ASIA 255 - China on Screen

Cross-Listed as

This course is an overview of China on the silver screen. Adopting the “nation” as its primary structuring device, the course examines how Chinese films represented the national identity, national issues, and the national past. The topics under discussion include how women’s virtues became the emblems of a nation that strived for modernity in the early 20th century; how films were politically appropriated for the socialist construction; how the revolutionary past had been cinematically constructed, remembered and critiqued in the post-Mao era; how the national legacy and tradition were consciously or unconsciously re-created and revised as a spectacle to meet the curious gaze from the global market; and how Taiwan and Hong Kong cinema constantly reflected the issue of cultural and national identities. The course starts from the silent film period and extends to the fifth generation directors, underground filmmaking, and the revival of martial arts genre in the greater China area. Feature films from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong will be screened and discussed. Secondary articles and books are also assigned in conjunction with the films. The course is organized thematically and moves chronologically. No prior knowledge of China or Chinese is required. (4 Credits)