they both convey a message or multiple messages (how they are cast, who is deemed good vs. evil, the ethnicity of flat characters, etc.), do both types of films follow a formula, what is the "point" expressed in of each film, etc.

As discussions evolve we will take a look at a couple of examples of North Korean films in which by the 1980s the films are more entertainment driven letting go of the "message" of serving the greater good and moves into the realm of acknowledging love or individual desires as what drives the characters.  We will compare these films to romantic comedies or films like The Adjustment Bureau.

I hope that after analyzing these films we can circle back to the notion of artists and filmmakers anonymously serving a collective good contrasting the "auteur theory" of U.S. filmmaking.  The positives and negatives, whether some should be given "credit" for their work and if so to what extent does someone have to dictate how that work is made.  Once a healthy dialogue has begun, I would like to challenge my students again with the Hollywood Formula. Whether or not the Hollywood Formula imposes a filmmaking model and under this model, who's view point is being expressed?  The Filmmaker/Artist?  The Production Studio? Cultural and Societal Norms? Or, the Government?  What and how is the line drawn?  Does a film have to be a propaganda film in order to indoctrinate?