"China Slaps Director With Five Year Ban Monday, September 4, 2006 8:34 AM EDT The Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese director Lou Ye has been banned from making movies in his home country for five years because his film "Summer Palace" was screened at Cannes in May without government approval, state media said Monday.
The main Xinhua News Agency said Lou's film would be confiscated and income from the film seized. The movie is a sexually explicit love story set against China's pro-democracy protests of 1989, which led up to the brutal Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Producer Nai An was also banned from making films in China for five years, Xinhua said.
Lou attended the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival in southern France in May without first obtaining permission from China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
Hong Kong media reported earlier this year that Chinese authorities had ordered local news outlets not to report on "Summer Palace" at Cannes.
In 2000, when Jiang Wen's "Devils on the Doorstep" showed at Cannes without government approval, censors kept the movie off the Chinese market, angering investors. And in 1997, China pulled Zhang Yimou's film "Keep Cool" from the festival competition. And
Lou has said his film is somewhat autobiographical.
"I wanted to tell this story, because in 1989 I was myself a student at Peking University and was involved in a romance," he said earlier this year, referring to his similarities to the characters in "Summer Palace."
The student protests ended with the crackdown at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, which left hundreds if not thousands dead. Chinese authorities still maintain the demonstrations were counterrevolutionary riots."
I found this movie to be very moving, and very good. It would be good to show video clips of this movie to a 10th grade World History or World Cultures class. I definately wouldn't show the entire movie, it is too long. Also, there are a couple of questionable scenes. Otherwise, this video offers some good historical information when teaching about China.
A few weeks ago, I was in a teacher's store and found a three-video series on Modern China. The first video covers China during its Revolution. For the second video, it discusses and highlights the Mao years. Finally, life in China under the "red flag" is the topic of the third video.
This video set would be wonderful for an IB or AP World Cultures/World History class. The videos go into great detail regarding each of the three main themes.
If you were to show each video completely, it would take you six hours. So, I do not recommend you do that. However, as you cover the California state social science standards, as well as the IB standards, you could use video clips from each of the videos to highlight or illustrate those standards specific to China during the modern era.
My favorite of the three videos was "Born Under the Red Flag", the third video. I felt this video did a great job at exemplifying life after the Revolution. How things changed for the people, etc.
I found that my response to the video "The Way Home" was similar to yours. I followed the grandmother and her plight. The fact that she let her grandson ride the bus home after a day of selling at market, while she herself walked. Many grandparents throughout history have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for their grand children. My own grandmother used to take me to her home in Burbank when I would get sick. When I got sick, it would linger for a month or more. So, for a whole month, she would take care of me no matter what I needed. If I had to go to the doctor, she would drive me back to Redlands, take me to the appointment, pick up any prescriptions I needed in Redlands at my Pharmancy, and drive me home to her house. If I needed specialized food, she would get it. The amount our grandparents are willing to sacrifice is astonishing. Just as the grandmother in the movie is continually sacrificing for her grandson. I loved this movie. With the grandmother's love, the boy finally realizes what it means to be a person.
I read an article on a new movie out of Southeast Asia called the Protector, in English. Written by Brian Hu, and readily available through the Asia and Pacific Arts section on the home page for the UCLA Asia Institute.
This movie stars a Thai man by the name of Jaa. In it, he tries to save two elephants who have been taken to Australia. The elephants are from his homeland.
The movie has been altered for American and other international audiences. Hu states that the cutting of certain scenes, "...represents and then explores certain (American?) values about Asian action...are authentic to its international audience."
Also, that despite the removal of about 30 minutes worth of video, the movie still provides a, "...heart attack of non-stop action." Furthermore, that the program "...maintain(s) pounding momentum." Finally, Hu states that it has an, "...unforgettable finale..."
The plot is understandable, despite the alterations.
Hu claims that, "...the Protector will be the film to lunge Jaa into the American conciousness."
After having read this article, I would like to view the movie. Not because I like heart-pounding action, but because it does sound interesting.
This 1983 animated film about a young boy who experiences the horrors of Hiroshima is gripping and powerful. The story begins with a poor family undergoing the deprivations and sacrifices that most Japanese people experienced toward the end of World War II. It centers on Keiji Nakazawa (Barefoot Gen), a six-year old boy in August 1945 and his life as it moves from hope to despair and on to a forced maturity. This story is anti-war autobiography written by Nakazawa himself, although it seems less political than it could have been from a viewpoint of Japanese and American relations.
Gen grew up with a father who blamed the Japanese military establishment for the deprivations of the war and was steadfastly anti-war at a time when most Japanese were gearing up to fight and hold onto their island nation to the death. Gen lost his father, two brothers (one just days old), and his sister in the Hiroshima blast. The infant child died due to the malnourisment they experienced in the days after the bombing. After the bombing Gen is now the "man of the house," where he nourishes his mother back to health and works hard in the days after the bombing to earn money, along with an adoptive orphaned child who looks like a carbon copy of his late younger brother.
This film is very graphic and tries to accurately portray what actually happened durring the bomb blast and its aftermath. To some people (myself included), the images are very disturbing and it shows the horrible effects of the bombs blast at the time of the blast and in the aftermath. Nakazawa goes to great lengths to portray the horrors of the war and ends the film with a statement of the wars effects on Japan and on all of humanity. He is not overbearing, but he lets the images speak loudly to the horrors of a nuclear nightmare.
It is a film that I would highly recommend as part of a nuclear war discussion or a discussion about the ending of World War II in a World History course. I have not been able to find a rating for this flm, but I believe I would want my students to get permission to view it from their parents because of the graphic scenes that are associated with it. It would probably carry an R rating here in the United States, but I would highly recommend it for its value in showing the horrors of war and the possibilities we face in our future.
Sept. 19, 2006 from Cathy Crawford, HS World History, 06 seminar I watched a film last week entitled, "The Sea Is Watching". You can find it on google for producers, directors and actors with some interesting critiques and background info. For those of you who have seen it, I jotted down some impressions and connections to our class. For those of you who have not seen it, I recommend it. Being new to Asian films, I like everything! But, being a romantic, I really like this one. The story is about a group of women who are prostitutes in Edo period Japan, their hardships, their friendships and their relationships with clients. It's a small group, so you get to know their personalities and hierachy amongst themselves. One girl keeps falling in love with her clients. I don't dare give away the unfolding, as she falls deeply for a couple of different men; and so will you. That is, of course, if you like samurai and respect for women. Meanwhile, the older men come in different shades of connection to the women. One is kind and is more like a brother juxtaposing the one who is frustrated and demeaning, and utimately, violent., The village takes care of its own, and the prostitutes take care of each other and support the female protaganist who loses her parents and brother, only to be responsible for her younger sister. Storms are symbolic for the torrents of tears, for the winds of change and the breeze of a new beginning. Watch this film and be swept away with emotion and imagination. The directors went to great effort to recreate the time period and the social practices of the era. For those of you who have seen it, here is my free flow. Good vs evil inhumanity, hope, humaity...redemption cat fight detail (girls bickering and a cat meows angrily) village life, kimonos, lanterns sub titles, I find myself not reading consciously and hearing the timbre in the voice, since I don't undrestnad the words, except arigoto and a city or person's name Poverty, prostitution, norms, finding the good in an unfortunate life Irony (young samurai who did not realize O-Shin loved him) Seasons change in a frame, microscopic of a few characters and one venue Laugh, cry, marvel, ponder, gratitude, beauty love for the patron......but, the love of the girls for each other The interaction with the regulars, jealousy, theft, tenderness The lies to help make life bearable
A frame could be seen as a piece of art; the colors, sounds, visual poetry
some critics feel it is trite. but I liked it
Afterall, I would not ordinarily watch a Japanese film; except after the UCLA class, it was homework!! And.....as itturns out, I enjoyed it. Because of the class: I was more familiear with the period I was more familiar with the caligraphy I was more familiar wtih Japanese history in general Key: I was much more conscious of film as an art and the camera angles, the use of persepctive (seeing from the character's eye, literally, not just his/her point of view!) Using the same tree to show cherry blossoms an then green, showing the season changed; same with the wheat swaying and the same field in snow, without any story, just to show us that the months and years go by. Smbolically, I see that the life of the prostitutes can't get better, that they are stuck. However, they dream and hope and encourage each other; that life can improve. the lanterns going down the river and the prayers as they send them off.
The family banishment and pre arranged wedding of the samurai
The despair of the 2nd man O-Shin was in love with, talk of suicide and how he did not know how to get a good job (but, his kindness as an ophan feeding the dog and sleeping with him showed he was a good person) the samurai is SUPPOSED to be noble and kind, yet he was oblivious to anyone's feelings, not malevolent, just brought up to be unaware, and egotistical by training.........whereas, thhe orphan was the good one; although he felt like a victim, he did not want to treat others the way he ha been treated When we discuss the Golden Rule, maybe we should have students inverse it it to bring it home even more clealy. Don't treat others the way you don't want to be treated. I plan to show clips in class: kimonos, men's hair (que) and to get them used to sub tiltes, hearing Japanese language. The world is bigger than Temecula.
While this film would not be appropriate for a K-12 curriculum inclusion, it is worthy of renting, if for no other reason but to see some spectacular cinematography and to encounter a fable that follows the Buddist philosophy, featuring minimal dialogue yet profound visual symbolism. "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring" in it's pictoral elegance supercedes other Asian films I have encountered with regard to the depth of it's cinematography. Not only is it photographically rich but moreover, the camera captures the beauty of existence. This thought provoking film explores the simple moral lessons that dwell at the core of the Korean Buddhist culture through quiet seasonal portraits. Captured through the artistic conceptualization of South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, the picture has a quiet rhythm that punctuates each scene and keeps the story cohesive. As each season unfolds during the movie, a new part of a young monk's journey is revealed. Beginning with Spring and the innocence of his youth and moving to Summer and the challenges and conflicts of adolescence, the bad decisions made lead despair and regret in the Fall and finally resolution and final maturity during the Winter, which is followed of course by a new beginning, a rebirth. The Buddhist philosophical messages of adherence to sprituality and avoidance of want and desire because of their destructive nature are clearly evident, even to the Western mind because the cameraman's perspective and artistry leaves an enduring impression. Even the setting, atop the mountains, somewhere in Korea, with a floating monastery that sits on a lake, pays homage to the Buddhist theme of constant change and transition. Coming from a background in Shakespearean studies, the stages of life as told in this memorable cinematic piece reminds me of the seven stages of man so plainly set to paper by the Bard himself. Other traditions and cultures can relate to the central message of this tale but some of the lessons are purely Buddhist. The addition of various animal companions throughout the life of the Holy Man does suggest symbolic representation of reincarnation. A puppy is seen during the boy's youth, followed by a chicken, cat, snake and tortoise but none of the dialogue draws attention to the inclusion of the animals. The viewer must see the changes and make his or her own connections to the inherent Buddhist teachings. While one of the central characters, the master, is a great teacher, he hardly utters a word as the greatest lessons learned are through self discovery. Both at the beginning of the movie and at the end the young boy is meant to represent each one of us, for in the Buddhist tradition, as one sets out on life's path, one comes upon choices which allow us make the decision to succumb to the temptation therein or to master our own desire by refusing to give in and therefore controlling our own nature. The seasons provide a soft reminder of the cyclical nature of conception, maturation, expiration and rebirth as embraced by the Buddhists and as recognized by many other cultures throughout the world. This film as told in visual haiku is a true work of art and treat for the eyes as well as the mind. Most worthy to view and available at your local video store in the foreign film section. Enjoy![Edit by="spavelkagregg on Jan 9, 7:01:26 PM"][/Edit]
Midnight Angels with Cynthia Luster, Moon Lee, and Elaine Lui was a mildly entertaining movie. It is a Hong Kong martial arts crime-busting action movie distributed by Xenon Home Video. It was good to see women in action movies (1996) rather than just the damsel in distress.
