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AnonymousI was not surprised by the amount of influence the PRC puts on the Hong Kong and Taiwanese film industries. They are so image and thought conscious by not allowing movies dealing with “thorny areas that include graphic violence and sex, the promotion of superstitions, negative portrayal of authority figures glorification of criminals”,”. Having students discuss and write about the impact on society of the use of propaganda and censorship by the PRC in the movie industry makes for a good lesson especially since the use of censorship and propaganda are two areas of focus in the state education standards in 10th grade history.
AnonymousFascinating topic and presentation today. The juxtaposition of the ROC: Beautiful Duckling (1964), PRC: The Red Detachment of Women (1970), and the Hong Kong: The Dancing Millionairess (1964) could not have been more stark. Mr. Hu does a phenomenal job of deconstructing Chinese cinemas, and distilling a complicated subject into a relevant and compelling study. And ending with the Questioning was important. With the revelations about the NSA, Edward Snowden, Wikileaks, the Chelsea Manning case, etc., it is important to find common ground with our East Asian neighbors to ensure that going forward we can ensure life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and a reasonable standard of living is protected for all.
Some years ago, I read about Japanese war crimes on the Chinese in the 1930s. The Japanese were subjecting Chinese people to human experimentation. The treatment of this in a film I think would be important for reconciling the past. The City of Life and Death apparently is an excellent film that tells the story of the rape of Nanking. I wonder how it has shaped Chinese society. Is it whipping up nationalism and jingoism towards Japan? Mr. Dube did mention that China right now does have a very strong current of anti-Japan vitriol being expressed through their national networks. Would further treatment of this period and its realities help the Chinese to grieve and reconcile, or does it do more to fan the flames of hatred particularly in the absence of a strong counterbalance of a cinematic critique of one's own human rights abuses?
I look forward to seeing Aftershock. If I remember correctly Mr. Dube did mention that Aftershock is appropriate for middle school students.
I would also look forward to feature films that look at the Tibet and Xinjiang issues.
edited by brettdrugge on 7/31/2014
AnonymousJust watched the Aftershock trailer. Very intriguing. My lesson plan idea is starting to take shape. Maybe analyze democracy. What is it? Why is it important? What is its function? What is the government's role in a democracy? Is it the best system? Compare the Republic of America ("...and to the Republic, for which it stands") with the Republic of China. What kind of government is China? What is their responsibility in providing an earthquake resistant infrastructure? Compare and contrast contaminated baby formula with contaminated products in America? How does the government respond?
We could analyze the roots of democracy in Ancient Greece and its influence in America today versus the socialist roots of Ancient China and how they influence Chinese societal decisions today in the Age of Ambition by Evan Osnos, he references Professor Nesbit from Michigan who compares how the geography in Greece influenced more of a rugged, independent outlook, as opposed to China, where the geography and agriculture compelled the Chinese to collectively farm the land, inculcating a more socialistic orientation.
edited by brettdrugge on 7/31/2014
AnonymousIt would be great to see a film analyzing the North Korean/Chinese border, maybe a tragic-comedy film (e.g., Life is Beautiful) to give it a wider reach. The Escape from Camp 14 story--a North Korean escape narrative-- is just so compelling.
AnonymousRandom thoughts about the Chinese film industry. How much of an investment are the Chinese making in the film industries of Hong Kong and Taiwan? Is it enough for them to abandon the movie-making theme of including “healthy realism” and “healthy variety”? Do the potential profits for studios out weigh “artistic integrity”? Has China developed into such an economic power that they now influence world culture through censorship and propaganda?
AnonymousRandom thoughts about the Chinese film industry. How much of an investment are the Chinese making in the film industries of Hong Kong and Taiwan? Is it enough for them to abandon the movie-making theme of including “healthy realism” and “healthy variety”? Do the potential profits for studios out weigh “artistic integrity”? Has China developed into such an economic power that they now influence world culture through censorship and propaganda?
