[Jessica Rodarte]

I think this poster is about the  spread of communism.  You see three figures clearly exemplifying: European/Americans, Asians, and Africans.  Because they are standing with the backdrop of the world, I can assume that this is pointing to the goal/future of the expansion of communism.  They are all holding Mao's Book and they all stand proudly representing the ability of communism to increase patriotism and nationalism while serving as a unifying force for countries around the world.  This spread of Communism will bring about equality among the races, while acknowledging that China was at the forefront of this expansion.  You can assume this through the positioning of the figures.

[Jessica Rodarte]

Poster number 2 contains some canonical symbols and themes in Chinese art:

• Figures: Workers, Soldier, Peasants
• Books: Mao
• The use of red to symbolize Communism
• Theme: Communism as progress created by the work of laborers, soldiers, and peasants.  This is exhibited by the bridge and the neat and put together look of the "workers, soldier, peasants".

[Jessica Rodarte]

In this morning's session with Professor Yassar, I was immediately struck by the parallels between Japanese Golden Age films by Ozu and films from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.  Both happened after war; Japanese after WWII and Mexican after the Mexican Revolution.  The Japanese lasting from the late 40's to the 60's and the Mexican lasting from the 30's to late 60's.  They used similar aesthetics and forms: long shots, melancholic music, city sounds to drive themes, "pillow" shots, use of everyday life, use of cultural conventions to convey tensions and moods.  They also have similar themes and tropes: machinery as emblematice of modernization, modernization leading the breakdown of family life through the displacement into the cities, the "evils" of the city, the "idyllic" nature of the country side, and the generational break created by modernization and westernization of life.

I'm not quite sure how I would use this in the classroom yet, but I am really interested in finding out if comparative studies have been done between the two Golden Ages of Cinema and whether or not there have been studies of the period at large to find out if these tropes and forms are in fact standard for the period throughout the cinematic world.  There's a lot to think about.

[Jessica Rodarte]

During this afternoon's session with Dr. Berry, I was enthralled by the convergence of Chinese Film with Hollywood.  In particular, I was really interested in the way that Hollywood has become a part of the Chinese Film industry in recognizable ways to both the Chinese and the American population.  In contrast to this, the Chinese Film industry has made its way into Hollywood without Americans being aware and recognizing the Chinese influence and integration.  There's something genius about this, while at the same time, there's a social critique of American "exceptionalism" making American society "blind" to the effects of other cultures on American cultural forms and on society as a whole.

In thinking about how to use this in my classroom, I think a discussion on this would be excellent in a lesson on globalization.  I haven't figured out how I would want to use it, but I see this as part of an amazing discusion on the impact of globalization on the diffusion, syncretism, and transformation of cultural forms.

[Jessica Rodarte]

This morning's lectures by Dr. Kim were fascinating.  Before coming here, I really knew nothing about North Korean film and K-pop.  I was aware of the existance of both, but was truly missing the social, economic, and political implications of both.  

• Seeing the way in which North Korean film was used both to entertain and to educate/inculcate, made me very curious about the way in which our own cinematic tradition is both entertainment and a tool to inculcate a particular national narrative.  I was also very struck by the use of language, visuals, and angles to sell particular narratives.  Again with this, it makes me wonder, how much these strategies or forms are used in our own cinematic tradition.
• With the K-pop lecture, I was struck by the way in which the talent agencies mirror or emulate the factory system of the western world.  They reproduce not just the idea of a product, but the labor forms and conditions.  Like with the factory system, it is the owners that make a lot of money and it is the workers who not only lose control of their freedom and decision making, but who in some way are stripped of personhood in exchange for a standardized look and behavior designed and decided by the "factory".  K-pop artists are not artists in the traditional sense.  They are products produced for global consumption using particular models and norms.

[Jessica Rodarte]

Hello Everyone!  

My name is Jessica Rodarte.  I teach World History to 10th graders at Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts in Downtown Los Angeles.  I've been fascinated by the East Asian Art, particularly subject matter and styles since my days in college and am looking forward to learning a lot more about the visual culture of the East.  

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