I remember first seeing a Jackie Chan move when I was a student (1992) in Bangkok Thailand. It was his movie where he has a twin (it was released in the late 90's in the U.S.) and I saw it in a big theatre dubbed in Thai. Fast foward to his U.S. release of Rumble in the Bronx and I found it to be so cool. What other word is there to describe it? I didn't really like chinese films because they had those incredibly impossible fighting scenes where one hero battled 5,000 and he always won, not to mention could defy gravity. But as my experience in the asian culture grew i began to enjoy these films and understand their story. Rumble was just a fun movie.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:29:37 PM"][/Edit]
Apart from that Bruce Lee movie with Kareem Abdul Jabar (a classic), the first asian film I really remember having interest in (high school in the San fernando valley with mostly a hispanic community) was the Charles Bronson movie Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects. I didn't see it until many years later (it wasn't really all that good) but it interested me because of the western/asian combination that they used to bridge the gap for me to delve into full asian movies...[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:28:55 PM"][/Edit]
And speaking of asian/western movies, I did enjoy the Christopher Lambert movie 'The Hunted." It was a good enough story of a high-powered business man in a "fish-out-of-water" enviornment in Asia. This movie really got me interested in how westerners view asia and is a good preview to the movie "rising sun" with wesley snipes and sean connery. [Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:28:15 PM"][/Edit]
Once I began to see more foreign films, especially asian ones I began to experiment with more than just the martial arts/crime syndicate ones. The Mystery of Rampo was one such film. One of the quotes which I always remember is:
I once heard the story of a desert traveler whose steps were off by a mere one centimeter. He walked in a circle forever...[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:27:14 PM"][/Edit]
Comedy can be so culturally specific that it's "lost in translation." One of the first comedy movies i saw was the 1996 "Ermo" which is a tale of materialism, friends, and the quest for happiness. The humor which I know has a lot to do with play on words which can't be translated leads often time to view an asian comedy as slapstick. But the message hidden in the symbolism of Ermo's struggle to achieve something (in the movie's case the biggest t.v. in her village) and yet that goal is fleeting (since at the end of the movie the t.v. station stops broadcasting and she is left with everyone there to watch t.v. and yet nothing to see) is a real message to those that work hard for materialism. [Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:26:12 PM"][/Edit]
There are times when movies can get redundant. After watching a multitude of asian cinema I reached "The Story of Xinghua." Overloaded perhaps from the self-induced film festival I realized for the first time the asian formula for a drama: guy has girl. guy beats her. other guy wants her. then she leaves both. hillarity ensues. I burned out on this one. Sometimes the cinematography isn't enough.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:25:31 PM"][/Edit]
I started my China unit by showing "China's Lost Girls" to my 7th grade students. It is a National Geographic documentary hosted by Lisa Ling. It follows an American family on its journey to adopt a second Chinese baby from China. We started with this film to illustrate the connection between the present and the past. There are many dimensions to this film that middle school students can relate to. There is background and explanation of China's one child policy. The human affects of this are shown in interviews with Chinese families and Chinese people who discuss their shame that girls have been abandoned in favor of baby boys. The vast majority of my students have experience with adoption-- either they know somebody who has been adopted or may have been adopted themselves. It was interesting to see how quickly the young children assimilated into "American" culture once they were adopted.
I am going to use the movie Mulan to teach Chinese culture to my students. I sometimes shy away from using any Disney movie to teach history, especially since Disney has sometimes been accused of having a somewhat revisionist view when it comes to interpreting historical fact, i.e. Remember the Alamo, Pocahontas, Fantasia… However, I feel Disney was accurate and most of all, faithful to Chinese culture with Mulan. I can stop and start my video for commentary at almost any point in the movie to talk about something related to Chinese culture.
The first thing I would point out is how the signal flares were lit to warn the Chinese army of invaders. Scholars to this day do not know how those flares were lit to signal danger, but this is a good question and answer for my students to surmise how it was done.
Next, I would explain the context of the Hun invasion into China during this time period. I can also mention the Mongol invasion and its influence on China. I could elaborate at length about this, and the subject matter is relevant for both 6th and 7th graders.
The next representation is the philosophy surrounding ancestor worship. The scenes where Mulan and her family ask for intervention from their ancestors are textbook Chinese belief, and Disney does it with humor, sincerity, and reverence. I talk about this idea as a compare and contrast segment in my class between various religious beliefs around the world, and personalize it with my students with their own beliefs and ideas about their ancestors.
We also talk about the idea of “saving face,” which is the desire to not appear weak or look bad in the eyes of others. Face is all about how other people view you. The twist here is a gender issue mixed in with the idea of saving face and upholding family honor when it comes to the duties and obligations of individuals in a family. The story line is magnificent in showing traditional gender values, the taboos of offending those values, and the ramifications of crossing the line when these values are not upheld.
This lends itself well to Confucian concepts, and I examine this concept to my students for detailed analysis with the help of the movie as a springboard to stimulate discussion.
Overall, Mulan is a fun movie which is very well done, and is an achievement to the animation technology that was cutting edge at the time. It is also a true and spirited story that is endearing to all who watch it.
I'm an anime watcher and when I get to use film in class, I get excited--especially when I get to use animes.
One anime I have shown my class is Miyazaki's, Spirited Away. A+ movie! I fell in love with this movie a few years ago. This movie incorporates traditional Japanese beliefs and customs mixed in with modernization occuring in Japan.
In the classroom environment (I teach 7th grade world history), I tied in Shintoism, cultural norms, and the affects of modernization that I teach to my students with what goes on in the film. My students were able to recall what they have learned in class and relate the content to what they see in the film.
The majority of the Studio Ghibli films are usually pretty good. Most of them are not like western cartoons at all, in fact, if you are not familiar with Miyazaki's film, it can be pretty abstract. But your students will enjoy them!
I just watched "Street Children in Mongolia". It is part of the "What's Going On" series. This series was made for school aged students to show them what other children are going through in poverty stricken areas of the world. The film was put together by the United Nations and Zenger Media (Social Studies School Service). The film takes place in Ulanbaatar, the capitol of Mongolia. It shows the story of four young homeless children. Included is how they survive on the streets and why they left their homes. They have to deal with hunger, cold, and violence on a day-to-day basis. I chose this DVD to review to help out one of my student project groups that chose Mongolian poverty as their research topic. This DVD puts a face on poverty in Mongolia.
A movie that many students who are anime lovers or Japanophiles cite is Hotaru no hakka. This is a Ghibli (Hayao Miyazaki) Studio production form the late 80's.
It is very realistic, much like my all time favorite (can you tell by my avatar?), Tonari no Totoro. It is about two children in late WW-2 Japan. They are orphaned in a B-29 incendiary raid. Their relatives do not care much for the burden, so the children run away. They struggle to survive against increasing odds.
It is poignant, visually stunning, but very depressing. The title in English is Grave of the Fireflies.
A movie I have had success using in geography class and with the Japan Club I sponsor is Tampopo.
Director Juzo Itami made a movie about food, passion, and persistence agains the odds. His wry, sometimes dark, sometimes sensual humor makes it a classic.http://imdb.com/title/tt0092048/
It came out in the 80s and is dated in a visual way, but still offers many relevant societal views.
It took me a while to connect Gun, the hero Goro's sidekick, with the great samurai character, Katsumoto, in the Last Samurai. He was just starting out, but was an integral part of the story.
A Taiwanese film I have enjoyed and have thought about using is Eat Drink Man Woman. Again, the food basis keeps the movie friendly. The lives of the three daughters and the widower dad in 90s Taipei as they confront modernism and traditional roles (well, tradition takes major hits) are very easy to understand and down-to-earth.
Ang Li directs it, but the story was largely written by an American. The storyline was used by the same company in the making of the flop, Tortilla Soup. The Taiwanese story and production far outclasses the American version.
A surprise last year on the Independent Film Channel was the Weeping Camel. It was shot in Mongolia with Mongolian actors.
Talk about stark and down-to-earth. A family must find a musician to get a mother camel to accept her colt. The movie shows traditions, family issues, contemporary Mongolian life, and is well acted and produced.
I would like to add that since my school is Copernican schedule, I have to use clips rather than entire movies. Most of the movies I have discussed would not lend themselves to use in that manner.
I have used clips and worksheets for them with the following movies (just about Asia): Tora, Tora, Tora, Windtalkers (director's cut) Gandhi The Sand Pebbles
Where I found time to use those clips, i do not know, considering all the standards expect from us.
I am looking forward to the Chinese version of Mulan with Michelle Yeoh in 2008 (so they say).
I also heard that the version of Chushingura with Mifune Toshiro is good, and the story is mentioned in my WHAP text. http://imdb.com/title/tt0055850/
My issues with films in the classroom are that 1. their dramatic emphasis distracts from the historicity. 2. foreign film makers, until recently, have not had the production support to make high quality films that would keep the students' attention. 3. The American titles center on White characters with Asians as secondary figures or just as background 4. Some of the Asian productions are not even shot in Asia (heck, the Last Samurai was shot in New Zealand and House of the Flying Daggers had scenes shot in Western Russia!).
I find the Globe Trekker episodes to be very useful for the students.
We watch a 45 minute backpack-tour of China, Japan, India, India and, outside of the host's personality, get a first-hand look at out-of-the-way experiences and places.
I loved the Japanese version of Shall We Dance? too. It does a wonderful job showing the various relationships we can have with people and how those connections impact our life.
The movie makes so much more sense with the Japanese setting then with the American one. The fact that Japanese society frowns upon a man taking dance lessons is the necessary context for the fact that the main character has to keep it a secret. He goes against the norm and the result is an awakening in his own life that changes his entire outlook and perspective.
I teach a foreign film class to freshman and was going to use the film, but I thought the theme was a bit too sophisticated for 14 year-olds. After reading some of the posts I'm considering using "Spirited Away." I've never seen it and am wondering if that is a good choice to represent Asian film. Any suggestions?
The point of the class is to expose students to different countires and cultures through the medium of film (our Small Learning Community is called International Studies Academy). Any more thoughts on films I could use that are freshman appropriate?
Just wanted to add my two won on this great movie...
The story is traditional - a fairytale, in effect - told to please its original audience of the lower strata of society (until the 20th century and the emerging nationalist movement, wealthier and more cultured Koreans traditionally regarded themselves as above and, to some extent, removed from the common herd - in fact, culturally more akin to the educated Chinese as a class) by putting forward the implausible notion that a poor girl, daughter of a courtesan, can rise to become the wife of the provincial governor, thanks to True Love ...
The movie begins as a pansori performance, with a single singer and accompianist on a stage in front of a large audience, and moves into a retelling of the story through cinematic action. The style of pansori singing is intense - the performer's voice is put through vocal hoops you'd hardly think possible to sustain for the customary two hour performance, and it shows on his face! I'd thought initially that the students would find it comical and react accordingly but, in fact, they very quickly appreciate the dexterity and sheer stamina of the performer, and the action of the story itself begins soon enough.
The camera returns to the stage performance at times throughout the movie and, by the end, the audience members - most of them elderly - are on their feet reacting to the singer and responding to the emotions stirred by the tale's telling.
This is an excellent intro to Korean culture, both folktales and the pansori tradition, and costume (the production values are superb, and the dress throughout is a really great window into traditional Korean costume) although there are a couple of points during the movie when the two young lovers get into some very heated action... fast-forwarding works, as it's only a minute or two of doing the wild thing. I follow up showing this movie with a handout on pansori - its history, and summaries of the most popular stories - which dovetails nicely with the handout on Biejing Opera which we discuss after the class has watched "Farewell My Concubine". It also fits in nicely with a later look at Japanese Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku theater.
I should say that both of these movies aren't suitable for middle school (except, in the case of 'Chunhyang', with some serious editing). If you can suggest any other movies that explore East Asian musical tradition, I'd be glad to hear from you - particularly anything that showcases any of the Japanese theatrical forms
Many thanks!
Ray Robinson[Edit by="rrobinson on Mar 5, 3:33:12 PM"][/Edit]
My classes are studying Japan now. I just finished previewing "In Search of History: Samurai Warriors" made by the History Channel. It does a really good job of showing the evolution of the samurai with artwork, reenactments, and expert commentaries. There is a very short part that discusses homosexuality among samurai, but it is put into context of the times. The historical context of bushido is expained as well as its misuse during the twentieth century. What the film does not discuss was whether or not there was some sort of unwritten code of honor before bushido was formalized.
I recently saw Twilight Samurai,the film recommended by Professor Yamashita. It is a beautiful film that moves slowly (it is over two hours long), telling a very intelligent story about Seibei, a self-decribed "petty" samurai, who is raising two young daughters and caring for an aging, senile mother on a pittance of a salary. The story takes place at the end of the 19th century showing samurais who worked day to day as castle book keepers. In fact, very little fighting actually occurs. Seibei's life is not glamorous but he does try to live it with thoughtful integrity that sometimes makes him the butt of his co-workers' jokes. Seibei does battle with the drunkened ex-husband of a childhood friend (choosing not to kill the man) and has a climatic battle with a "one-sword" samurai who engages him in a discussion about the changing times. I understand this film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002.
I watched "Tae Guk GI: Brotherhood of War," by Kang Je-Gyu, for my movie review. It is a movie from South Korea about the Korean War. I had not heard anything about the film, but I thought it would be interesting since I teach about the Korean War and my father fought in the conflict. Most importantly, I thought it would be interesting to see a South Koreans perspective of the war. When my class is covering the Korean War (more than just the three paragraphs that's in the textbook!!!), I will show the clip of what it was like to be living in Korea during this turbulent time. The movie gives a good perspective of how the civilians were treated.
The movie has both English subtitles and English voice overs, which was kinda funny because the dialogue did not exactly match the subtitles.
