COURSE INTRODUCTION AND SYLLABUS
EAC 389 (class #9590): The Cinematic Art of Zhang Yimou
Meeting Time/Place: Monday and Wednesday, Education 120, 7:15 PM-10:05 PM
Instructor: Prof. Fan Pen Chen, Humanities 246, 442-2600
E-mail: Fanchen@albany.edu
Office Hours: M 1:00-2:00; W 4:15-5:15; and by appointment
Course Description and Introduction
This is a film course focusing on the cinematic art (or films) of Zhang Yimou (b. 1951), one of China’s best-known “fifth generation” movie directors. The goals of the class are (1) to introduce you to seven of Zhang Yimou most representative films; (2) to help you gain a critical understanding of how and why Zhang Yimou made and directed these movies; and (3) to introduce you to some of the social, political, cultural, and economic changes that have taken place in China since the 1970s and show you how these changes are reflected in Zhang Yimou’s cinematic art. We will accomplish these goals by (1) viewing the films themselves; and (2) attending class lectures and participating in class discussions; (3) reading several published scholarly articles on Zhang Yimou and his films, which are assembled in the Course Reader; and (4) writing 3 thematic papers on related to Zhang Yimou’s filmography and the films viewed.
Required Text
The instructor has prepared a Course Reader: The Cinematic Art of Zhang Yimou, which is available at Copies Plus at the Campus Center.
What Will You Learn in This Course?
In many ways, cinematic texts are mirrors. That is to say, in addition to providing entertainment, they also reflect social, political, cultural, and economic issues and concerns. In this course you will be taught how to identify, decode, and understand these issues as they appear in seven films by Zhang Yimou.
Class Organization
The class will meet twice weekly. Typically, during the first session we will view the week’s film. The second class will be devoted to discussing and decoding the film, with particular attention paid to major (and recurrent) themes and images. Background details (historical, cultural, and so on) will be provided by the instructor as needed. Copies (DVDs) of the films viewed in the course will be available on reserve in the library after we view them.
Prerequisites: Students are expected and required to have some basic knowledge of traditional, modern, and contemporary Chinese history, society, and culture. No knowledge of the Chinese language is required. All the films we will view in the course will have English subtitles.
Grading: Your final grade will be determined by (1) your attendance, preparation, and contributions to class discussions (34%); (2) your grade on the papers (12% x 3 = 36%); and (3) your grade on the final exam (30%).
Attendance and Makeups: Students are expected to attend all classes. Attendance will be taken at the start of each class. If you arrive late, you will be marked absent. Makeups for missed work will be given only if the absence was due to a documented medical or personal emergency. If possible, consult with the instructor before the absence. Please note: the final exam will be given on Monday, 12 May, 5:45-8:35 PM (in our usual classroom). It will not be possible to take the final exam before this date, so please do not ask.
Academic Integrity: The discovery of any cheating (including plagiarism or shared work of any kind) on an exam or written assignment will result in (1) immediate expulsion from the course with a failing grade; and (2) a report to appropriate SUNY officials. Appeals may be made through appropriate channels. Just so we are clear: if you use any words/phrases/sentences or ideas from an internet website without citation, it is plagiarism. One plagiarism offense gets you thrown out of the course with a failing grade.
Food, Drink, and Cell Phones: Please do not bring any food or drinks to our class meetings. Also, please turn off your cell phone during class.
How to do well in this course: (1) complete all assignments on time; (2) view the films carefully (Take notes! You may want to bring a small flashlight to facilitate note taking); (3) attend class regularly; (4) don’t come to class late (the teacher really, really dislikes late arrivals because they disrupt the class); (5) actively participate in classroom discussions (this means raise your hand and participate!).
Class Schedule
Wed. 12 Mar: Course introduction. Red Sorghum (Hong gaoliang), 1987.
Mon. 17 Mar: Red Sorghum: lecture and discussion.
Read: Sheldon Hsiao-peng Lu, ed., Transnational Chinese Cinemas: Identity, Motherhood, Gender, pp. 1-31.
Read: Paul Clark, Reinventing China: A Generation and Its Films, pp. 164-86.
Wed. 19 Mar: Judou (Judou), 1990.
Mon. 24 Mar: NO CLASS
Wed. 26 Mar: NO CLASS
Mon. 31 Mar: Judou: lecture and discussion
Read: Jenny Kwok Wah Lau, “Judou: A Hermeneutical Reading of Cross-cultural Cinema,” pp. 2-10.
Read: Jerome, Silbergeld, China Into Film: Frames of Reference in Contemporary Chinese Cinema, pp. 282-288.
FIRST THEMATIC PAPER DUE.
Wed. 2 Apr: CLASS CANCELED; Watch Hero (Yingxiong), 2002 on your own for discussion on May 5.
Mon. 7 Apr: Raise the Red Lantern (Gao hongdeng gaogao gua), 1991
Read: Jerome, Silbergeld, China Into Film: Frames of Reference in Contemporary Chinese Cinema, pp. 288 -297.
Read: Sheldon Hsiao-peng-lu, ed., Transnational Chinese Cinemas: Identity, Motherhood, Gender, pp. 105-136.
Wed. 9 Apr: Raise the Red Lantern: lecture and discussion
Read: John Dragon Young, Reviews of Raise the Red Lantern and The Story of Qiu Ju, pp. 1158-1161.
Read: Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy: The Genesis of China’s Fifth Generation, Chapter 1.
Mon. 14 Apr: Qiu Ju Goes to Court (Qiu Ju da guansi), 1992.
SECOND THEMATIC PAPER DUE
Wed. 16 Apr: lecture and discussion of Qiu Ju
Read: Jerome, Silbergeld, China Into Film: Frames of Reference in Contemporary Chinese Cinema, pp. 120-131.
Mon. 21 Apr: NO CLASS
Wed. 23 Apr: To Live (Huozhe), 1994.
Mon. 28 Apr: To Live: lecture and discussion
Read: Rey Chow, “Sentimental Returns: On the Uses of the Everyday in the Recent Films of Zhang Yimou and Wong Kar-wai.”
Read: Yan Ye, “From the Fifth to the Six Generation: An Interview with Zhang Yimou,” pp. 2-13.
Wed. 30 Apr: The Road Home (Wode fuqin muqin), 1999
Mon. 5 May: The Road Home and Hero: lecture and discussion.
THIRD THEMATIC PAPER DUE.
Final exam: Monday, 12 May, 8:00-10:00 PM, ED 120.