[Kathrin Simmons]

Reading through old posts, I was reminded how much I enjoyed the documentary about the filmmaker Naome Kawase. I am planning to watch her movie "The mourning forests", which one the Grand Prix at the film festival in Cannes , France in 2007.

[Kathrin Simmons]

Interesting to read about both of your posts about young students being send to the United States by their chinese families. I was only aware of college students and can't  imaging, 10 year old children being send to a foreign country to improve socio-economic status. 

[Kathrin Simmons]

Learning about the obsession with plastic surgery in Korea is shocking and sad. It does reflect gender expectations in other societies as well. I love the quote from one of the women from the movement: “ Dear sisters and friends, I wish we could become human as we are, and love and be loved as we are. You are you, I am me, we are us, without the makeup, without the corset. Just a human. I love you, always, as you are."

[Kathrin Simmons]

My student population is also mainly of Latino background and I always thought I could relate easily as I am born and raised in Germany. I realized, especially with all the racial turmoil of 2020, that assuming you understand someone else’s perspective is not enough. People have to listen, respect and learn from each other to tear down barriers.

 

[Kathrin Simmons]

That is indeed surprising thatthe docent  did not know his native language anymore and had not learned it to this day. It does reflect the discrinmination Japanese people faced at this time. 

 

[Kathrin Simmons]

Even so it has been a while ago, I remember the visit in the Japanese History Museum very well. I was very impressed by the tour guide and his up-beat personality. It makes such a difference to have a docent who personally experienced the Japanese internment camp in World War II. The dozent who was a young child druing his stay in the camp, recalled details for the visitors of his and his families painfull experiences in the camp. As a visitor, listening to his stories while seeing the artifacts and pictures of that time period, it is easy to relate to the pain and misfortune that happened to the japanese people and gain knowledge about the discrimination against the japanese people during that time in the United States.

 

[Kathrin Simmons]

I have chosen the web site of asiansociety.org an organization based in NY city with global partners in Hong Kong, Japan, China , Korea, India, Philippines, Shanghai, Switzerland, Washington DC Texas, Northern California, Southern California. and Switzerland.  Asian society mission is to forge closer ties between Asia and the West through arts, education, policy and business outreach.

I found the website through a video of an expressive dance performance by a Chinese dance company. The web site is very extensive and offers information on cultural and political events of  about 100 Asian Countries and regions.

On their website the viewer is able to find information through articles, interviews and other video about arts, business, culture, and policy of  Asian countries.

My first focused was on East Asia where found the link Chinese Heritage, a website presenting the Chinese culture and Chinese File, a newspaper style website with current information from China.

I finished reading resources on the website by going back to the art tap. Asiansociety.org has a lot to offer in the area of art with dance performances, exhibitions and videos from many Asian countries. One of the articles I read was:”Cambodia’s Genocide and the Power of Art”. The story of Loung Ung a survivor of the genocide in Cambodia 1975 to 1979 is  coping with her life experience in the movie “First they killed my father” directed by Angelina Jolie. The article discusses the fine line where a movie can be cathartic and not traumatic for survivors, while reminding of  this horrific war against Cambodian citizens. Another must see!

 

 

 

[Kathrin Simmons]

Hello everybody,

It was a pleasure to stay at USC and attending the seminar.  I enjoyed staying on this beautiful campus, so close to home surrounded by LA’s busy up and downs but so far away at the same time -  an island of prestigious education.

I felt very well informed in all lectures about the cultural background in the different east Asian countries and the variety of informational sources from literature, essays, books, and movies. A wide range of information that was presented by very knowledgeable people.

 

For my professional background as an Adapted Physical Education teacher I would have enjoyed, more hands on activities with the subject matter that could be easily transferred into a classroom not necessarily the gym. Afterall as a teacher you have to find engaging ways for students, learning through movement should be one essential way. I would have liked to see morning and afternoon lectures of just listening mixed with movement breaks with simple Qi Gong breathing or a couple of Thai Chi moves with a change in locations possibly as well. Also I think that breakfast and lunch should have been served in a different location then the lecturer room.  I definitely thought that the classroom activity guides in the third session by Professor  Lynne Miyake where very helpful. Some of those ideas could have been performed by us teachers, demonstrating how the content could have been translated into classroom work. Maybe a better and lasting connection could have been made for the adults and students a like.

