Term Paper Assignment
Topic options for History: Chinese Film and History
For the term paper assignment, students have three topic options. Please read all three options carefully as well as "the rules and guidelines" at the end of this prompt before deciding which topic you want to pick and write about.
Option 1: The Representation of Women in Chinese Films
In the course of the semester we have watched a number of films that cast women in the central roles. For instance, The Family (dir. Che Xihe, 1956), Three Modern Women (dir. CHEN Liting, 1949), Women of the Great Leap Forward (dir. SHEN Fu, 1959), The Story of Qiu Ju (dir. Zhang Yimou, 1992) and Eat, Drink, Man and Woman (dir. Ang Lee, 1994) all have women in the lead characters. Even in the case of Song of China and Breaking with Old Ideas, in which women are not in the central roles, women are still at the center of the dramatic conflict of the films' narratives. Assuming these films are realistic and accurate reflections of life in China (and Taiwan), what can we learn from these films about the lives of Chinese women in the twentieth century? Write an essay to reflect on this question, and be sure to address the following issues:
1. What strikes you as the most noticeable change and continuity in China over the last century with regards to women's lives?
2. What kinds of personal qualities and behaviors are presented as desirable and/or undesirable "feminine" qualities? In other words, what are the consistent themes in the Chinese films' projection of the "ideal woman"?
3. What social and historical factors account for the way women are represented in these Chinese films?
4. What is your critique of the portrayal of women in these Chinese films? Is there anything that you agree or disagree with the perspectives on gender issue represented in these films?
Option 2: Of Tradition and Modernity
A number of films we have watched in this class deal with the tension between tradition and modernity. From Song of China (dir. LUO Mingyou 1935) to The Family, Women of the Great Leap Forward, Breaking Away from Old Ideas (dir. LI Wenhua, 1975), Shower (dir. ZHANG Yang, 2000), and Eat, Drink, Man and Woman, we have witnessed a great deal of ambivalence and ambiguity towards modernity on the Chinese screen. Please select two to three films from different time periods and write an essay to discuss how the tension between tradition and modernity is represented in Chinese films. Make sure that your essay includes the following components -
1. A discussion that addresses both the positive and negative qualities projected onto tradition and modernity by Chinese films. In other words, you need to demonstrate an awareness of what the Chinese films present as "good" and/or "bad" about either tradition or modernity, with their affiliated values, ideas and practices.
2. An explanation of what accounts for the particular ways in which tradition and modernity are represented in Chinese films. Here, you must situate your discussion in its proper historical context. For instance, the particular view of modern culture in Song of China has to do with the New Life Movement of the 1930s, whereas the portrayals of modern life style in films produced in the post-Mao years (such as Shower) are reflective of the cultural politics of the last few decades. Your essay must take into consideration of the historical dimension.
3. An assessment and evaluation component. To the extent the films you have selected for discussion all offer their critique of tradition and modernity, you need to offer your own critique of their critiques. In other words, you have to provide an evaluation on the Chinese take on this issue: what do you see in their cinematic representation as insightful, on the mark, and judicious and/or simplistic, false, and misguided?
Option 3: A Reflection on Chinese Films from Comparative Perspective
Based on the films (feature films only, documentaries not included for this assignment) you have watched in this class, what do you find as the most distinctive characteristics of Chinese films?
Needless to say, the number of Chinese films we have watched constitutes but a tiny fraction of the total Chinese film output and it is arguable whether they represent the diverse styles, genres, and approaches in Chinese filmmaking. But in the context of this class, we are going to assume that these films are representative of the mainstream filmmaking in China.
Your discussion should address both the motif (consistent themes, reoccurring sentiments, frequently used imageries, and oft-espoused values, etc.) and the aesthetic dimension (camera angle and movement, types of shots, narrative pace, lighting, etc.). You need to identify some common and consistent patterns in Chinese filmmaking that are distinctive and unique.
Then, there is the historical dimension - please think about the change and continuity in Chinese filmmaking over the years. From Song of China (1935) to The World (2004), that is seventy years of filmmaking (and Song of China is the not the first film they made)! You need to discuss change and continuity in both form and content.
Note: this topic option may work better for the "film buffs" because it is predicated on familiarity with other national cinemas - Hollywood, French, German, Japanese, Mexican films and etc. You can't compare unless you have something to compare with. If you don't have good grounding in other filmmaking traditions, this option may not work for you.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.