Ip Man

The film Ip Man directed by Wilson Yip, follows a story of a martial arts instructor who is highly respected in his community of Fo Shan, China. This film teaches many valuable things to its viewers, especially the youth. For this reason, I think this would be a great film to use for instructional purposes in a high school classroom setting - with parent consent and administrator approval, of course. It is a small, yet accurate representation of China's values, traditions, and customs. This film depicts the anxieties of WWII and ties perfectly into writing.

This film also stars Bruce Lee, which might work to engage some of the students’ interests. In terms of placement and engagement in the curriculum, it would be a great way to introduce a unit on China, WWII, and/or even a unit with a theme of “appealing to authority”. The film is versatile in terms of the type of material that can be taught from it, but the exposure to Chinese and Japanese culture is ideal.