The story was about two brothers who are drafted into the South Korean Army after the north invades. Much of the emotional aspect of the film dealt with how their family was split up during the conflict and how they coped with the realities of war. There was a heavy focus on blaming (and hating) the "Commie bastards" of the north, to the point of being repatative and annoying. It also showed the reaction of the south Korean troops to the Chinese and Americans entering the war. However, there are a couple scenes where the south Koreans murdered suspected Communist sympithizers (civilians who took badly needed food from the Communist party) in a violent scenario that I'm not sure is historically accurate. Another unbelievable scene was when the one brother, Jin-Tae, becomes a southern war hero, gets brainwached by the North Koreans and then leads the north in an attack, only to change sides again and shoot the communists until he is killed. It was a confusing story line, but made for good drama. However, the film is not worthy of using in the classroom as an educational tool. [Edit by="jlatimer on Jun 26, 9:48:13 AM"][/Edit]
My classes viewed the video, "Confucius" (History Channel). It is a detailed account of his early life and circumstances, including his family life. This is linked (in the video) to his latter choices in life. The choices that he makes are explained in light of the political situation. His quotes are interspersed throughout, with explanations and in many cases, examples. Some scenes open with a famous quote, then the scene unfolds so that the quote is explained. For example, the quote," An oppressive government is much worse than a man eating tiger" prefaces the scene that portrays political unrest. This video brings him to life and portrays him as a sympathetic character. It helped my students to relate his teachings to the person.
I thoroughly enjoyed Spirited Away. I would have loved to show this film in my class, but it is not rated "G" (darn elementary school rules). So, for those of you that have lesser restrictions, i highly recommend this movie if you'd like your students to learn about Japanese religious beliefs and culture.
The movie is about a Japanese girl (Shihiro) that gets trapped in the spirit world. The majority of the film takes place in a bath house for spirits where Shihiro is forced to work. The movie is rich in symbolism, spirits, underlying messages about manners and work ethic, and visually stunning as well.
I wish I had more knowledge of the spirits that come to life in this movie. I think that would have allowed me to better understand the movie. One scene I loved is when a horrible, stinky muck-covered blob enters the bath house and Shihiro, because she is the low woman on the totem pole is forced to attend to it. All the bath house attendants think it is a stink spirit, for obvious reasons. Shihiro slips into the tub with it and realizes that he has a thorn in its side and she thinks that he will be more comfortable if she removes it. Finally, after tugging and tugging, the thorn comes out along with a huge wave of muck: dirty water, an old bicycle, bowling pins, a refrigerator and tons of other odd trash. When all is released, the real spirit is revealed; she wasn't taking care of a stink spirit, but rather a rich and powerful river spirit. The trash of course that was released was a reminder of all the pollution that had ruined it.
This is one small scene in a rich and intriguing movie; definitely worth the rental fee.
I reviewed the educational video, "Asia's Global Influence" (Discovery School). It is divided up into 5 sections (subtopics): 1. Kublai Khan's promotion of the merchant class in the 13th century 2. The growing desertification problem in China and what China is doing to offset desertification. 3. A tour of Hong Kong by the film star, Jackie Chan in which he points out all of the wonderful attractions, customs, and cultural blending between east and west in Hong Kong. 4. An explanation of why Korea is divided up into North and South and how their economies developed. 5. The extended family in Vietnam and the important role that filial piety plays in society, even as people move away from the country and into the city.
This is a very middle school friendly video that can be used as an introduction to Asian studies or within the study of different parts and aspects of Asia.
Before each segment, the viewer sees middle school aged young people discussing what they know about the subtopics. For example, before the China section, you listen to kids discussing what they remember learning about China.
I think that students will be especially drawn to the Hong Kong section, guided by Jackie Chan. He does a really nice job of explaining how Hong Kong is a blend between ancient Chinese traditions and new western ideas. The wet markets where people choose their food while its still living would fascinate students.
The section on China's "Green Wall" was the most interesting to me. I think it would also be interesting to students because they hear about deforestation, but not desertification.
Anyway, this is a great resource for 7th World History. It extends what is found in the textbook, while providing more information. It's on sale at Discoveryschool.com for $9.95 (while supplies last!)
Excellent review of Spirited Away and comparisons with the Odyssey. I agree with Kyle Moody that Chihiro must learn and grow like Telemachus and Haku indeed acts with the attributes and timely interventions of an Olympian god like Athena. Another major allusion (or reference or borrowing) is Circe's transformation of Odysseus's men into swine in Book 10, reflected, of course, in the fate of Chihiro's parents after they eat improvidently of the food of the gods (very much the way Odysseus's men become transformed after having eaten of the food provided for them by the deceptive witch-god Circe). Also Chihiro must use her intelligence and boldness to outwit more powerful beings than herself, much as Odysseus does in his conflict with the Cyclops and the Laestrygonians and with Circe herself. As Odysseus was dressed in rags and disguised as an old man by Athena in Book 13 and told by her that he must undergo blows and humiliation in silence, so Chihiro, disguised as Sen, a lowly bath-house attendant, must learn humility and other forms of self-abasement as she struggles to free her parents from their enchanted metamorphosis and, in the process, acquires wisdom, initiative, courage, self-reliance (in the full Emersonian sense) and an understanding of life far more complex and profound than that possessed by her thoroughly bourgeois parents before and after their porcine transformation.
I liked especially the scene with the "stink god" revealed, after his combative cleansing by Chihiro, to be not a stink god at all but a river god, made loathsome and mephitic by pollution (a theme central to Miyazaki's The Princess Mononoke). This is an allusion to the battle of Menelaus and his men with the slippery and mutable Proteus, the old man of the sea, as recounted to Telemachus in Book 4. I agree that Spirited Away could be used to supplement the Odyssey and increase student engagement, particularly as Miyazaki's film is far more imaginative than the pedestrian attempts made so far to film bits and pieces of Homer's epic. Chihiro's adventure is also, at heart, a story about the centrality of family in our lives, a theme Miyazaki illustrates vividly and unforgettably, just as Homer does.
Leigh Clark Monroe High School[Edit by="lclark on Jun 11, 10:54:51 PM"][/Edit]
I know it's not a foreign film but just saw "Letters from Iwo Jima" and it was very well done. One interesting thing I picked up on was the protagonists. The characters we were supposed to feel for were the only ones who had what seemed to be American values. These were the men that didn't go with the crowd in doing what they were told, however ridiculous, like shooting a little dog or needlesley commiting suicide. The protagonists used their own minds, their own judgements, showed individual strenght - not an honorable quality for a Japanese soldier, but in an American's eyes it is.
Is that a true reflection of certain Japanese soldiers? Would this film be liked in Japan? It'd be interesting to find out...
The front page of the LA Times's Calendar section for June 6, 2007 features an article, "Anime instinct," devoted to Osamu Tezuka, the Japanese artist who was the founding father of both manga and anime, quite a disitinction. I was not aware of Tezuka and his work before reading the article. Of course I am not a major fan of manga or anime. Aside from two films by Hayao Miyazaki that I admire greatly (Princess Mononoke and Swept Away), most anime films I have seen leave me unimpressed. Akira and Cowboy Beebop, two favorably-reviewed anime films (the latter a series for Japanese television), seem to me clever but derivative variations on American biker and cop movies. In most non-Miyazaki anime, and in all those manga books students keep lending me, from the blood-and-sex Battle Royale series to the teenage-girl stories peopled with dreamy underwear-model heroes, what I find sadly missing are the visual beauty and emotional power that infuse the classic Japanese films of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Ichikawa and Kobayashi. That having been said, however, I still find it astonishing that an artist as important to manga and anime as Walt Disney was to classic American animation should be so little-known in the west. (Further reading in the article gives rise to the disturbing speculation that Tezuka's comparative anonymity in the west may well have a lot to do with Disney's dubious heirs, especially creative-coporate predators Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg.)
The San Francisco Asian Art Museum is trying to increase Tezuka's name-recognition and an awareness among American manga and anime fans of the legacy of this pioneering Japanese artist by means of a major exhibition, "Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga," on display through September 9. Apparently Tezuka, who died in 1989 at the relatively young age of 61 (perhaps from overwork), had been approached decades ago about the possiblity of an exhibition of his original manga panels but rejected the idea, saying that he would produce new artworks for such an exhibition but that his original working panels, "cut and glued and covered in correction fluid," were not suitable for presentation at an art museum. But the prolific Tezuka, busy with other projects, never found time to create new artworks for the proposed exhibition, and the original working panels are now on display in San Francisco (the only US stop for this major international tour which originated not in Japan but the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia) The exhibition does not generate the typical feel-good atmosphere one might expect from a display of comic-book panels. "This is a very sad exhibit," according to Australian artist Philip Brophy, the show's curator. "There is not a lot of fun stuff." Since one of Tezuka's earlier projects was a manga version of Crime and Punishment, it is easy to imagine just how "unfun" the exhibition might be. Of course Tezuka's life, along with that of his entire generation in Japan, was shaped by catastrophic events. Born in 1928, he grew into young adulthood in the grim environment of post-Hiroshima, American-occupied Japan. His first hugely successful anime character was Astro Boy, a human derivative of Mickey Mouse with an upswept hairdo that is a visual homage to the ears of the iconic rodent. Astro Boy's name in Japanese, however, is Mighty Atom, and that lets us see the dark side of Tezuka, an ardent pacifist who used science-fiction to protest all forms of warfare, and especially nuclear warfare, as did the creators of the Godzilla (or Gojira) movies.
His other immensely successful manga character was Kimba the White Lion, and thereby hangs a tale (no pun intended). Kimba's epithet in Japanese is Jungle King. Both Kimba and Astro Boy became stars of popular anime for Japanese television, later imported by American television producers, who demanded cuts in certain sequences because they felt the violence would disturb American viewers' delicate sensibilities (and also, perhaps, collective American guilt). It does not take much imagination to see that Kimba the Jungle King is clearly the prototype for Disney's The Lion King. The good people at Disney deny this imputation vigorously, of course, according to the article. But surely if an American comic-book artist had created Kimba, any show-business attorney worth his or her salt would have slapped the Mouse House with a substantial copyright-infringement suit and most likely won a sizeable out-of-court settlement for the aggrieved artist. Tezuka apparently never attempted litigation, no doubt too busy with producing art that was not only commercially viable but deeply personal as well. Manga became widely populr in Japan in the late 1940s, according to the article, because it was inexpensive to publish and purchase. But the popularity of this dark art form almost certainly reflected the deprivation, humiliation and deeply-suppressed anger of postwar American-occupied Japan. The fact that it has now become an international genre, especially popular with American teenagers, also reflects the different but no less dark character of our own times.
Leigh Clark Monroe High School[Edit by="lclark on May 25, 9:54:02 PM"][/Edit]
The film I chose to review is GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES. This Japanese anime film is an adaptaion of a semi autobiagraphical novel Hotaru No Haka written by Akiyuki Nosaka. This film depicts some of the struggles that Japanese civilians experienced during the firebombings of WW II through the lives of two young siblings, an older teenage brother and his little sister. The film shows the struggles the siblings face in finding shelter, food, and water in Japanese country side. This film has vivid images and it is filled with emotionally moving scenes. Since its release in 1988, some critics have labeled this film as an anti-war movie or a movie that depicts the Japan as a victim of WWII because it fails to address Japan's agressive role in the war. Though these arguements may have some merit I do not agree with them because I do not beleive that that was the intent of the film. I beleive this film gives us great insight on how life was like in rural Japan during the war. Most of Japan's cities were bombed out thus forcing its civilians to flee to the country side. I beleive this film captures the humanity and the struggle Japanese civilian population experienced. I believe this is a very important perspective to examine and to teach students. In a World History lesson I would use Clips of this film to give students insight on the struggles face by both sides in the Pacific. I beleive as students see both perspetives of the war they will better understand WWII and that people on both sides of the war suffered.
Using The Last Emperor as a tool in studying the narrative
When The Last Emperor was originally released to theaters, somehow I inexplicably missed seeing it. This spring when I arrived home from China, I was determined to rent it. For me the movie magically breathed life into the frozen Forbidden City that I visited. Even the Academy of Motion Pictures recognized its supreme artistry and awarded it nine Academy Awards. Although I would not show the entire film in my Language Arts 8 classes, I certainly could follow my usual procedures in sharing short clips for defined purposes. When studying the structure of the narrative, it is important for students to understand that movies share much in common with novels and short stories. In addition to the plot, films emphasize the importance of setting and character. It’s also important to challenge the students and have them explore the different styles of delivery of plot, setting and character between a book and movie. In other words, they need to learn how to “read” and analyze a film. Before this class I probably would have randomly selected a typical American story. Now I realize that these mini-lessons offer a great opportunity to add diversity to the curriculum. Simply focusing on the setting and costumes would expose many Western students to the richness of Chinese history.
I took Susan’s advice and several of us watched Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. The movie starts in Tokyo and moves to China. The premise of the film is that Mr. Takata’s estranged son (Kenichi) is dying, Kenichi refuses to see his father, as way of atoning for his sins against his son, he decides to travel to China to finish what he thinks is an important film project to his son. The project entails video taping the mask opera – Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Mr. Takata arrives in China only to find out that the actor the son intended to tape is in jail. After a visit to the jail Mr. Taka finds out that the actor has an illegitimate child he has been ignoring. In order to get the actor to perform Mr. Takata attempts to reunite this father and son. In the process there is some soul searching for Mr. Takata. The reunion does not occur but the opera is taped. However, it is too late for Kenichi who dies while Mr. Takata is in China. (Oops I blew the ending…) The central message seems to be that while it is too late for Mr. Takata and his son Kenichi it is not too late for the actor and his son.
