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AnonymousLu's "Thoughts on Teaching Chinese Cinemas in the United States" view that the "spontaneous merging of interests between 'area studies' (Asia, China) and the discipline of cinema/media is in part what lends vitality and energy to this emergent area of instruction" is interesting to me because that is in what part has become a part of my classroom. It is my interest of minorities in film and culture that leads my instruction of literature in my classroom, and our Socratic Seminars become a sociological/literary discussion.
My students find it interesting that films that are "Asian" do not have Asian actors in lead roles. BothThe Karate Kid movies, as mentioned in Lu's article, have a non-Asian somehow being better at martial arts than those who grew up learning it and come from the country it originated. Plus they think it's hilarious that the new version calls it The Karate Kid since kung fu obviously originates from China. When their history teacher showed them Red Dawn, we read the racist tweets that angered many. See below for comments such as "Asians are gonna try to take over the world," "guns killing Asians is my type of movie," and "I now hate all Chinese, Japanese, Asian, and Korean people." (um really?) It's always an interesting discussion, especially when combined with the Linsanity media faux pas.
http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/11/the-25-most-racist-tweets-about-red-dawn/
I found it surprising that "Hong Kong's Cantonese cinema risks decline or displacement if Mainland's co-productions continue to dominate production. Growing up, movies from Hong Kong were always the "cool" ones. Movies such as the Young and Dangerous series and Initial D (based on a Japanese manga) inspired many of my friends and I and helped shape our ideas of cool. Young and Dangerous was about triad members who had cool gang tattoos (like our discussion of Yakuza tattoos that became mainstream) and drove modified import cars. If you look at the 1990s in the San Gabriel Valley, this is filled with young Asians who strove to copy these images seen in Hong Kong and Japanese films and culture. Modified Japanese import cars was a huge subculture, and the looked down on Chinese style "gangster" tattoos became hugely popular among middle class youth.
Reading all of these articles and listening lectures has refocused my ideas of East Asian culture to see the globalization of culture and the major impact of many in America, even those who never grew up there. More importantly, these last couple of days have shown me how I can incorporate East Asian experiences into my classroom.
edited by jlee on 7/30/2014
AnonymousI found the idea of Chinese Opera to be very interesting. When I think of Opera, I think of the beautiful songs in languages I don't speak, and of course the idea of the "fat lady" comes with it as well. I've heard operas (I don't believe I've ever been to one, although I've wanted to go) in movies and have played them in class before, and they have the similar idea of story telling through song. The Chinese Opera however uses those things and adds in action like "acrobats and martial arts". I don't believe our American versions of Opera include a lot of physical action like that. I didn't realize that "Chinese Opera also provided the foundations for Chinese genre cinema, including horror and martial-arts films, both of which rely heavily on the carefully calculated rhythms, movements, and folklore that orginated on stage" (Director of World Cinema - China (1)). It makes sense once I read it that something such as Opera would lead to more advanced or different technological forms of art and conveying stories. After all, people have been telling stories forever in a variety of ways before there was all that we know now. I think this is something you can really connect to the idea of the ancient societies in middle school when you discuss the arts and how important they were. It would be nice to provide an East Asian example like this along with the ancient civilizations of Rome & Greece.
AnonymousAs JLee noted above, I also was one of those Asian teenagers who looked at Hong Kong movies as the cool ones. But, now the co-productions and censorship mainly by PRC have taken away that coolness and uniqueness of Hong Kong films. It was interesting to read how PRC will censor if the films have "negative portrayal of authority figures, corruption, etc." It was interesting to read how the PRC's regulations of Hong Kong films have limited the creative and artistic aspects of their films. Then, it is not surprising why some Hong Kong film-makers are cooperating with Hollywood and other non-mainland production companies today to maintain their creative freedom.
edited by akwon on 7/31/2014
AnonymousAfter reading the articles on China’s support of EA’s film industry I thought it would be interesting to have students examine the types of EA movies produced that are popular versus the types of popular American films allowed to show in China since 2010. Students could then analyze the historical, global and cultural images presented by each of China. Students could also analyze the revenue created by each and discuss the economic, political and social impact of where movies are produced.
AnonymousI have always thought that the relationship between the "3 Chinas" was not a very friendly one, however, after the reading in the "Directory of World Cinema" it seems that the film industry is one of the ways to get the three Chinas to work together towards a common goal, "strategic, commerce-driven unification".
edited by sghoneim on 7/31/2014
AnonymousReally enjoyable presentation, and we are only just now getting to the film clips. I can't wait to go back to my classroom and make the connections between Hong Kong cinema, hip hop, and Star Wars.
AnonymousI found it very interesting that the Chinese Kung Fu genre was created as way to showcase a film type that nobody else could. China was one of the only places that tell the stories of the Kung Fu warrior. I would like to see the Chinese take on a comedy or drama from this period. I'm sure a lot would be lost in translations, but the process would be interesting.
AnonymousIn terms of what we could use in our classroom, you can teach this in US history. There is a small section on the effects of the film industry. You can show a parallel on the development of the industry in the US and China or the use of the industry to spread the propaganda at the time. Students might also enjoy seeing a film from a different era and country.
AnonymousLVALLADARES SAID: Really enjoyable presentation, and we are only just now getting to the film clips. I can't wait to go back to my classroom and make the connections between Hong Kong cinema, hip hop, and Star Wars.
I agree! Talk about getting my students to be engaged in the history and culture of another country! They are totally into hip hop and some even know Star Wars, so to have students see the connection and the influence from one to another...I can't wait! #LessonPlanning
edited by ngilliam on 8/1/2014
AnonymousI like the idea of showing clips from the model operas in a discussion of nation building, especially after discussing the historical implications and effects of the cultural revolution.
AnonymousLvalladares: I grew up with a lot of comedies and drama by Stephen Chow. He starred in the Kung Fu Hustle, but he acted in so many comedy movies on gambling, courtship, cooking, etc. You may want to check out some of his movies :>
AnonymousHere's a thought-provoking analysis of how Transformers 4 became the most popular movie in China, and why that's the key to understanding it.
http://www.vox.com/2014/7/6/5873099/transformers-4-is-a-master-class-in-economics
AnonymousI really enjoyed the film! I like the way that Leslie Tai captured the relationship between her grandmother and herself. I raised an eyebrow at the beginning of the clip when the family was at the cemetery going through the ritual before the body was laid to rest. For me, it raised a question about how cultures come together, collide, and even how they clash. Was there more to this film than the 12 min. that we saw? I'd like to use this in my class this year as we read, learn, and discuss identity and all that it entails...
AnonymousHere's a link to the American distributor for The Questioning film. It includes a clip.
http://icarusfilms.com/new2014/qst.html
AnonymousHere's the link to Please Vote for Me and another link to a PBS Independent Lens Lesson Plan for teaching it.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aC-6kRSxgnM
http://www-tc.pbs.org/independentlens/pleasevoteforme/resources/pvfm_discussion.pdf