Film Studies (FILM) 30116 - Lecture 01
Topics in National Cinema (Chinese Cinema)
Winter 2007
Monday lectures 15:00-16:50 in PF 118 (Section L01) Wednesday lab 14:00-16:50 in MLB 45 (Section B01) Friday lab 11:00-13:50 in MBL 45 (Section B02) (exception:April 5)  

Instructor:	Dr. Claire Huot
Office Location:	TBA
Office Phone:	TBA
E-Mail:	clairehuot@shaw.ca
Web Page:
Office Hours:	Wednesday 13:00-14:00

Course Description

A study of Chinese feature films produced in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan over the past 20 years. A focus on the career of filmmakers of the Fifth Generation (Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Tian Zhuangzhuang). A look at some acclaimed filmmakers and trends from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Objectives of the Course

To assess what Chinese cinema is today transnationally. To understand the film industry in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. To study certain filmmakers and their work. To grasp basic cultural concepts that are acknowledged as Chinese and to become aware of questions of orientalism in film and film criticism.

Textbooks and Readings:

Required textbook: Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes, ed. Chris Berry, British Film Institute, 2004. A course pack sold at the bookstore is also required reading.

Assignments and Evaluation

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.

Note: Please return assignments directly to the instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Two take-home tests: due January 29 and February 12 Each test is comprised of one question dealing with an issue discussed in class and to be announced one week before the deadline. The response, 500 to 650 words, must reference at least one film viewed by that date. 15% each= 30%.

Three in-class quizzes: February 26, March 19 and April 9 Each quizz, not exceeding 20 minutes, consists of 10 questions requiring short answers (Eg. names of directors, studios, etc.). 10% each=30%.

Research essay on a topic chosen by the student: submission of topic, outline and bibliography, due March 12: 15% essay of 1500 words, due April 9: 25%

Students wishing to get their final essay back must submit a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination: No

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you wish help with your writing at any stage, including drafts, you are invited to contact the Writing Centre, SS110, 220-7255.

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

A+ (96-100); A (92-95); A- (86-91); B+ (81-85); B (77-80); B- (71-76);
C+ (65-70); C (62-64); C- (59-61); D+ (55-58); D (50-54); F (0-49)

 

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people’s words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS110) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

January 8: Course presentation; China's Fifth Generation Filmmakers: Chen Kaige

Reading: Leung, Helen Hok-Sze. “Yellow Earth: Hesitant Apprenticeship and Bitter Agency,” Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes, ed. Chris Berry, British Film Institute, 2004, Chapter 24 [textbook].

January 10 & 12: Screening of Yellow Earth (Huang tudi) (1984) by Chen Kaige

January 15: China's Fifth Generation Filmmakers: Zhang Yimou

Reading: Zhang, Yingjin. "Ideology of the Body in Red Sorghum: National Allegory, National Roots, and Third Cinema," Colonialism and Nationalism in Asian Cinema, W. Dissanayake, ed., Indiana University Press, 1994, 30-41. [course pack]

January 17 & 19: Screening of Red Sorghum (Hong gaoliang) (1987) by Zhang Yimou

January 22: China's Fifth Generation Filmmakers: Tian Zhuangzhuang

Reading: Lu, Tonglin. "Allegorical and Realistic Portrayals of the Cultural Revolution: Tian Zhuanzhuang, On the Blue Kite," Confronting Modernity in the Cinemas of Taiwan and Mainland China, Cambridge UP, 2002, 76-92. [course pack]

January 24 & 26: Screening of The Blue Kite (Lan fengzheng) (1994) by Tian Zhuangzhuang

January 29: Chen Kaige on the international scene

Reading: Braester, Yomi. “Farewell My Concubine: National Myth and City Memories,” Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes, ed. Chris Berry, British Film Institute, 2004, Chapter 11. [textbook]

January 31 & February 2: Screening of Farewell My Concubine (Bawang bieji) (1993) by Chen Kaige

February 5: Zhang Yimou on the interrnational scene

Reading: Sutton, Donald S. “Ritual, History, and the Films of Zhang Yimou,” East-West Film Journal, vol. 8, no 2, July 1994, 31-44. [course pack]

