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AnonymousI have not yet seen Memoirs of a Geisha, but after reading the response to the controversy, I feel the need to include another side. Of course, actors and artists seek to convey ideas and personas that are not their own. However, there is also something to be said about the importance of relating to the material. An actor who is not associated with the culture should do some intense research to attempt to understand the character whom they portray. In addition, there is a history of discrimination in Hollywood. Certainly, racial minorities would hope that movies depicting divergent cultures would be an opportunity for racial minorities to have a chance at more prominent roles. I certainly would not promote hiring an unqualified actor for a job, but I think efforts should be made to find an actor of the matching ethnicity to portray the character.
AnonymousI also have not seen Memoir's. But I have read about the controversy and I think that it is extreme. At what point does it become racist to discriminate against actors because they are not a particular race. I think that the true heart of acting, is found deep inside a persons ability not in their race. I also think that those critical of the non-Japanese actors would have had lent more credence to their argument if they had waited until they could judge the finished product rather than basing their argument only on the race of the actors cast and not the performance.
AnonymousStop me if someone's made this point before, but I think we should be careful about throwing labels like "racist" around.
Chow Yun-Fat is a FANtastic actor, subtle and nuanced and deeply emotional. But you wouldn't cast him to play Thomas Jefferson, right? But we (and by we, I mean American mainstream audiences, among whom I don't count myself) will willingly accept Chinese actors playing Japanese characters and vice versa, Mexican actors playing Native Americans, Italians playing Mexicans, and Kevin Kline playing Frenchmen.
You're right, we should always see the finished product before judging. But there are six billion people on the planet, so before even starting the product, we should look for a talented actor of the race in question. Or else not consider it at all.
Looking forward to the Black Jesus movie,
m@x
AnonymousI saw Geisha as well and enjoyed the movie. It did give you a bit of a feel of the times...children sold as a result of parents in poverty etc...
Since so many people have already talked about Geisha, I chose to view another movie: Iron Monkey. This one was fun--not nearly so much controversy (as far as I know)although it was dubbed in English, and I think Quintin Terrintino had something to do w/ it? I viewed the 1993 version by director Woo Ping Yuen. It was nominated for awards @ the Hong Kong Film Festival. I very much enjoyed it. It was a fun "swashbuckler". A type of Robinhood character, a doctor ,played by Rong guang Yu(who was really the legendary, beloved, "Iron Monkey"), who stole from corrupt officials and gave to the poor. Donnie Yen also played a great part as did the young boy who played his son. I've never been much for "fight" movies, but this one kept your attention--great fight scenes reminicent of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"(or perhaps the other way around?). It reminded me of the Old Hollywood movies I like so much: a little corny, but w/ "All The Right Stuff".
AnonymousI just recently saw Brokeback Mountain, which is directed by Ang Lee. I must admit while the cinematography and acting were well done, overall the story was just mediocre. I will be disappointed when the film wins Best Picture (which I believe it will, only because there isn't any other film BETTER).
While I was perusing the posts I noticed someone talking about the film "The Wedding Banquet" which is also a movie directed by Ang Lee about a gay couple hiding their relationship.
In this movie there is a Caucasian man and a Chinese man in a serious, monogamous, relationship. Because the Chinese man believes his father to be very "traditional Chinese", he hides his relationship from his father. His father is coming to visit from China and he invites a woman friend to pretend to be his wife. The woman is more than happy to oblige because she has a crush on the man. The father while visiting finds out his son got married without having the traditional "Wedding Banquet" and insists on having one for the loving couple.
This film is hilarious as we see the son try desperately to cover up one lie with an even bigger lie, only to have the banquet and his bride blow up and become a huge fiasco.
But it is also poignant and sad, as we see the Caucasian boyfriend try desperately to go along with his partner's plans so that he can make his father happy. The struggle the Chinese man has with being gay, being Chinese, trying to do the right thing is very touching.
I cried at the final scene in this film, I did not feel any of these emotions during Brokeback. It was a very touching film about interracial couples, Father/Son relationships, and Chinese values and traditions. I highly recommend it.
AnonymousI watched the second part of this three part, six hour documentary, PBS documentary. This documentary uses old film footage and interviews with those that lived though the last 100 years of China’s history. Part two of this documentary deals with the time from the Communist Revolution to Mao’s death in 1976.
This is a really watchable documentary and very appropriate for high school students. I think that it will hold students interest because the interviews are very interesting and because the history is still so recent it is all first person accounts.
There are interviews with former members of the Red Guard and also Communist Party Leaders. The Party Leader interview that was the most moving told of the hardships of his commune during the Great Leap Forward. While telling his story filled with so much sorrow and death he breaks down crying.
Another compelling interview is with a former member of the Red Guard. She tells the story of a day when she was supposed to go to the house of a fellow Red Guard members grandfather, he was a successful factory owner or landlord (I can’t remember which). She was told that they were going to go to harass this man for being a counter-revolutionary. She got to the house late and when she did she found that the man had been beaten to death. She closes the story be saying that she thinks of that event often, not because it was so horrible but because she wonders what would have happened if she had been on time. She says she does not know if she would have taken part in the beating. It is obvious that this question tortures her and I think that watching this interview would provide students with an interesting starting point for a class discussion on political propaganda.