As far as using this film in my class room it will be hard. I teach will be teaching women’s studies and the emphasis in this film is on men, in Advanced Placement U.S. history there is no room or time to deviate from the pacing schedule, and even in U.S. History I am hard pressed to find a way to fit this film into our curriculum since there is no interaction with the U.S.. This film may be better suited for a World History or World Geography class.
“Letters from Iwo Jima” is a very powerful movie directed by Clint Eastwood who described incisively the combat at Iwo Island during the Second World War from Japanese soldiers’ viewpoints. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima itself, the unprecedented tactics of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and his men transform what was predicted to be a swift defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. This movie describes deeply these soldiers’ struggles, confusion, sacrifices, and courage when facing enemies with thousand times of arms more than them. Through the movie, the director also wants to disclosure the cruelty of the war and ridiculousness of militarism. No matter who wins the battle at the end, poor people and soldiers will always be the ones to sacrifice their lives for the ambitious of the military leaders. This is a unique and unforgettable movie. It will be a great movie for students to think about the war and discuss the war from both sides of viewpoints. It also will help students understand Japanese traditions and their philosophy. [Edit by="sfamekao on Jun 29, 7:33:09 AM"][/Edit]
I saw this film fairly "cold," meaning I didn't know what it was about before seeing it. I enjoyed it, although the more I thought about it afterward, the more I liked it. I think it is a good fillm to present to high school students, as there are important issues for discussion. The story crosses two cultures-Japanese and Chinese, and perhaps the most important theme was how the lack of communication, for whatever reason, creates distances between people. the lack of contact between Mr. Takata and his son Kenichi appeared to stem from Mr. Takata's hurting him deeply when Kenichi was young (but I never figured out what that was). The communication gap not only covers the language gap betwen Japanese and Chinese, but the cultural gap as with Mr. Takata, so stoic, and even evidenced with the opera singer's son who displayed so little emotion. Even the male interpretter--he didn't understand Japanese enough to translate but denied it to the Chinese when accused (of not knowing Japanese) or glossed over it. Gee, the only normal person was the woman. Ha! Some of the questions to ask students after the film: What did Mr. Takata envy in the opera singer and why (what did the opera singer do openly that Mr. Takata could not?). Why do you suppose Mr. Takata made such an effort to find the opera singer's son? What purpose did this mission serve? The title of the opera, "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles," has great significance in the lives of Mr. Takata and Kenichi. How? What attitude(s) did Mr. Takata display toward the Chinese that helped him achieve his goals? Mr. Takata and the opera singer's son seemed to have made an emotional connection. What do you think caused this? the mask i the opera is an important symbol. How? Before showing the film, I would encourage students to look for examples of the communication theme and take notes. I would need to see the film again to explore more issues and analyze this further. There's lots more to discuss. The movie moved me (I cried several times), especially when Kenichi made the realization that his father was taking a step toward reaching out to him even when Kenichi rejected his father's visit (although I wondered if Kenichi's sister had fabricated the letter to make her father feel some comfort, but in the end, I believed the letter was Kenichi's words). When Mr. Takata was leaving the village of the opera singer's son, the son chased after the car and Mr. Takata continued waving until he could no longer see the boy. Oi vey. That was sad, too. On the other hand, I don't know if I could show the film to students because I would cry, again. I'm a wimp. I saw that someone reviewed "The Joy Luck Club." That was another movie that made me cry buckets (at the theatre, even, how embarrassing). My family has a running joke about me with sad movies. "How many boxes of tissue is that movie? It's a 2-1/2 box movie." Okay. So I won't show the movie to a high school class. aileen willoughby
I join my colleagues in highly recommending the movie "Hero" starring Jet Li. I liked it better than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," in which I found the fighting sequences hard to believe. This story takes place two thousand years ago when China was split into seven feudal kingdoms. The tyrannical, shrewd and insightful King of Qin wants to unite the seven kingdoms into one powerful country, bringing peace and stability. He is, however, the target of three legendary assassins. This movie is a clever retelling of three different versions of the same assassination plot told from three points of view. The film is almost a cultural essay, somewhat like regional retellings of an ancient legend, rather than a Jet Li action flick. I could use this film with my studnts to reinforce several literary elements. There is an amazing metaphoric use of color in the film. The cinematography is awesome. The imagery is beautiful and of course I already mentioned the story is told from multiple points of view. The theme to discuss, in my opinion, would be " the pen is mightier than the sword". So, genre, figurative language techniques, and literary elements could all be viewed and discussed, as well as the historical references to the Chinese feudal kingdoms. If the film has a weakness at all, it would be that the ending could have been shortened. My students (middle school) might not be able to hang with it that long!
“Riding Along for Thousand of Miles” is a movie to describe mainly about the relationships between a father and a son. An aging Japanese fisherman traveled to China to look for a local Nuo opera actor in Yunnan Province for his very ill son who is a Chinese folk cultural researcher but cannot go back to China to continue his research. Since the father and the son don’t have close relations, the father wants to accomplish his son’s incomplete will in China in order to express his love and sincerity to make up his relations with his loved son. However, he faces a great amount of difficulties when he arrives to China such as language barriers, the local regulations, and traditions and cultural differences. Along this trip, he realizes the reasons that caused the gap between him and his son through his interactions with local people. He also starts to understand his son’s loneliness and his longings for love from the father. But, when he solved all of the problems and almost accomplished his film assignment for his son, he heard his son’s death from Japan. The regret would last forever in his mind.
I like this movie because it describes incisively how a traditional Japanese father hides his love and feeling behind a serious and strict role at home. This tradition also can be seen in Chinese culture. It reminds me my father who has never said “I love you” to any of his children but using high expectations and strict discipline to show his love and supports to his children. Therefore, this movie touches my heart so as many Asian people’s hearts. I would like to have my students to watch this movie when we talk about the family relations and parent’s expectations in the class. It may be a good start to have students to compare and contrast how western and Asian parents communicate with their kids, the relations between two generations in different cultures, and the reasons behind it. Hopefully, the discussion will help my students, especially Asian students, to build more positive relations with their parents and reduce the gap between two generations in different cultures.
"Nanking" is a new film which will be first shown in Beijing on July 3rd and 7th in Nanjing in China. Nanking tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, in the early days of World War II. As part of a campaign to conquer all of China, the Japanese subjected Nanking – which was then China’s capital – to months of aerial bombardment, and when the city fell, the Japanese army unleashed murder and rape on a horrifying scale. According to the summary judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East – also known as the Tokyo Trials, “estimates indicate that the total number of civilians and prisoners of war murdered in Nanking and its vicinity during the first six weeks of the Japanese occupation was over 200,000. Approximately 20,000 cases of rape occurred in the city during the first month of the occupation.” During that time, a small group of Westerners banded together to establish a Safety Zone where over 200,000 Chinese found refuge. They bore witness to the events, while risking their own lives to protect civilians from slaughter.
Some Japanese extreme militarism people now are still denying what was happening in Nanjing 70 years ago; however, more and more evidences prove that this page of history should not be denied and covered in order to prevent the same tragedy and war from happening again. This documentary movie is directed by Bill Guttentag who is a professor teaching movie and TV program production in Stanford University. He based on the book "The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II" and spent two years to collect first hand information and interview some survivors and Japanese soldiers to make this film. Those 22 survivors who were interviewed still could not relieve themselves from their sorrow, pain, and anger when they faced the camera.
Although this movie will not be shown until December in US, you can register your name and e-mail address on-line for further information. The official website for this film is http://www.nankingthefilm.com/. You can register your name on the homepage. I will definitely show this movie to my high school students in the class. It may give everyone a shock but provide an opportunity for them to reflect on the truth a war and if we really have right to begin a war.
The first time I watched Mulan was in May 2007. When we returned from our field study to China my students recommended that I rent this movie. I took their advice and was impressed. Disney’s Mulan is rated G for general audiences and is approximately 88 minutes. Mulan is the heroine in the movie, a Chinese girl who goes to fight in her father’s place, disguised as a male. I am always looking for movies or novels with strong women characters. If you plan to watch this movie in your classroom, require students to take Cornell Notes. Have students write an essay in which they compare and/or contrast “The Ballad of Mulan” read from Images of Women in Chinese Thought and and Culture: Writings from the Pre-Qin Period through the Song Dynasty, edited by Robin R. Wang to the movie Mulan. This reading is located in our East Asia and New Media in My Classroom binder under the section Women in East Asia History.
I think I will show clips of The Joy Luck Club in my 7th grade Language Arts class. After reading the excerpt by Amy Tan in our Literature Book, I think it would be nice for the students to see, instead of simply read about, the Tan's amazing symbolism and themes of holding onto the past and harboring hope for the future.
The movie does a great job of capturing this symbolism, these themes, and the struggles and triumphs of being Chinese American. As a movie for my classroom, however, I am worried about the messages being lost in the confusion. Even if I were to show the whole movie (which I'm not) I would be afraid students would have trouble keeping the characters straight; this problems worsens knowing that I will simply be showing an excerpt. Therefore, I have decided to do some preteaching, where I will tell students about the main characters they will be coming across. We will create a graphic organizer of the major characters that students can refer to as they are watching. It will contain the following: four grandmothers, mothers, and daughters; a two sisters, and an American half-sister, June.
Red Sorghum was a dire tale of folks out in a remote part of China making wine from sorghum (actually, that red beverage made in the People's Republic is the best!). The story takes place in the times leading up to and into the beginning of the Japanese invasion.
It is a hard story about a girl forced to marry a wealthy leper and a people oppressed by a vicious Japanese occupation, many dying to drive their oppressors out. The life at the winery is also tough and oppressive.
Made in 1987, this was one of the first PRC films to receive attention in the US foreign film market and was broadcast as part of a film series on PBS.
I would not use it for my students, but recommend it for the teacher wanting to see two things: 1. China through Chinese eyes; especially a very hard period like the war with Japan, and 2. The rise of Chinese films to international status.
I saw this movie a while ago and it stands out in my memory as an excellent depiction of the lifestyle of girls in Japan that did not have the money or family ties to accomplish anything of societal value on their own. Coming from families that were very poor, many of them were essentially sold as slaves.
This story starts out in the late 1920's and the main character, nine-year-old Chiyo, along with her sister, are sold in the Kyoto human market by there parents. Her older sister is immediately delivered into prostitution, while Chiyo is sold to a Geisha House where she will work unpaid until it can be determined whether she has the grace and beauty to succeed as one of the elegant performers.
The house is run with an iron fist and Chiro must undergo many trials before she is able to aquire a higher level of Geisha sophistication.
Although the males in the story are one-dimensional, the character development of the women, especially Chiro, with her blossoming beauty and learned Geisha grace is unsurpassed.
This film has superb photography, the plot is rich, and the unrequited love experienced by the main character brings a depth to this story that gave me a sense of being well entertained.
I think my students seeing this film would not only get an appreciation for the lifestyle in Japan of the 1930's and 1940's, but also would find this movie well worth seeing. They also might gain a greater appreciation for their personal freedom and quality of life.[Edit by="skiwasz on Jul 4, 4:18:11 AM"][/Edit]
Clay Dube mentioned the film The Painted Veil in class some time ago, and I view it today. It’s a love story set in China in 1925. A young doctor named Walter marries a woman he has only met for a few days. Kitty, his new bride, only accepts the marriage proposal because she wants to leave her parents’ home. Soon after the wedding, Walter takes his bride to Shanghai. Kitty commits adultery. Walter discovers her infidelity and gives her an ultimatum. Walter will either file for divorce and reveal her affair, or Kitty can join him in a small town that is in the midst of a cholera epidemic. Kitty reluctantly agrees to venture into the interior of China.
The marriage is rekindled as they discover new redeeming facets of their personality, both come to accept one another’s faults, and encounter hardships they both overcome together. I don’t want to ruin the movie for anyone interested, but its ending is sorrowful.
The scenes of China are incredibly beautiful and the audience gains a very small glimpse into the lives of the townspeople. The Pained Veil does present the tension between the Chinese and foreigners during this period. There is reference to the conflict between the nationalist and the “imperialistic Americans in China” as the doctor and Colonel Yu have a private conversation in the hinterland of China. I could possibly use this video as a springboard to introduce the political turmoil in China, Chinese perspective of American presence, and discussion of foreign relations between the two countries.
Look at this recently published report!
"China Slaps Director With Five Year Ban
Monday, September 4, 2006 8:34 AM EDT
The Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese director Lou Ye has been banned from making movies in his home country for five years because his film "Summer Palace" was screened at Cannes in May without government approval, state media said Monday.
The main Xinhua News Agency said Lou's film would be confiscated and income from the film seized. The movie is a sexually explicit love story set against China's pro-democracy protests of 1989, which led up to the brutal Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Producer Nai An was also banned from making films in China for five years, Xinhua said.