I have studied Thai Chi, Qi Gong and Chinese philosophy and  medicine a long time ago, but would have liked to be reintroduced to some of these topics. None of the less the seminar encouraged me to study on my own and motivated me to include different Asian movement theories into my Physical Education curriculum.

Personally I was engaged and inspired by the seminar. The focus on gender and generation and discussing gender roles needs to be ongoing in all societies.  I enjoyed book and movie reviews as well as watching the documentaries on the topic. And of coursed I am inspired to travel to all of the east Asian countries.

Thank you, Catherine and Dube for inviting me to your seminar this summer!

 

 

 

[Kathrin Simmons]

Last train home is a really important documentary about the human toll chinese migration workers and their families have to endure. In an interview with Lixin Fan the filmmaker of "Last train home", explains his intentions and making of his documentary. "Last train home" documents the largest migration in the world, where yearly over 200 Million Chinese workers travel from the city to their hometowns in the country side to visit their families for Chinese new year. Lixin Fan and his team spend 3 years following a family, where the parents left their children behind with grandparents in the countryside, in order to earn money in the city and support everybody at home.

Living in Beijing, Lixin Fan, witnesses the growing gap between rich and poor also city life versus rural life. He describes that observing the lifes of mirgrant workers, having long labor hours, with low wages, no health care, and no pension encouraged him to make his documentation. Because the three years of filming material from observing this one family and their fleeing relationships with their own children "Last Train Home" becomes a very intimate and intense documentation about the harsh reality of disgrace and pain, many migration workers experience of being estranged from your own children. Money send from the city was not enough to support their children's well being and becoming educated adults, since they needed their parents presence, love and guidance above all.

 

[Kathrin Simmons]

Very engaging lecture, its great Professor Tran uses a mircrophone  to walk around with. Love the line up of all our presentation throughout the week. It seems like she is bringing it back together to discuss gender roles and womanhood in China.

[Kathrin Simmons]

So there are women , who choose not to have children, becoming Kundao's, by commiting themselves to daoism as poets and philosphers.

As being kundao, a woman can pursue her faith, freedom and self-realization.

[Kathrin Simmons]

May be more freedom then women had in the western world, where women were tied to the kitchen. Having been assigned to only  household roles of cleaning and cooking, care taking, while men made "real" decision also on childrens education.

[Kathrin Simmons]

I loved Naomi's Kamase's video presentation about her life and filmaking process. I was intrigued with her personality being so calm and assertive, that was supported through listening to her speaking in Japanese her native language. It sounded beautiful but monoton, which made it even more interesting. I also seemed  more wordy and then the English translation. She caught my attention right at the beginning, when she said that she wanted to catch time, that is passing all of us at the same time, on film. Making the connection to her physical and digital audience all through out the video, through adressing people straight through the camera making them think about their own life experience being able to connect to hers. She explaines how she was intrigued early on, living with her grandmother, that as a filmmaker you have a subjective and objective view at the same time. In her filmmaking Naomi Kamase intention is to  reach out to her audience and make true connections by " being able to call people all over the world by their first name". Sharing her grandmothers view of saying as she was passing: "The world is beautiful".

I have only seen trailers of some of her movies, but would like to watch her films in the future.

For sure I am sharing her attitude in reaching out to people, to my students, connecting with them, making connections to their own experiences and respecting everybody as the beautiful human beings they are.

[Kathrin Simmons]

Professor Jung-Kim's presentation of the "Comfort-women" in World War II  was important reminder to me as well. I wish we would use a different terminolagy, the word "comfort" does not explain the sex slavery that was invicted on Korean and Vietnamese women in World War II. I am thankfull that the memorials are now reminding of that horror that was inflicted on women, their families, and lifes. I need to visit the statues of the two girls in Glendale, San Francisco and of course South Korea and Japan.

[Kathrin Simmons]

It would have enjoyed more information on the music industry as well as music videos. Professor Jung-Kim's lecture covered so much material of South Korean history and culture, and gave a great overview.

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