AnonymousI have been watching PBS too. There have been several shows, the last one I saw was about the 1st Emperor. I couldn't stop watching. The information I got was fantastic; I think I read about the Emperor going mad, but I didn't know about the mercury he was taking in solid form to increase his life span. Very interesting stuff.
AnonymousI, too, have used portions of the film, "The Little Buddha" with my 6th grade students as we learn the story of Siddhartha Gautama. Seeing a visual of the story is always a plus for many studnets, since they are so keyed into getting information in that way. I tell students they can check out the film and watch the whole thing for extra credit. It does give them an introduction to Buddhist concepts.
AnonymousAfter finishing the memoir, Wild Swans, I asked Clay if he could recommend any good films that span the tumultuous last century of Chinese life and history. He recommended "To Live".
Wow! It touches on the heartbreak, paranoia, and determination of the Chinese people to live on despite the ever-changing dictates of those in power. The story follows China's history from the war between the Nationalists and the Communists through the Mao years including the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the anarchy of the Red Guards. The movie lets us see it all through the lives of one couple, who are upper-class, educated Chinese at the beginning of the movie, but they lose all their possessions and status through the husband's addiction to gambling. It was a blessing in disguise, for under Communist China all who owned property or were part of the old ruling-class were bitterly denounced, jailed, or killed. They struggle through the ensuing years, as the movie shows how political policy affected almost every aspect of life. I think this movie would be a wonderful educational opportunity for high school students learning about recent Chinese history. The Director, Zhang Yimou, also directed the beautiful "Raise the REd Lantern" and Gong Li starred in both movies.
AnonymousI have been using the movie "Little Buddha" with Keanu Reeves and Bridget Fonda to teach some of Buddhism's ideas to my students. My students are 6th graders. I am not an expert in Buddhism, so though I think the film is good for the students, I would love to see what others who know more about Buddhism think of the movie as a teaching tool. Please let me know your opinions and why you have them. Thanks!
AnonymousI just recently showed Little Buddha to my sixth graders as well. I too would like to know what a Buddhist thinks and how accuratley things are portrayed in the film.My students were really involved watching the film. In addition we did a lot of reading about Buddhism and comparedt it to Christianity and Judaism. I think the film coupled with the reading and discussion gave the kids a much clearer view of the lives of Buddhist monks. They had a visual image of India. They learned about some of the beliefs of Buddhism. I think it was a good use of time. Our discussions of Buddhism have been quite rich and thoughtful.
AnonymousAfter reading two reviews of "Memoirs" in Asia Pacific Arts it made me aware of just how much controversy there is over the film.I read the book and saw the movie. I loved the book and was drawn into the story and the characters. I read the book about 5 years ago. I thought I would be disappointed by the movie. I watched it much less critically than the movie reviewers in Asia Pacific Arts. The controversy over who should have the starring roles was interesting to me. Why was a Chinese woman asked to play a Japanese geisha.
The articles helped me understand the contorversy a little better. There are so many past interactions political and social that drive the discussion of the film. The more I learn about China and Japan I can appreciate the differening opinions of the film and who should have been awarded the leading roles. From a novices point of view it would just be the story, the cinematography, the music, the costumes I might have thought about as I watched and evaluated the film. Now with more knowledge of Asian history I begin to question historical accuracy. Reading the articles in Asia Pacific Arts made me question if I should have enjoyed the film or if I was just culturally illiterate.
My awareness has been raised but as far as entertainment, I have to say I did enjoy the book and the film version kept me entertained and engaged. I did come home after I saw it however and look up geisha on google because I wanted to know more about their history. So the more knowledge you have the more critical you become. Becomiing more culturally aware is a good thing. The seminars, studying, reading, and sharing is "all good." There is so much to learn!
AnonymousI haven't seen "Little Buddha" for a while, but liked it when I did. I find it very instructional, its use of the stories of Buddha. From my studies of Buddhism, thesub-plot stories are pretty in-line. I originally thought just those sections (the sub-plot, I guess) would be used in the classroom to teach Buddhism, as they are the most direct link to Buddhist ideas. However, the main plot may also be interesting to 6th graders. I actually met a reincarnated Tibetan Buddhist in 4th grade form the other year. I went to see the Mandala at LACMA and sat next to this woman from Santa Barbara who told me all about how her son was the reincarnated spirit of the teacher of the monks whom I was watching perform this ceremony. He had been "found" just a year previously. His older brother was allegedly his spiritual protector. It was intriguing to meet this Caucasian woman from California and hear all about their family experience and how her son was going to fulfill an ancient prediction that would link both the Tibetan Buddhists and one of the native American tribes. It was quite an experience. Anyway, I share this to say that the movie is not as farfetched as I originally thought it was.
AnonymousHaven't read the book (my wife has and loved it) nor seen the movie but probably will (refer back to wife liking book), but I found an interesting note in US News & World Report from last week. Apparently the movie has been banned in China. The stated concern was that the Chinese born female lead playing a Geisha would be controversial due to the Japanese practice in WWII of "Comfort Women". Not the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the trailer but who knows?
AnonymousJust wanted to offer my two cents on the film The Seven Samurai: it was a bit disappointing for me. I guess that I don't have the patience for it; it was too long for me. However, I'm sure clips can be used from it in the classroom to show what the samurais stood for: there are many Eastern values presented here--the group over the individual; the importance of teamwork; doing what is right rather than doing something for money or fame. The samurais protect a village from bandits just so the farmers will survive (and for three square meals a day). Not much of a salary!