Lou attended the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival in southern France in May without first obtaining permission from China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
Hong Kong media reported earlier this year that Chinese authorities had ordered local news outlets not to report on "Summer Palace" at Cannes.
In 2000, when Jiang Wen's "Devils on the Doorstep" showed at Cannes without government approval, censors kept the movie off the Chinese market, angering investors. And in 1997, China pulled Zhang Yimou's film "Keep Cool" from the festival competition. And
Lou has said his film is somewhat autobiographical.
"I wanted to tell this story, because in 1989 I was myself a student at Peking University and was involved in a romance," he said earlier this year, referring to his similarities to the characters in "Summer Palace."
The student protests ended with the crackdown at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, which left hundreds if not thousands dead. Chinese authorities still maintain the demonstrations were counterrevolutionary riots."
I found this movie to be very moving, and very good. It would be good to show video clips of this movie to a 10th grade World History or World Cultures class. I definately wouldn't show the entire movie, it is too long. Also, there are a couple of questionable scenes. Otherwise, this video offers some good historical information when teaching about China.
A few weeks ago, I was in a teacher's store and found a three-video series on Modern China. The first video covers China during its Revolution. For the second video, it discusses and highlights the Mao years. Finally, life in China under the "red flag" is the topic of the third video.
This video set would be wonderful for an IB or AP World Cultures/World History class. The videos go into great detail regarding each of the three main themes.
If you were to show each video completely, it would take you six hours. So, I do not recommend you do that. However, as you cover the California state social science standards, as well as the IB standards, you could use video clips from each of the videos to highlight or illustrate those standards specific to China during the modern era.
My favorite of the three videos was "Born Under the Red Flag", the third video. I felt this video did a great job at exemplifying life after the Revolution. How things changed for the people, etc.
I found that my response to the video "The Way Home" was similar to yours. I followed the grandmother and her plight. The fact that she let her grandson ride the bus home after a day of selling at market, while she herself walked. Many grandparents throughout history have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for their grand children. My own grandmother used to take me to her home in Burbank when I would get sick. When I got sick, it would linger for a month or more. So, for a whole month, she would take care of me no matter what I needed. If I had to go to the doctor, she would drive me back to Redlands, take me to the appointment, pick up any prescriptions I needed in Redlands at my Pharmancy, and drive me home to her house. If I needed specialized food, she would get it. The amount our grandparents are willing to sacrifice is astonishing. Just as the grandmother in the movie is continually sacrificing for her grandson. I loved this movie. With the grandmother's love, the boy finally realizes what it means to be a person.
This Film Festival sounds great! I wonder, though, how much it costs?
I read an article on a new movie out of Southeast Asia called the Protector, in English. Written by Brian Hu, and readily available through the Asia and Pacific Arts section on the home page for the UCLA Asia Institute.
This movie stars a Thai man by the name of Jaa. In it, he tries to save two elephants who have been taken to Australia. The elephants are from his homeland.
The movie has been altered for American and other international audiences. Hu states that the cutting of certain scenes, "...represents and then explores certain (American?) values about Asian action...are authentic to its international audience."
Also, that despite the removal of about 30 minutes worth of video, the movie still provides a, "...heart attack of non-stop action." Furthermore, that the program "...maintain(s) pounding momentum." Finally, Hu states that it has an, "...unforgettable finale..."
The plot is understandable, despite the alterations.
Hu claims that, "...the Protector will be the film to lunge Jaa into the American conciousness."
After having read this article, I would like to view the movie. Not because I like heart-pounding action, but because it does sound interesting.
This 1983 animated film about a young boy who experiences the horrors of Hiroshima is gripping and powerful. The story begins with a poor family undergoing the deprivations and sacrifices that most Japanese people experienced toward the end of World War II. It centers on Keiji Nakazawa (Barefoot Gen), a six-year old boy in August 1945 and his life as it moves from hope to despair and on to a forced maturity. This story is anti-war autobiography written by Nakazawa himself, although it seems less political than it could have been from a viewpoint of Japanese and American relations.
Gen grew up with a father who blamed the Japanese military establishment for the deprivations of the war and was steadfastly anti-war at a time when most Japanese were gearing up to fight and hold onto their island nation to the death. Gen lost his father, two brothers (one just days old), and his sister in the Hiroshima blast. The infant child died due to the malnourisment they experienced in the days after the bombing. After the bombing Gen is now the "man of the house," where he nourishes his mother back to health and works hard in the days after the bombing to earn money, along with an adoptive orphaned child who looks like a carbon copy of his late younger brother.
This film is very graphic and tries to accurately portray what actually happened durring the bomb blast and its aftermath. To some people (myself included), the images are very disturbing and it shows the horrible effects of the bombs blast at the time of the blast and in the aftermath. Nakazawa goes to great lengths to portray the horrors of the war and ends the film with a statement of the wars effects on Japan and on all of humanity. He is not overbearing, but he lets the images speak loudly to the horrors of a nuclear nightmare.
It is a film that I would highly recommend as part of a nuclear war discussion or a discussion about the ending of World War II in a World History course. I have not been able to find a rating for this flm, but I believe I would want my students to get permission to view it from their parents because of the graphic scenes that are associated with it. It would probably carry an R rating here in the United States, but I would highly recommend it for its value in showing the horrors of war and the possibilities we face in our future.
Sept. 19, 2006 from Cathy Crawford, HS World History, 06 seminar
I watched a film last week entitled, "The Sea Is Watching". You can find it on google for producers, directors and actors with some interesting critiques and background info.
For those of you who have seen it, I jotted down some impressions and connections to our class. For those of you who have not seen it, I recommend it. Being new to Asian films, I like everything! But, being a romantic, I really like this one.
The story is about a group of women who are prostitutes in Edo period Japan, their hardships, their friendships and their relationships with clients. It's a small group, so you get to know their personalities and hierachy amongst themselves. One girl keeps falling in love with her clients. I don't dare give away the unfolding, as she falls deeply for a couple of different men; and so will you. That is, of course, if you like samurai and respect for women.
Meanwhile, the older men come in different shades of connection to the women. One is kind and is more like a brother juxtaposing the one who is frustrated and demeaning, and utimately, violent., The village takes care of its own, and the prostitutes take care of each other and support the female protaganist who loses her parents and brother, only to be responsible for her younger sister.
Storms are symbolic for the torrents of tears, for the winds of change and the breeze of a new beginning. Watch this film and be swept away with emotion and imagination. The directors went to great effort to recreate the time period and the social practices of the era.
For those of you who have seen it, here is my free flow.
Good vs evil
inhumanity, hope, humaity...redemption
cat fight detail (girls bickering and a cat meows angrily)
village life, kimonos, lanterns
sub titles, I find myself not reading consciously and hearing the timbre in the voice, since I don't undrestnad the words, except arigoto and a city or person's name
Poverty, prostitution, norms, finding the good in an unfortunate life
Irony (young samurai who did not realize O-Shin loved him)
Seasons change in a frame, microscopic of a few characters and one venue
Laugh, cry, marvel, ponder, gratitude, beauty
love for the patron......but, the love of the girls for each other
The interaction with the regulars, jealousy, theft, tenderness
The lies to help make life bearable
A frame could be seen as a piece of art; the colors, sounds, visual poetry
some critics feel it is trite. but I liked it
Afterall, I would not ordinarily watch a Japanese film; except after the UCLA class, it was homework!! And.....as itturns out, I enjoyed it. Because of the class:
I was more familiear with the period
I was more familiar with the caligraphy
I was more familiar wtih Japanese history in general
Key: I was much more conscious of film as an art and the camera angles, the use of persepctive (seeing from the character's eye, literally, not just his/her point of view!) Using the same tree to show cherry blossoms an then green, showing the season changed; same with the wheat swaying and the same field in snow, without any story, just to show us that the months and years go by. Smbolically, I see that the life of the prostitutes can't get better, that they are stuck. However, they dream and hope and encourage each other; that life can improve.
the lanterns going down the river and the prayers as they send them off.
The family banishment and pre arranged wedding of the samurai
The despair of the 2nd man O-Shin was in love with, talk of suicide and how he did not know how to get a good job (but, his kindness as an ophan feeding the dog and sleeping with him showed he was a good person)
the samurai is SUPPOSED to be noble and kind, yet he was oblivious to anyone's feelings, not malevolent, just brought up to be unaware, and egotistical by training.........whereas, thhe orphan was the good one; although he felt like a victim, he did not want to treat others the way he ha been treated
When we discuss the Golden Rule, maybe we should have students inverse it it to bring it home even more clealy.
Don't treat others the way you don't want to be treated.
I plan to show clips in class: kimonos, men's hair (que) and to get them used to sub tiltes, hearing Japanese language. The world is bigger than Temecula.
While this film would not be appropriate for a K-12 curriculum inclusion, it is worthy of renting, if for no other reason but to see some spectacular cinematography and to encounter a fable that follows the Buddist philosophy, featuring minimal dialogue yet profound visual symbolism. "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring" in it's pictoral elegance supercedes other Asian films I have encountered with regard to the depth of it's cinematography. Not only is it photographically rich but moreover, the camera captures the beauty of existence. This thought provoking film explores the simple moral lessons that dwell at the core of the Korean Buddhist culture through quiet seasonal portraits. Captured through the artistic conceptualization of South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, the picture has a quiet rhythm that punctuates each scene and keeps the story cohesive. As each season unfolds during the movie, a new part of a young monk's journey is revealed. Beginning with Spring and the innocence of his youth and moving to Summer and the challenges and conflicts of adolescence, the bad decisions made lead despair and regret in the Fall and finally resolution and final maturity during the Winter, which is followed of course by a new beginning, a rebirth. The Buddhist philosophical messages of adherence to sprituality and avoidance of want and desire because of their destructive nature are clearly evident, even to the Western mind because the cameraman's perspective and artistry leaves an enduring impression. Even the setting, atop the mountains, somewhere in Korea, with a floating monastery that sits on a lake, pays homage to the Buddhist theme of constant change and transition. Coming from a background in Shakespearean studies, the stages of life as told in this memorable cinematic piece reminds me of the seven stages of man so plainly set to paper by the Bard himself. Other traditions and cultures can relate to the central message of this tale but some of the lessons are purely Buddhist. The addition of various animal companions throughout the life of the Holy Man does suggest symbolic representation of reincarnation. A puppy is seen during the boy's youth, followed by a chicken, cat, snake and tortoise but none of the dialogue draws attention to the inclusion of the animals. The viewer must see the changes and make his or her own connections to the inherent Buddhist teachings. While one of the central characters, the master, is a great teacher, he hardly utters a word as the greatest lessons learned are through self discovery. Both at the beginning of the movie and at the end the young boy is meant to represent each one of us, for in the Buddhist tradition, as one sets out on life's path, one comes upon choices which allow us make the decision to succumb to the temptation therein or to master our own desire by refusing to give in and therefore controlling our own nature. The seasons provide a soft reminder of the cyclical nature of conception, maturation, expiration and rebirth as embraced by the Buddhists and as recognized by many other cultures throughout the world. This film as told in visual haiku is a true work of art and treat for the eyes as well as the mind. Most worthy to view and available at your local video store in the foreign film section. Enjoy![Edit by="spavelkagregg on Jan 9, 7:01:26 PM"][/Edit]
Midnight Angels with Cynthia Luster, Moon Lee, and Elaine Lui was a mildly entertaining movie. It is a Hong Kong martial arts crime-busting action movie distributed by Xenon Home Video. It was good to see women in action movies (1996) rather than just the damsel in distress.
