Instructor: Dr. Paola Voci
This paper examines twentieth-century Chinese culture (Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other areas of the Chinese Diaspora) by looking at cinema as a complex cultural product (e.g., artistic expression, political statement, revolutionary message, avant-garde experiment, popular culture medium). The course is organized chronologically; however, materials (both readings and films) are also arranged according to three main critical angles: gender issues (male and female sexuality in Chinese cinema), film genre (e.g., drama, melodrama, comedies, ghost stories, martial arts), and politics of filmmaking (i.e., the making of national and transnational Chinese identity).
This paper is taught in English. No knowledge of Chinese is required (all films are subtitled in English).
The paper is also offered as DL (distant learning) paper.
Assessment
This paper is 100% internally assessed.
Details
Examination of Chinese cinematic practices - blockbusters, controversial documentaries and digital microcinema - with a focus on its contribution to world cinema.No knowledge of Chinese language is required.
Chinese cinema is a rising global phenomenon. By examining what is shown on Chinese
screens, who is producing it and who is watching, this paper is also a window to Chinese's
modern history and its political, economic and cultural transformations. An understanding
of Chinese cinema is, therefore, very important for students who are planning to pursue
careers in media or other professions that require a deeper understanding of contemporary
Chinese society.
Note: This paper is also offered as CHIN 242. The content
of the paper is the same for both CHIN 242 and CHIN 342, but assessment is differentiated
between the two levels and students taking this paper at the more advanced level are
asked to produce a longer research essay.
| Paper title | Screening Chinese Cinemas |
|---|---|
| Paper code | CHIN342 |
| Subject | Chinese |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2023 (Distance learning) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $955.05 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 18 200-level CHIN, MFCO, VISC points
- Restriction
- CHIN 242, CHSX 242, CHSX 342
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Eligibility
- Suitable for students specialising in any discipline. This paper is taught in English. No knowledge of Chinese is required.
- Contact
- languages@otago.ac.nz
- Teaching staff
- Convenor: Dr Paola Voci
- Paper Structure
- This paper examines Chinese cinemas (including: Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other areas of the Chinese Diaspora) thematically. By referring to their cultural context, we will critically examine film genres (eg martial art, melodrama, horror, comedy, art, propaganda, documentary, amateur) and their stars, paying particular attention to gender issues (male and female sexuality in Chinese cinema) and politics of filmmaking (ie the making of national and transnational Chinese identity).
- Textbooks
- All required readings are available for you as electronic reserve at the Otago Library as well as on Blackboard.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, interdisciplinary perspective, scholarship, critical thinking,
research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
- By participating in lectures, tutorials and screenings, students will gain
- An ability to "read" films as both texts and contextualised practices
- An appreciation of various forms of Chinese cinemas in their historical context and their national/transnational features
- A critical understanding of mainstream, art, as well as marginal (counter-cultural) Chinese film practices
- A basic understanding of how film studies have understood and examined cinema as a complex cultural practice from a multiplicity of perspectives (eg aesthetic, economic, political, and social)
- A critical analysis of scholarship on issues related to Chinese film and media studies
- An ability to independently investigate a particular topic (eg specific film texts, auteurs, film genres, or issues related to film production and distribution, etc)
