Fall 2016
Chin 130b: China on Film: The Changes of Chinese Culture
Instructor: Pu Wang
Office: Mandel 118
Phone: 6-3287
Office hours: TuTh 10-11AM
Class schedule: TuTh 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Classroom: Mandel Center for the Humanities, G03
Screenings: most films will be available through LATTE. For the films that cannot be uploaded to LATTE Videos, the attendance for screenings is mandatory: Th 6:30-9:20PM
Course Description:
In studying Chinese cinema, this course has two correlated goals. The first goal is to see “China on film”, to understand Chinese society and culture by examining the films. The students will see how China’s long history from the age of Confucius to the century of revolutions to today’s postsocialism is represented in the Chinese films; how a series of social, political and culture issues (such as the dilemma of tradition vs. modern, the human and natural costs of economic development, and the influence from Western capitalism) are reflected through the art of cinema; and how these issues should be approached in broad contemporary contexts as China is rising on the global stage. The films and readings will enhance our knowledge about China’s social and cultural transformations. The second goal is to help the students better analyze the Chinese films in aesthetic terms, and better understand Chinese cinema as a unique modern artistic tradition. This course will thus also familiarize the students with the history of Chinese cinema and the methods of film commentary.
In other words, we will read the chosen films both as “social texts” and as artworks. The two approaches, to be sure, are intrinsic to each other. Ultimately, we will see that Chinese cinema, as a modern artistic form, is also deeply rooted in China’s turbulent long journey in modern history.
All the movies will be screened with English subtitles and the course will be conducted in English. No Chinese knowledge is required.
Requirements and Grading:
Attendance and active participation: Attendance for both classes and screenings is mandatory. Lateness without excuse is unacceptable (sorry, punctuality is my religion) Active (or militant!) participation in class discussion is essential. Students must come to class fully prepared; please do all the readings on time.
Screening journals and final paper: After every screening, you are supposed to write a one-page screening journal, uploaded online no later than the midnight of Sunday. There will also be a final paper of 5-6 pages.
Attendance and class participation: 30%
Screening journals: 25%
Final paper: 45%
Final paper due: Dec. 12. Digital submission to AND . Which means you need to submit to both the instructor and our course assistant.
Textbooks and readings:
All readings will be assigned as pdf files.
NOTE: Four-Credit Course (with three hours of class-time per week)
Success in this 4 credit hour course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.).
A Tentative Schedule (readings/screenings included)
Weeks / Tuesday Class / Thursday Class / Film assignments / Reading assignmentsAug 25 / No class. Due to the professor’s conference trip to Japan
Aug 29 and Sept 1 / Introduction: A film course? A Chinese history course? / Outline of Chinese history. Contemporary representations of the ancient values / The Hero (dir. Zhang Yimou, 2002), online
Confucius, dir. By Hu Mei, online
Sept 6 and 8 / From the collapse of “old China” to the revival of a civilization / Brandeis Monday; no class / Emperor and the assassin (Chen Kaige), online / Wendy Larson’s essay on The Hero
Sept. 13 and 15 / Discussion: ancient vs. modern in Chinese ideology.
“The obsession with China” and the blockbuster phenomenon / Republican China and Shanghai cinema / Sacrifice (dir. Chen Kaige), online / Excerpts from Mao Zedong’s Selected Works
Sept. 20 and 22 / Revolution and youth; “revolution plus love;” The founding of the People’s republic; / Continued / Crossroads;
and Spring in a small town online;
Sept. 27 and 29 / Song of Youth Screening
Oct. 4 and 6 / No class / Maoist China and the Cultural Revolution / Wendy Larson’s essay on Chinese film and sexuality
Oct. 11 and 13 / Overview of post-Mao Chinese cinema; / The global success of the “fifth generation”; film as historical reflection / The Yellow Earth (dir. Chen Kaige, 1984) online; Red Sorghum by Zhang Yimou online / Dai Jinhua’s essay on the Fifth Generation
Oct. 18 and 20 / Discussion: the rewriting of the Cultural Revolution in post-Mao era / Allegory and narrative in Chinese cinematic modernism / Farewell, My Concubine (dir. Chen Kaige, 1992) online / Excerpt from Xudong Zhang’s book on 1980s China
Oct. 25 and 27 / No class / The post-1989 marketization and the dilemma of Chinese cinema; The ethical crisis vs. breathtaking modernization / Still Life (dir. Jia Zhangke, 2006) online
A Touch of Sin (dir. Jia Zhangke) online
Nov. 1 and 3 / Discussion: a new generation “lost in market economy” / Discussion: Jia Zhangke’s perspective on the age of reforms / A Piano in Factory (dir. Zhang Meng) online / Xudong Zhang’s essay on Jia Zhangke
Nov. 8 and 10 / Another side of marketization; China’s rusty belt / China’s entry into the world capitalist system / Two films by Jiang Wen, online
Nov. 15 and 17 / Beyond “the fifth generation” and the cultural politics at the turn of the century / Cinema, market, and the cinematic critique of market / Two films by Wong Kar-wai, online
Nov. 22 / Alternatives to the divisions between art cinema and commercial films;
Sinophone cinema / Assassin by Hsiao-Hsien Hou
Nov 29 and December 1 / Globalization and the commercial films / Comparison of different cinematic approaches to modern China / Mountains May Departs (dir. Jia Zhangke)
December 6 / Conclusion and Q and A / Other suggested films, such as The Summer Palace by Lou Ye online