[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:30:25 PM"][/Edit]
I remember first seeing a Jackie Chan move when I was a student (1992) in Bangkok Thailand. It was his movie where he has a twin (it was released in the late 90's in the U.S.) and I saw it in a big theatre dubbed in Thai. Fast foward to his U.S. release of Rumble in the Bronx and I found it to be so cool. What other word is there to describe it? I didn't really like chinese films because they had those incredibly impossible fighting scenes where one hero battled 5,000 and he always won, not to mention could defy gravity. But as my experience in the asian culture grew i began to enjoy these films and understand their story. Rumble was just a fun movie.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:29:37 PM"][/Edit]
Apart from that Bruce Lee movie with Kareem Abdul Jabar (a classic), the first asian film I really remember having interest in (high school in the San fernando valley with mostly a hispanic community) was the Charles Bronson movie Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects. I didn't see it until many years later (it wasn't really all that good) but it interested me because of the western/asian combination that they used to bridge the gap for me to delve into full asian movies...[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:28:55 PM"][/Edit]
And speaking of asian/western movies, I did enjoy the Christopher Lambert movie 'The Hunted." It was a good enough story of a high-powered business man in a "fish-out-of-water" enviornment in Asia. This movie really got me interested in how westerners view asia and is a good preview to the movie "rising sun" with wesley snipes and sean connery. [Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:28:15 PM"][/Edit]
Once I began to see more foreign films, especially asian ones I began to experiment with more than just the martial arts/crime syndicate ones. The Mystery of Rampo was one such film. One of the quotes which I always remember is:
I once heard the story of a desert traveler whose steps were off by a mere one centimeter. He walked in a circle forever...[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:27:14 PM"][/Edit]
Comedy can be so culturally specific that it's "lost in translation." One of the first comedy movies i saw was the 1996 "Ermo" which is a tale of materialism, friends, and the quest for happiness. The humor which I know has a lot to do with play on words which can't be translated leads often time to view an asian comedy as slapstick. But the message hidden in the symbolism of Ermo's struggle to achieve something (in the movie's case the biggest t.v. in her village) and yet that goal is fleeting (since at the end of the movie the t.v. station stops broadcasting and she is left with everyone there to watch t.v. and yet nothing to see) is a real message to those that work hard for materialism. [Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:26:12 PM"][/Edit]
There are times when movies can get redundant. After watching a multitude of asian cinema I reached "The Story of Xinghua." Overloaded perhaps from the self-induced film festival I realized for the first time the asian formula for a drama: guy has girl. guy beats her. other guy wants her. then she leaves both. hillarity ensues. I burned out on this one. Sometimes the cinematography isn't enough.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 23, 1:25:31 PM"][/Edit]
I started my China unit by showing "China's Lost Girls" to my 7th grade students. It is a National Geographic documentary hosted by Lisa Ling. It follows an American family on its journey to adopt a second Chinese baby from China. We started with this film to illustrate the connection between the present and the past. There are many dimensions to this film that middle school students can relate to. There is background and explanation of China's one child policy. The human affects of this are shown in interviews with Chinese families and Chinese people who discuss their shame that girls have been abandoned in favor of baby boys. The vast majority of my students have experience with adoption-- either they know somebody who has been adopted or may have been adopted themselves. It was interesting to see how quickly the young children assimilated into "American" culture once they were adopted.
Mulan
I am going to use the movie Mulan to teach Chinese culture to my students. I sometimes shy away from using any Disney movie to teach history, especially since Disney has sometimes been accused of having a somewhat revisionist view when it comes to interpreting historical fact, i.e. Remember the Alamo, Pocahontas, Fantasia… However, I feel Disney was accurate and most of all, faithful to Chinese culture with Mulan. I can stop and start my video for commentary at almost any point in the movie to talk about something related to Chinese culture.
The first thing I would point out is how the signal flares were lit to warn the Chinese army of invaders. Scholars to this day do not know how those flares were lit to signal danger, but this is a good question and answer for my students to surmise how it was done.
Next, I would explain the context of the Hun invasion into China during this time period. I can also mention the Mongol invasion and its influence on China. I could elaborate at length about this, and the subject matter is relevant for both 6th and 7th graders.
The next representation is the philosophy surrounding ancestor worship. The scenes where Mulan and her family ask for intervention from their ancestors are textbook Chinese belief, and Disney does it with humor, sincerity, and reverence. I talk about this idea as a compare and contrast segment in my class between various religious beliefs around the world, and personalize it with my students with their own beliefs and ideas about their ancestors.
We also talk about the idea of “saving face,” which is the desire to not appear weak or look bad in the eyes of others. Face is all about how other people view you. The twist here is a gender issue mixed in with the idea of saving face and upholding family honor when it comes to the duties and obligations of individuals in a family. The story line is magnificent in showing traditional gender values, the taboos of offending those values, and the ramifications of crossing the line when these values are not upheld.
This lends itself well to Confucian concepts, and I examine this concept to my students for detailed analysis with the help of the movie as a springboard to stimulate discussion.
Overall, Mulan is a fun movie which is very well done, and is an achievement to the animation technology that was cutting edge at the time. It is also a true and spirited story that is endearing to all who watch it.
I love Shall We Dance! The Asian version is so much more interesting and funnier than the American version.
The feeling of being alone was greatly and brilliantly portrayed in the Asian film. When I saw the Jennifer Lopez version, I was sadly disappointed.
Hey fellow teachers:
I'm an anime watcher and when I get to use film in class, I get excited--especially when I get to use animes.
One anime I have shown my class is Miyazaki's, Spirited Away. A+ movie! I fell in love with this movie a few years ago. This movie incorporates traditional Japanese beliefs and customs mixed in with modernization occuring in Japan.
In the classroom environment (I teach 7th grade world history), I tied in Shintoism, cultural norms, and the affects of modernization that I teach to my students with what goes on in the film. My students were able to recall what they have learned in class and relate the content to what they see in the film.
The majority of the Studio Ghibli films are usually pretty good. Most of them are not like western cartoons at all, in fact, if you are not familiar with Miyazaki's film, it can be pretty abstract. But your students will enjoy them!
I just watched "Street Children in Mongolia". It is part of the "What's Going On" series. This series was made for school aged students to show them what other children are going through in poverty stricken areas of the world. The film was put together by the United Nations and Zenger Media (Social Studies School Service). The film takes place in Ulanbaatar, the capitol of Mongolia. It shows the story of four young homeless children. Included is how they survive on the streets and why they left their homes. They have to deal with hunger, cold, and violence on a day-to-day basis. I chose this DVD to review to help out one of my student project groups that chose Mongolian poverty as their research topic. This DVD puts a face on poverty in Mongolia.
A movie that many students who are anime lovers or Japanophiles cite is Hotaru no hakka. This is a Ghibli (Hayao Miyazaki) Studio production form the late 80's.
It is very realistic, much like my all time favorite (can you tell by my avatar?), Tonari no Totoro. It is about two children in late WW-2 Japan. They are orphaned in a B-29 incendiary raid. Their relatives do not care much for the burden, so the children run away. They struggle to survive against increasing odds.
It is poignant, visually stunning, but very depressing. The title in English is Grave of the Fireflies.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0095327/[Edit by="vortiz on Feb 26, 10:58:35 PM"][/Edit]
A movie I have had success using in geography class and with the Japan Club I sponsor is Tampopo.
Director Juzo Itami made a movie about food, passion, and persistence agains the odds. His wry, sometimes dark, sometimes sensual humor makes it a classic.http://imdb.com/title/tt0092048/
It came out in the 80s and is dated in a visual way, but still offers many relevant societal views.
It took me a while to connect Gun, the hero Goro's sidekick, with the great samurai character, Katsumoto, in the Last Samurai. He was just starting out, but was an integral part of the story.
A Taiwanese film I have enjoyed and have thought about using is Eat Drink Man Woman. Again, the food basis keeps the movie friendly. The lives of the three daughters and the widower dad in 90s Taipei as they confront modernism and traditional roles (well, tradition takes major hits) are very easy to understand and down-to-earth.
Ang Li directs it, but the story was largely written by an American. The storyline was used by the same company in the making of the flop, Tortilla Soup. The Taiwanese story and production far outclasses the American version.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0111797/
A surprise last year on the Independent Film Channel was the Weeping Camel. It was shot in Mongolia with Mongolian actors.
Talk about stark and down-to-earth. A family must find a musician to get a mother camel to accept her colt. The movie shows traditions, family issues, contemporary Mongolian life, and is well acted and produced.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0373861/
I would like to add that since my school is Copernican schedule, I have to use clips rather than entire movies. Most of the movies I have discussed would not lend themselves to use in that manner.
I have used clips and worksheets for them with the following movies (just about Asia):
Tora, Tora, Tora,
Windtalkers (director's cut)
Gandhi
The Sand Pebbles
Where I found time to use those clips, i do not know, considering all the standards expect from us.
I am looking forward to the Chinese version of Mulan with Michelle Yeoh in 2008 (so they say).
I also heard that the version of Chushingura with Mifune Toshiro is good, and the story is mentioned in my WHAP text. http://imdb.com/title/tt0055850/
I also heard of a Chinese film on the Opium War http://imdb.com/title/tt0120538/
but I have not seen it.
My issues with films in the classroom are that
1. their dramatic emphasis distracts from the historicity.
2. foreign film makers, until recently, have not had the production support to make high quality films that would keep the students' attention.
3. The American titles center on White characters with Asians as secondary figures or just as background
4. Some of the Asian productions are not even shot in Asia (heck, the Last Samurai was shot in New Zealand and House of the Flying Daggers had scenes shot in Western Russia!).
I find the Globe Trekker episodes to be very useful for the students.
We watch a 45 minute backpack-tour of China, Japan, India, India and, outside of the host's personality, get a first-hand look at out-of-the-way experiences and places.
http://www.pilotguides.com/tv_shows/globe_trekker/index.php
Well, that's my lean on multimedia Asia.
[Edit by="vortiz on Feb 27, 12:13:17 AM"][/Edit]
I loved the Japanese version of Shall We Dance? too. It does a wonderful job showing the various relationships we can have with people and how those connections impact our life.
The movie makes so much more sense with the Japanese setting then with the American one. The fact that Japanese society frowns upon a man taking dance lessons is the necessary context for the fact that the main character has to keep it a secret. He goes against the norm and the result is an awakening in his own life that changes his entire outlook and perspective.
I teach a foreign film class to freshman and was going to use the film, but I thought the theme was a bit too sophisticated for 14 year-olds. After reading some of the posts I'm considering using "Spirited Away." I've never seen it and am wondering if that is a good choice to represent Asian film. Any suggestions?
The point of the class is to expose students to different countires and cultures through the medium of film (our Small Learning Community is called International Studies Academy). Any more thoughts on films I could use that are freshman appropriate?
Just wanted to add my two won on this great movie...
The story is traditional - a fairytale, in effect - told to please its original audience of the lower strata of society (until the 20th century and the emerging nationalist movement, wealthier and more cultured Koreans traditionally regarded themselves as above and, to some extent, removed from the common herd - in fact, culturally more akin to the educated Chinese as a class) by putting forward the implausible notion that a poor girl, daughter of a courtesan, can rise to become the wife of the provincial governor, thanks to True Love ...
The movie begins as a pansori performance, with a single singer and accompianist on a stage in front of a large audience, and moves into a retelling of the story through cinematic action. The style of pansori singing is intense - the performer's voice is put through vocal hoops you'd hardly think possible to sustain for the customary two hour performance, and it shows on his face! I'd thought initially that the students would find it comical and react accordingly but, in fact, they very quickly appreciate the dexterity and sheer stamina of the performer, and the action of the story itself begins soon enough.
The camera returns to the stage performance at times throughout the movie and, by the end, the audience members - most of them elderly - are on their feet reacting to the singer and responding to the emotions stirred by the tale's telling.
This is an excellent intro to Korean culture, both folktales and the pansori tradition, and costume (the production values are superb, and the dress throughout is a really great window into traditional Korean costume) although there are a couple of points during the movie when the two young lovers get into some very heated action... fast-forwarding works, as it's only a minute or two of doing the wild thing. I follow up showing this movie with a handout on pansori - its history, and summaries of the most popular stories - which dovetails nicely with the handout on Biejing Opera which we discuss after the class has watched "Farewell My Concubine". It also fits in nicely with a later look at Japanese Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku theater.
I should say that both of these movies aren't suitable for middle school (except, in the case of 'Chunhyang', with some serious editing). If you can suggest any other movies that explore East Asian musical tradition, I'd be glad to hear from you - particularly anything that showcases any of the Japanese theatrical forms
Many thanks!
Ray Robinson[Edit by="rrobinson on Mar 5, 3:33:12 PM"][/Edit]
My classes are studying Japan now. I just finished previewing "In Search of History: Samurai Warriors" made by the History Channel. It does a really good job of showing the evolution of the samurai with artwork, reenactments, and expert commentaries. There is a very short part that discusses homosexuality among samurai, but it is put into context of the times. The historical context of bushido is expained as well as its misuse during the twentieth century. What the film does not discuss was whether or not there was some sort of unwritten code of honor before bushido was formalized.
I recently saw Twilight Samurai,the film recommended by Professor Yamashita. It is a beautiful film that moves slowly (it is over two hours long), telling a very intelligent story about Seibei, a self-decribed "petty" samurai, who is raising two young daughters and caring for an aging, senile mother on a pittance of a salary. The story takes place at the end of the 19th century showing samurais who worked day to day as castle book keepers. In fact, very little fighting actually occurs. Seibei's life is not glamorous but he does try to live it with thoughtful integrity that sometimes makes him the butt of his co-workers' jokes. Seibei does battle with the drunkened ex-husband of a childhood friend (choosing not to kill the man) and has a climatic battle with a "one-sword" samurai who engages him in a discussion about the changing times. I understand this film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002.
I watched "Tae Guk GI: Brotherhood of War," by Kang Je-Gyu, for my movie review. It is a movie from South Korea about the Korean War. I had not heard anything about the film, but I thought it would be interesting since I teach about the Korean War and my father fought in the conflict. Most importantly, I thought it would be interesting to see a South Koreans perspective of the war. When my class is covering the Korean War (more than just the three paragraphs that's in the textbook!!!), I will show the clip of what it was like to be living in Korea during this turbulent time. The movie gives a good perspective of how the civilians were treated.
The movie has both English subtitles and English voice overs, which was kinda funny because the dialogue did not exactly match the subtitles.