February 7 & 9: Screening of Raise the Red Lantern (Dahong denglong gaogao gua) (1991) by Zhang Yimou

February 12: Tian Zhuangzhuang on the international scene and the end of the Fifth Generation

Readings: Clark, Paul. “China: Reframing History,” Being & Becoming: The Cinemas of Asia, Vasudev, Padgaonkar & Doraiswamy ed., Macmillan India Ltd, 2002, 64-91. [course pack]

Huot, Claire. "Colorful Folk in the Landscape," China's New Cultural Scene: A Handbook of Changes. Duke University Press, 2000, Chapter 4, 91-125. [course pack]

February 14 & 16: Screening of Springtime in a Small Town (Xiao cheng zhi chun) (2003) by Tian Zhuangzhuang

February 26: Hong Kong Cinema and Traditional China

Reading: Zou, John. “A Chinese Ghost Story: Ghostly Counsel and Innocent Man," Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes, ed. Chris Berry, British Film Institute, 2004, Chapter 5. [textbook]

February 28 & March 2: A Chinese Ghost Story (I) (Sinnui yao wan) (1987) by Siu-Tung Ching

March 5: Hong Kong Cinema and China's Cinematographic Past

Reading: Reynaud, Bérénice. “Centre Stage: A Shadow in Reverse,” Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes, ed. Chris Berry, British Film Institute, 2004, Chapter 4. [textbook]

March 7 & 9: Screening of Center Stage (Ruan Lingyu) (1992) by Stanley Kwan

March 12: Hong Kong Cinema Refreshed: Filmmaker Wong Kar-wai

Reading: Tong, Janice. “Chungking Express: Time and its Displacements," Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes, ed. Chris Berry, British Film Institute, 2004, Chapter 6. [textbook]

March 14 & 16: Screening of Chungking Express (Chung hing sam lam) (1994) by Wong Kar- wai

March 19: New Filmmaking in Taiwan: Tsai Ming-liang

Reading: Marchetti, Gina. "On Tsai Mingliang's The River," Island on the Edge: Taiwan New Cinema and After, Chris Berry and Feii Lu, eds., HK: Hong Kong University Press, 2005, 113-26. [course pack]

March 21 & 23: Screening of The River (He liu) (1997) by Tsai Ming-liang

March 26: Taiwan's Veteran Filmmaker: Hou Hsiao-hsien

Reading: Xu, Gang Gary. “Flowers of Shanghai: Visualizing Ellipses and (Colonial) Absence,” Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes, ed. Chris Berry, British Film Institute, 2004, Chapter 13. [textbook]

March 28 & 30: Screening of Flowers of Shanghai (Hai shang hua) (1998) by Hou Hsiao-hsien

April 2: A Filmmaker in and out of Taiwan: Ang Lee

Reading: Chan, Felicia. “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Reading Ambiguity and Ambivalence,” Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes, ed. Chris Berry, British Film Institute, 2004, Chapter 7. [textbook]

April 4 & 5 (Thursday): Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long) (2000) by Ang Lee

April 9: Jia Zhangke: "the best filmmaker under 40" is from China

Reading: Jaffee, Valerie."Bringing the World to the Nation: Jia Zhangke and the Legitimization of Chinese Underground Film." Senses of Cinema 32 (July-Sept. 2004). [online resource]

April 11 & 13: Screening of The World (Shijie) (2005) by Jia Zhangke

Additional Reading:

Teshome, Gabriel. “Towards a Critical Theory of Third World Films,” Questions of Third Cinema, J, Pines & P. Willemen, ed., British Film Institute,1989, 30-52. [course pack]

Chow, Rey. “Film as Ethnography,” Primitive Passions: Visuality, Sexuality, Ethnography and Contemporary Chinese Cinema Columbia University Press, 1995, 178-202. [course pack]

Dai, Jinhua. “Rethinking the Cultural History of Chinese Film.” Cinema and Desire: Feminist Marxism and Cultural Politics in the Work of Dai Jinhua, Tr. Lau Kin Chi Eds. Jing Wang and Tani Barlow. London: Verso, 2002, 235-63. [course pack]