AnonymousI liked hearing about the differences in the Three Chinas today in class and how it was different from the Korean film history we received earlier this week. While there are many differences, I was not surprised to see that nation-building was important to everyone. When we were discussing the things that China did (Mandarin Project, the Golden Horse Awards, etc), I immediately thought about soft power. They were urging people to learn the language they wanted everyone to know and understand, and instead of just enforcing it upon people, they used cinemas as their vehicles. They let the people and film makers decide that they "needed" to learn Mandarin to be successful and to understand the "best" films. And it worked! It always surprises me how well soft power ends up working when done correctly. It reminds me of the saying that you catch more bees with honey than vinegar. I actually wonder if that saying came from some philosophical East Asian book or saying. The idea of the melodrama being popular everywhere as well is funny to me. As a species, we enjoy escaping away to a movie to escape our own realities a lot of the time. So why do we choose movies that make us cry, feel bad, pull at our heart strings, and sometimes emotional and mentally wreck us for a few hours? Why put ourselves through that instead of watching the mindless movies of action where there's very rarely moments that make you reach for the Kleenex box? And it obviously isn't just an American thing as we learned in both the Korean and Chinese film histories. It is a human being thing, and it is a nice way to show connections between our cultures and our people. Knowing what I know about the Mexican culture, they also love their melodramas and novellas. Super emotional and dramatic. People everywhere all over the world seem to reach and gravitate toward that type of movie, and that is just amazing to me.
AnonymousThought the presentation was really intriguing today. Last night I ordered Eat, Drink, Man, Woman and am looking forward to watching that this weekend. I'm still blown away by the fact that the subject matter of ghosts is taboo in Chinese cinema. There such a huge market for it here in the U.S. I'd like to find out a little more about that unwritten law of film making.
Also intrigued by the three China Cinemas and the cultural and physical differences between PRC, ROC, and Hong Kong. Who knew? Well I do now. Wish we had had time to see a few more shorts.
clay dubeI heartily endorse watching Please Vote for Me, but I've also got some reservations about it. Charles thanks for providing the link to the YouTube version. Here are some comments I've written about the film:
http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=1201
clay dubeWe've hosted a number of events focusing on Chinese film, including a panel discussion on US-China film co-production. See it here at the USCI website or at our YouTube channel. It features a producer, a director, a studio executive, and a banker!
The first speaker is Janet Yang, producer of The Joy Luck Club. She also produced Shanghai Calling. We screened it and had her respond to questions from our Asia Pacific Arts editor Ada Tseng and our audience. See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICBfy9LgT9M The film is on Netflix and you can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVXSvLIj-tw
Anonymous[font=Times]It is interesting and a bit ironic to know that a Westerner, Benjamin Brodsky, was part of the roots of Chinese cinema with his films. Even "The Chinese Mirror" acknowledges that “[/font]Brodsky became the first Caucasian permitted to film in the Forbidden City; his short film "Stealing the Roast Duck," made with Hong Kong investment, has always been considered the film that initiated Hong Kong filmmaking; and when Brodsky later returned home, he took with him the film "Zhuangzi Tests His Wife," making it the first exported Chinese movie.” Did he realize how revolutionary the Asian Film Company would be? Exactly what did he tell his investors to get on the inside track?
clay dubeHi Folks,
Want to read some of the reviews Brian wrote for Asia Pacific Arts? Here you are:
http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/fulllist@apa?author_brian%20hu_11.aspx
You might like his essay, "Roger (Ebert) and Me"
clay dubeCharles mentioned the influence of martial arts films on artists such as the wu tang clan. We've been on this at APA since 2005. Check it out:
http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?this_that_and_the_other_the_rza_on_the_miscegenation_of_hip-hop_9609.aspx interview with Chi Tung
Brian Hu: http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?cinema_as_the_36th_chamber_9552.aspx
clay dubeTrailer on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8bj1uDCUA0 There are quite a few pages devoted to this film on the web. One interesting read is: http://www.brns.com/pages4/comed169.html
AnonymousI really enjoyed the presentation this afternoon by Brian Hu. I especially connected with the short film by Leslie Tai," Grave Goods". It evoked emotions within me of my maternal grandma (Japanese grandma). She too, used to have these "treasures" which she kept in various boxes like jewelry and traditional clothing which she never wore but would tell me that one day would belong to me. I agree with the comment that was made in class that children of immigrant families can relate to this on various levels. Keeping items from the country of origin, the music she listens to, the stories she would tell about the the old times. This short film is one that I can show to my students and have discussions about how family history is important and how the stories of grandparents and other relatives can tell a person a lot about why people act the way they do based on the experiences that they have had in their lives.