The story was about two brothers who are drafted into the South Korean Army after the north invades. Much of the emotional aspect of the film dealt with how their family was split up during the conflict and how they coped with the realities of war. There was a heavy focus on blaming (and hating) the "Commie bastards" of the north, to the point of being repatative and annoying. It also showed the reaction of the south Korean troops to the Chinese and Americans entering the war. However, there are a couple scenes where the south Koreans murdered suspected Communist sympithizers (civilians who took badly needed food from the Communist party) in a violent scenario that I'm not sure is historically accurate. Another unbelievable scene was when the one brother, Jin-Tae, becomes a southern war hero, gets brainwached by the North Koreans and then leads the north in an attack, only to change sides again and shoot the communists until he is killed. It was a confusing story line, but made for good drama. However, the film is not worthy of using in the classroom as an educational tool.
[Edit by="jlatimer on Jun 26, 9:48:13 AM"][/Edit]
My classes viewed the video, "Confucius" (History Channel). It is a detailed account of his early life and circumstances, including his family life. This is linked (in the video) to his latter choices in life. The choices that he makes are explained in light of the political situation. His quotes are interspersed throughout, with explanations and in many cases, examples. Some scenes open with a famous quote, then the scene unfolds so that the quote is explained. For example, the quote," An oppressive government is much worse than a man eating tiger" prefaces the scene that portrays political unrest. This video brings him to life and portrays him as a sympathetic character. It helped my students to relate his teachings to the person.
I thoroughly enjoyed Spirited Away. I would have loved to show this film in my class, but it is not rated "G" (darn elementary school rules). So, for those of you that have lesser restrictions, i highly recommend this movie if you'd like your students to learn about Japanese religious beliefs and culture.
The movie is about a Japanese girl (Shihiro) that gets trapped in the spirit world. The majority of the film takes place in a bath house for spirits where Shihiro is forced to work. The movie is rich in symbolism, spirits, underlying messages about manners and work ethic, and visually stunning as well.
I wish I had more knowledge of the spirits that come to life in this movie. I think that would have allowed me to better understand the movie. One scene I loved is when a horrible, stinky muck-covered blob enters the bath house and Shihiro, because she is the low woman on the totem pole is forced to attend to it. All the bath house attendants think it is a stink spirit, for obvious reasons. Shihiro slips into the tub with it and realizes that he has a thorn in its side and she thinks that he will be more comfortable if she removes it. Finally, after tugging and tugging, the thorn comes out along with a huge wave of muck: dirty water, an old bicycle, bowling pins, a refrigerator and tons of other odd trash. When all is released, the real spirit is revealed; she wasn't taking care of a stink spirit, but rather a rich and powerful river spirit. The trash of course that was released was a reminder of all the pollution that had ruined it.
This is one small scene in a rich and intriguing movie; definitely worth the rental fee.
I reviewed the educational video, "Asia's Global Influence" (Discovery School). It is divided up into 5 sections (subtopics):
1. Kublai Khan's promotion of the merchant class in the 13th century
2. The growing desertification problem in China and what China is doing to offset desertification.
3. A tour of Hong Kong by the film star, Jackie Chan in which he points out all of the wonderful attractions, customs, and cultural blending between east and west in Hong Kong.
4. An explanation of why Korea is divided up into North and South and how their economies developed.
5. The extended family in Vietnam and the important role that filial piety plays in society, even as people move away from the country and into the city.
This is a very middle school friendly video that can be used as an introduction to Asian studies or within the study of different parts and aspects of Asia.
Before each segment, the viewer sees middle school aged young people discussing what they know about the subtopics. For example, before the China section, you listen to kids discussing what they remember learning about China.
I think that students will be especially drawn to the Hong Kong section, guided by Jackie Chan. He does a really nice job of explaining how Hong Kong is a blend between ancient Chinese traditions and new western ideas. The wet markets where people choose their food while its still living would fascinate students.
The section on China's "Green Wall" was the most interesting to me. I think it would also be interesting to students because they hear about deforestation, but not desertification.
Anyway, this is a great resource for 7th World History. It extends what is found in the textbook, while providing more information. It's on sale at Discoveryschool.com for $9.95 (while supplies last!)
Excellent review of Spirited Away and comparisons with the Odyssey. I agree with Kyle Moody that Chihiro must learn and grow like Telemachus and Haku indeed acts with the attributes and timely interventions of an Olympian god like Athena. Another major allusion (or reference or borrowing) is Circe's transformation of Odysseus's men into swine in Book 10, reflected, of course, in the fate of Chihiro's parents after they eat improvidently of the food of the gods (very much the way Odysseus's men become transformed after having eaten of the food provided for them by the deceptive witch-god Circe). Also Chihiro must use her intelligence and boldness to outwit more powerful beings than herself, much as Odysseus does in his conflict with the Cyclops and the Laestrygonians and with Circe herself. As Odysseus was dressed in rags and disguised as an old man by Athena in Book 13 and told by her that he must undergo blows and humiliation in silence, so Chihiro, disguised as Sen, a lowly bath-house attendant, must learn humility and other forms of self-abasement as she struggles to free her parents from their enchanted metamorphosis and, in the process, acquires wisdom, initiative, courage, self-reliance (in the full Emersonian sense) and an understanding of life far more complex and profound than that possessed by her thoroughly bourgeois parents before and after their porcine transformation.
I liked especially the scene with the "stink god" revealed, after his combative cleansing by Chihiro, to be not a stink god at all but a river god, made loathsome and mephitic by pollution (a theme central to Miyazaki's The Princess Mononoke). This is an allusion to the battle of Menelaus and his men with the slippery and mutable Proteus, the old man of the sea, as recounted to Telemachus in Book 4. I agree that Spirited Away could be used to supplement the Odyssey and increase student engagement, particularly as Miyazaki's film is far more imaginative than the pedestrian attempts made so far to film bits and pieces of Homer's epic. Chihiro's adventure is also, at heart, a story about the centrality of family in our lives, a theme Miyazaki illustrates vividly and unforgettably, just as Homer does.
Leigh Clark
Monroe High School[Edit by="lclark on Jun 11, 10:54:51 PM"][/Edit]
I know it's not a foreign film but just saw "Letters from Iwo Jima" and it was very well done. One interesting thing I picked up on was the protagonists. The characters we were supposed to feel for were the only ones who had what seemed to be American values. These were the men that didn't go with the crowd in doing what they were told, however ridiculous, like shooting a little dog or needlesley commiting suicide. The protagonists used their own minds, their own judgements, showed individual strenght - not an honorable quality for a Japanese soldier, but in an American's eyes it is.
Is that a true reflection of certain Japanese soldiers? Would this film be liked in Japan? It'd be interesting to find out...
The front page of the LA Times's Calendar section for June 6, 2007 features an article, "Anime instinct," devoted to Osamu Tezuka, the Japanese artist who was the founding father of both manga and anime, quite a disitinction. I was not aware of Tezuka and his work before reading the article. Of course I am not a major fan of manga or anime. Aside from two films by Hayao Miyazaki that I admire greatly (Princess Mononoke and Swept Away), most anime films I have seen leave me unimpressed. Akira and Cowboy Beebop, two favorably-reviewed anime films (the latter a series for Japanese television), seem to me clever but derivative variations on American biker and cop movies. In most non-Miyazaki anime, and in all those manga books students keep lending me, from the blood-and-sex Battle Royale series to the teenage-girl stories peopled with dreamy underwear-model heroes, what I find sadly missing are the visual beauty and emotional power that infuse the classic Japanese films of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Ichikawa and Kobayashi. That having been said, however, I still find it astonishing that an artist as important to manga and anime as Walt Disney was to classic American animation should be so little-known in the west. (Further reading in the article gives rise to the disturbing speculation that Tezuka's comparative anonymity in the west may well have a lot to do with Disney's dubious heirs, especially creative-coporate predators Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg.)
The San Francisco Asian Art Museum is trying to increase Tezuka's name-recognition and an awareness among American manga and anime fans of the legacy of this pioneering Japanese artist by means of a major exhibition, "Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga," on display through September 9. Apparently Tezuka, who died in 1989 at the relatively young age of 61 (perhaps from overwork), had been approached decades ago about the possiblity of an exhibition of his original manga panels but rejected the idea, saying that he would produce new artworks for such an exhibition but that his original working panels, "cut and glued and covered in correction fluid," were not suitable for presentation at an art museum. But the prolific Tezuka, busy with other projects, never found time to create new artworks for the proposed exhibition, and the original working panels are now on display in San Francisco (the only US stop for this major international tour which originated not in Japan but the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia) The exhibition does not generate the typical feel-good atmosphere one might expect from a display of comic-book panels. "This is a very sad exhibit," according to Australian artist Philip Brophy, the show's curator. "There is not a lot of fun stuff." Since one of Tezuka's earlier projects was a manga version of Crime and Punishment, it is easy to imagine just how "unfun" the exhibition might be. Of course Tezuka's life, along with that of his entire generation in Japan, was shaped by catastrophic events. Born in 1928, he grew into young adulthood in the grim environment of post-Hiroshima, American-occupied Japan. His first hugely successful anime character was Astro Boy, a human derivative of Mickey Mouse with an upswept hairdo that is a visual homage to the ears of the iconic rodent. Astro Boy's name in Japanese, however, is Mighty Atom, and that lets us see the dark side of Tezuka, an ardent pacifist who used science-fiction to protest all forms of warfare, and especially nuclear warfare, as did the creators of the Godzilla (or Gojira) movies.
His other immensely successful manga character was Kimba the White Lion, and thereby hangs a tale (no pun intended). Kimba's epithet in Japanese is Jungle King. Both Kimba and Astro Boy became stars of popular anime for Japanese television, later imported by American television producers, who demanded cuts in certain sequences because they felt the violence would disturb American viewers' delicate sensibilities (and also, perhaps, collective American guilt). It does not take much imagination to see that Kimba the Jungle King is clearly the prototype for Disney's The Lion King. The good people at Disney deny this imputation vigorously, of course, according to the article. But surely if an American comic-book artist had created Kimba, any show-business attorney worth his or her salt would have slapped the Mouse House with a substantial copyright-infringement suit and most likely won a sizeable out-of-court settlement for the aggrieved artist. Tezuka apparently never attempted litigation, no doubt too busy with producing art that was not only commercially viable but deeply personal as well. Manga became widely populr in Japan in the late 1940s, according to the article, because it was inexpensive to publish and purchase. But the popularity of this dark art form almost certainly reflected the deprivation, humiliation and deeply-suppressed anger of postwar American-occupied Japan. The fact that it has now become an international genre, especially popular with American teenagers, also reflects the different but no less dark character of our own times.
Leigh Clark
Monroe High School[Edit by="lclark on May 25, 9:54:02 PM"][/Edit]
Greetings,
The film I chose to review is GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES. This Japanese anime film is an adaptaion of a semi autobiagraphical novel Hotaru No Haka written by Akiyuki Nosaka. This film depicts some of the struggles that Japanese civilians experienced during the firebombings of WW II through the lives of two young siblings, an older teenage brother and his little sister. The film shows the struggles the siblings face in finding shelter, food, and water in Japanese country side. This film has vivid images and it is filled with emotionally moving scenes. Since its release in 1988, some critics have labeled this film as an anti-war movie or a movie that depicts the Japan as a victim of WWII because it fails to address Japan's agressive role in the war. Though these arguements may have some merit I do not agree with them because I do not beleive that that was the intent of the film. I beleive this film gives us great insight on how life was like in rural Japan during the war. Most of Japan's cities were bombed out thus forcing its civilians to flee to the country side. I beleive this film captures the humanity and the struggle Japanese civilian population experienced. I believe this is a very important perspective to examine and to teach students. In a World History lesson I would use Clips of this film to give students insight on the struggles face by both sides in the Pacific. I beleive as students see both perspetives of the war they will better understand WWII and that people on both sides of the war suffered.
John Yamazaki
Using The Last Emperor as a tool in studying the narrative
When The Last Emperor was originally released to theaters, somehow I inexplicably missed seeing it. This spring when I arrived home from China, I was determined to rent it. For me the movie magically breathed life into the frozen Forbidden City that I visited.
Even the Academy of Motion Pictures recognized its supreme artistry and awarded it nine Academy Awards. Although I would not show the entire film in my Language Arts 8 classes, I certainly could follow my usual procedures in sharing short clips for defined purposes. When studying the structure of the narrative, it is important for students to understand that movies share much in common with novels and short stories. In addition to the plot, films emphasize the importance of setting and character. It’s also important to challenge the students and have them explore the different styles of delivery of plot, setting and character between a book and movie. In other words, they need to learn how to “read” and analyze a film. Before this class I probably would have randomly selected a typical American story. Now I realize that these mini-lessons offer a great opportunity to add diversity to the curriculum. Simply focusing on the setting and costumes would expose many Western students to the richness of Chinese history.
I took Susan’s advice and several of us watched Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. The movie starts in Tokyo and moves to China. The premise of the film is that Mr. Takata’s estranged son (Kenichi) is dying, Kenichi refuses to see his father, as way of atoning for his sins against his son, he decides to travel to China to finish what he thinks is an important film project to his son. The project entails video taping the mask opera – Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Mr. Takata arrives in China only to find out that the actor the son intended to tape is in jail. After a visit to the jail Mr. Taka finds out that the actor has an illegitimate child he has been ignoring. In order to get the actor to perform Mr. Takata attempts to reunite this father and son. In the process there is some soul searching for Mr. Takata. The reunion does not occur but the opera is taped. However, it is too late for Kenichi who dies while Mr. Takata is in China. (Oops I blew the ending…) The central message seems to be that while it is too late for Mr. Takata and his son Kenichi it is not too late for the actor and his son.
As far as using this film in my class room it will be hard. I teach will be teaching women’s studies and the emphasis in this film is on men, in Advanced Placement U.S. history there is no room or time to deviate from the pacing schedule, and even in U.S. History I am hard pressed to find a way to fit this film into our curriculum since there is no interaction with the U.S.. This film may be better suited for a World History or World Geography class.
“Letters from Iwo Jima” is a very powerful movie directed by Clint Eastwood who described incisively the combat at Iwo Island during the Second World War from Japanese soldiers’ viewpoints. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima itself, the unprecedented tactics of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and his men transform what was predicted to be a swift defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. This movie describes deeply these soldiers’ struggles, confusion, sacrifices, and courage when facing enemies with thousand times of arms more than them. Through the movie, the director also wants to disclosure the cruelty of the war and ridiculousness of militarism. No matter who wins the battle at the end, poor people and soldiers will always be the ones to sacrifice their lives for the ambitious of the military leaders. This is a unique and unforgettable movie. It will be a great movie for students to think about the war and discuss the war from both sides of viewpoints. It also will help students understand Japanese traditions and their philosophy. [Edit by="sfamekao on Jun 29, 7:33:09 AM"][/Edit]
I saw this film fairly "cold," meaning I didn't know what it was about before seeing it. I enjoyed it, although the more I thought about it afterward, the more I liked it.
I think it is a good fillm to present to high school students, as there are important issues for discussion. The story crosses two cultures-Japanese and Chinese, and perhaps the most important theme was how the lack of communication, for whatever reason, creates distances between people. the lack of contact between Mr. Takata and his son Kenichi appeared to stem from Mr. Takata's hurting him deeply when Kenichi was young (but I never figured out what that was). The communication gap not only covers the language gap betwen Japanese and Chinese, but the cultural gap as with Mr. Takata, so stoic, and even evidenced with the opera singer's son who displayed so little emotion. Even the male interpretter--he didn't understand Japanese enough to translate but denied it to the Chinese when accused (of not knowing Japanese) or glossed over it. Gee, the only normal person was the woman. Ha! Some of the questions to ask students after the film: What did Mr. Takata envy in the opera singer and why (what did the opera singer do openly that Mr. Takata could not?). Why do you suppose Mr. Takata made such an effort to find the opera singer's son? What purpose did this mission serve? The title of the opera, "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles," has great significance in the lives of Mr. Takata and Kenichi. How? What attitude(s) did Mr. Takata display toward the Chinese that helped him achieve his goals? Mr. Takata and the opera singer's son seemed to have made an emotional connection. What do you think caused this? the mask i the opera is an important symbol. How? Before showing the film, I would encourage students to look for examples of the communication theme and take notes. I would need to see the film again to explore more issues and analyze this further. There's lots more to discuss. The movie moved me (I cried several times), especially when Kenichi made the realization that his father was taking a step toward reaching out to him even when Kenichi rejected his father's visit (although I wondered if Kenichi's sister had fabricated the letter to make her father feel some comfort, but in the end, I believed the letter was Kenichi's words). When Mr. Takata was leaving the village of the opera singer's son, the son chased after the car and Mr. Takata continued waving until he could no longer see the boy. Oi vey. That was sad, too. On the other hand, I don't know if I could show the film to students because I would cry, again. I'm a wimp. I saw that someone reviewed "The Joy Luck Club." That was another movie that made me cry buckets (at the theatre, even, how embarrassing). My family has a running joke about me with sad movies. "How many boxes of tissue is that movie? It's a 2-1/2 box movie." Okay. So I won't show the movie to a high school class.
aileen willoughby
I join my colleagues in highly recommending the movie "Hero" starring Jet Li. I liked it better than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," in which I found the fighting sequences hard to believe. This story takes place two thousand years ago when China was split into seven feudal kingdoms. The tyrannical, shrewd and insightful King of Qin wants to unite the seven kingdoms into one powerful country, bringing peace and stability. He is, however, the target of three legendary assassins. This movie is a clever retelling of three different versions of the same assassination plot told from three points of view. The film is almost a cultural essay, somewhat like regional retellings of an ancient legend, rather than a Jet Li action flick. I could use this film with my studnts to reinforce several literary elements. There is an amazing metaphoric use of color in the film. The cinematography is awesome. The imagery is beautiful and of course I already mentioned the story is told from multiple points of view. The theme to discuss, in my opinion, would be " the pen is mightier than the sword". So, genre, figurative language techniques, and literary elements could all be viewed and discussed, as well as the historical references to the Chinese feudal kingdoms. If the film has a weakness at all, it would be that the ending could have been shortened. My students (middle school) might not be able to hang with it that long!
“Riding Along for Thousand of Miles” is a movie to describe mainly about the relationships between a father and a son. An aging Japanese fisherman traveled to China to look for a local Nuo opera actor in Yunnan Province for his very ill son who is a Chinese folk cultural researcher but cannot go back to China to continue his research. Since the father and the son don’t have close relations, the father wants to accomplish his son’s incomplete will in China in order to express his love and sincerity to make up his relations with his loved son. However, he faces a great amount of difficulties when he arrives to China such as language barriers, the local regulations, and traditions and cultural differences. Along this trip, he realizes the reasons that caused the gap between him and his son through his interactions with local people. He also starts to understand his son’s loneliness and his longings for love from the father. But, when he solved all of the problems and almost accomplished his film assignment for his son, he heard his son’s death from Japan. The regret would last forever in his mind.
I like this movie because it describes incisively how a traditional Japanese father hides his love and feeling behind a serious and strict role at home. This tradition also can be seen in Chinese culture. It reminds me my father who has never said “I love you” to any of his children but using high expectations and strict discipline to show his love and supports to his children. Therefore, this movie touches my heart so as many Asian people’s hearts. I would like to have my students to watch this movie when we talk about the family relations and parent’s expectations in the class. It may be a good start to have students to compare and contrast how western and Asian parents communicate with their kids, the relations between two generations in different cultures, and the reasons behind it. Hopefully, the discussion will help my students, especially Asian students, to build more positive relations with their parents and reduce the gap between two generations in different cultures.
"Nanking" is a new film which will be first shown in Beijing on July 3rd and 7th in Nanjing in China. Nanking tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, in the early days of World War II. As part of a campaign to conquer all of China, the Japanese subjected Nanking – which was then China’s capital – to months of aerial bombardment, and when the city fell, the Japanese army unleashed murder and rape on a horrifying scale. According to the summary judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East – also known as the Tokyo Trials, “estimates indicate that the total number of civilians and prisoners of war murdered in Nanking and its vicinity during the first six weeks of the Japanese occupation was over 200,000. Approximately 20,000 cases of rape occurred in the city during the first month of the occupation.” During that time, a small group of Westerners banded together to establish a Safety Zone where over 200,000 Chinese found refuge. They bore witness to the events, while risking their own lives to protect civilians from slaughter.
Some Japanese extreme militarism people now are still denying what was happening in Nanjing 70 years ago; however, more and more evidences prove that this page of history should not be denied and covered in order to prevent the same tragedy and war from happening again. This documentary movie is directed by Bill Guttentag who is a professor teaching movie and TV program production in Stanford University. He based on the book "The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II" and spent two years to collect first hand information and interview some survivors and Japanese soldiers to make this film. Those 22 survivors who were interviewed still could not relieve themselves from their sorrow, pain, and anger when they faced the camera.
Although this movie will not be shown until December in US, you can register your name and e-mail address on-line for further information. The official website for this film is http://www.nankingthefilm.com/. You can register your name on the homepage. I will definitely show this movie to my high school students in the class. It may give everyone a shock but provide an opportunity for them to reflect on the truth a war and if we really have right to begin a war.
The first time I watched Mulan was in May 2007. When we returned from our field study to China my students recommended that I rent this movie. I took their advice and was impressed. Disney’s Mulan is rated G for general audiences and is approximately 88 minutes. Mulan is the heroine in the movie, a Chinese girl who goes to fight in her father’s place, disguised as a male. I am always looking for movies or novels with strong women characters. If you plan to watch this movie in your classroom, require students to take Cornell Notes. Have students write an essay in which they compare and/or contrast “The Ballad of Mulan” read from Images of Women in Chinese Thought and and Culture: Writings from the Pre-Qin Period through the Song Dynasty, edited by Robin R. Wang to the movie Mulan. This reading is located in our East Asia and New Media in My Classroom binder under the section Women in East Asia History.
I think I will show clips of The Joy Luck Club in my 7th grade Language Arts class. After reading the excerpt by Amy Tan in our Literature Book, I think it would be nice for the students to see, instead of simply read about, the Tan's amazing symbolism and themes of holding onto the past and harboring hope for the future.
The movie does a great job of capturing this symbolism, these themes, and the struggles and triumphs of being Chinese American. As a movie for my classroom, however, I am worried about the messages being lost in the confusion. Even if I were to show the whole movie (which I'm not) I would be afraid students would have trouble keeping the characters straight; this problems worsens knowing that I will simply be showing an excerpt. Therefore, I have decided to do some preteaching, where I will tell students about the main characters they will be coming across. We will create a graphic organizer of the major characters that students can refer to as they are watching. It will contain the following: four grandmothers, mothers, and daughters; a two sisters, and an American half-sister, June.
Red Sorghum was a dire tale of folks out in a remote part of China making wine from sorghum (actually, that red beverage made in the People's Republic is the best!). The story takes place in the times leading up to and into the beginning of the Japanese invasion.
It is a hard story about a girl forced to marry a wealthy leper and a people oppressed by a vicious Japanese occupation, many dying to drive their oppressors out. The life at the winery is also tough and oppressive.
Made in 1987, this was one of the first PRC films to receive attention in the US foreign film market and was broadcast as part of a film series on PBS.
I would not use it for my students, but recommend it for the teacher wanting to see two things: 1. China through Chinese eyes; especially a very hard period like the war with Japan, and 2. The rise of Chinese films to international status.
[Edit by="vortiz on Jul 3, 12:14:46 AM"][/Edit]
I saw this movie a while ago and it stands out in my memory as an excellent depiction of the lifestyle of girls in Japan that did not have the money or family ties to accomplish anything of societal value on their own. Coming from families that were very poor, many of them were essentially sold as slaves.
This story starts out in the late 1920's and the main character, nine-year-old Chiyo, along with her sister, are sold in the Kyoto human market by there parents. Her older sister is immediately delivered into prostitution, while Chiyo is sold to a Geisha House where she will work unpaid until it can be determined whether she has the grace and beauty to succeed as one of the elegant performers.
The house is run with an iron fist and Chiro must undergo many trials before she is able to aquire a higher level of Geisha sophistication.
Although the males in the story are one-dimensional, the character development of the women, especially Chiro, with her blossoming beauty and learned Geisha grace is unsurpassed.
This film has superb photography, the plot is rich, and the unrequited love experienced by the main character brings a depth to this story that gave me a sense of being well entertained.
I think my students seeing this film would not only get an appreciation for the lifestyle in Japan of the 1930's and 1940's, but also would find this movie well worth seeing. They also might gain a greater appreciation for their personal freedom and quality of life.[Edit by="skiwasz on Jul 4, 4:18:11 AM"][/Edit]
Clay Dube mentioned the film The Painted Veil in class some time ago, and I view it today. It’s a love story set in China in 1925. A young doctor named Walter marries a woman he has only met for a few days. Kitty, his new bride, only accepts the marriage proposal because she wants to leave her parents’ home. Soon after the wedding, Walter takes his bride to Shanghai. Kitty commits adultery. Walter discovers her infidelity and gives her an ultimatum. Walter will either file for divorce and reveal her affair, or Kitty can join him in a small town that is in the midst of a cholera epidemic. Kitty reluctantly agrees to venture into the interior of China.
The marriage is rekindled as they discover new redeeming facets of their personality, both come to accept one another’s faults, and encounter hardships they both overcome together. I don’t want to ruin the movie for anyone interested, but its ending is sorrowful.
The scenes of China are incredibly beautiful and the audience gains a very small glimpse into the lives of the townspeople. The Pained Veil does present the tension between the Chinese and foreigners during this period. There is reference to the conflict between the nationalist and the “imperialistic Americans in China” as the doctor and Colonel Yu have a private conversation in the hinterland of China. I could possibly use this video as a springboard to introduce the political turmoil in China, Chinese perspective of American presence, and discussion of foreign relations between the two countries.
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