Department of International Studies - Asian Studies
CHN256: Chinese Film and Literary Texts
About this Unit
A course based on the study of recent Chinese films (since the mid-1980s - the 'fifth generation' of Chinese film directors) with some literary works on which the film scripts were based. The unit will be taught in English. No knowledge of Chiense language is required.
Teaching Staff
Convenor:
Ms Anita Chang
Office: W6A232
email: anita.chang@mq.edu.au
Consultation hours: Wednesday 11:30 to 12:30; Thursday 11:30 to 12:30
Contact Hours
2 hours per week
Pre/Co-Requisites
Prerequisites : 12 credit points or permission of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts
Corequisites : none
Credit Points
3 credit points
Content Overview
This course is scheduled on Wednesdays in the first semester of year 2008 with no Chinese language requirement and no prerequisite. It aims to introduce some of the best chinese films produced since mid 1980 to present time. Those selected films in this course are not only well received internationally and prize claimed overseas but also bear certain significance for Australian students to understand the contrasts in societies and moral values of mankind of yesteryears and today. Most of these films to be mentioned in class are landmarks in the Chinese film industry resulted from the labours of love of the fifth generation directors such as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, Tian Zhuangzhuang in China ; Taiwan director Ang Lee and Hong Kong director Wang Garwai etc.or others by some earlier directors such as Xie Jin (the fourth generation) or Huang Jianzhong etc. Some latest films such as "The Curse of Golder Flowers" and "The Banquet" are also added in the show list .
With little doubt, prominent films like " Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon", "Raise the Red Lantern", "In A Mood of Love" and “Together” etc will be shown in lecture classes. In the lecture hours, the convenor will give some general introduction to students prior to the show of the films . Because there is no Chinese language requirement in the course, so, the reading of literary texts are not compulsory. There is an English version ( in parts) of the literary texts of “ Raise the Red Lantern” and two Chinese versions of literary texts ( in parts) of “ Raise the Red Lantern” and “Hero” for students who are interested in making comparison between the films and the original writings. It is encouraged to read the English translation texts of “ Raise the Red Lantern” for a better understanding of the film but making comparison between them is optional. Due to the copyright, it is regrettable not to include more literary texts in the course notes. Perhaps in the future, I can add in some more. The literary texts can be seen in the CHN256 course notes made by Anita Chang available at campus co-operative bookshop.
During the show of prescribed films, the convenor will add in some commentaries relating to any difficulty in translation, expressions or puns which may be vagued in English substitles.(The first five films will be in Mandarin and the last one "In the mood of love" will be in Cantonese. All six films will be with English subtitles) Political or social criticism plus historical background will also be raised attention to the students for the convenience of their preparation in mini talks. These comments would be suitable to be given at the appropriate moments when screen is showing the matching actions or incidents. In some scenaries, environment backgrounds or the nature could be silent hints to the audience of certain messages which should not be neglected.
Some relevant materials will be given to students prior to the show of the film as well as bibliography lists which may enhance students on their understanding of that particular film. For example, a recommended film "The Blush" , is based on Su Tong's literary texts of "Rouge"(Hong Fen) which described the fates of two women in Shanghai before 1949 and after 1949. It will be interesting for students to read a bit of Zhang Ailing 's "Love in a Fallen City" (Qincheng zhi Lian) to see the contrast of female visions in the city of Shanghai before 1949. This links to Ang Lee's "Lust and the Caution", a recent film.
Films will be shown on the odd number weeks ie, week 1,3, 5, 7 ,9 ,11..., attendance of viewing these films are strongly encouraged. Attendance records will be kept for judging the class performce marks. Minimum attendance is 50% which means 6 weekly attendance records out of 12 weeks. If less than 6 weekly records, there will be no counting of essay marks and oral presentation marks, unless there is a special circumstance for special consideration. In the even number of weeks, ie, week 2,4,6,8,10,12 ,students are required to deliver A mini talk of 2 minutes in English on the films shown at the lecture hours of the week or weeks before to express their views on the films . Each student only needs to deliver talk once. Mini talks are part of the assessments and will be marked. Students are encouraged to write down their talks and effectively deliver an oral presentation in a coherent argument of their opinions on the targeted film. The talk should not be in a casual chat sentence structure, but in a mini essay form so the course convenor can test each individual student's observation on the contents of the films and their skills in oral presentation. Once a student delivered a talk , he or she can not request to give a second one trying to improve the marks because of finding the previous talk not good enough. Students are allowed to discuss others' mini talks in classes. The convenor will not accept any hand in drafts to substitute the mini talk required for assessment unless the time is short on week 12 to accommodate all the talks because of the enrolment number is too large.
The other requirement for assessment is a 1000 word essay in English. The essay should be put into a box marked CHN essays on the ground floor of W6A building by 5 pm on 9th April, 2008 . The topic of the essay is up to students' own choices, needs not to be matching the shown feature films, but has to be linked with Chinese films in modern or contemporary time or their counter parts-literary texts with students' own observations and comments on the themes, backgrounds and historical or social-political criticism; or the technique of directors and acting skills of leading roles etc. Students can choose one film or compare two films or a film and its literary texts such as “Raise the Red Lantern” and the novel “ A String of Concubines” in the essay writings. The essay and the mini talk can not be on the same film and same content because each item is marked 50% and 40% respectively. If students have doubt of choosing a topic to write essays, they may consult the
Convenor Miss Anita Chang by telephone or email of the following numbers or see her in her office W6A room 232. Telephone No. (02) 98507020; email anita.chang @mq.edu.au.
Consultation hours: Wed.11:30-12:30pm and Thurs. 11:30-12:30
Course Materials
Assessment
| A |
Class attendance 10% (minimun requirements of attendance is 6 weekly records out of 12 weeks) If less than 6, even there is a good essay and a good oral presentation, marks will not be counted unless there is a sound explanation. |
| B | One Mini talk. 40% |
| C | One essay in English 50% |
Total 100%
Marking percentages
| A | An English essay of 1000 words 50% |
The ability to write a text appropriate to specified context (film) and purpose (13) |
|
| B |
Oral presentation evaluation 40% * research (knowledge of subject) 10% * structure ( opening-attention getting, led into topic Body of Speech-logical flow, ideas supported by facts Conclusion-effective, climactic) 10% * organization (purposeful, clear, easy to follow) 10% * clarity (volume, speed) 10% |
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious breach of the University's rules and carries significantpenalties. You must read the University's practices and procedureson plagiarism. These can be found in the Handbook of Undergraduate Studies or on the web at: http://www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism/
Grading Policy
Academic Senate has a set of guidelines on the distribution of grades across the range from fail to high distinction. Your final result will include one of these grades plus a standardised numerical grade (SNG).
Your raw mark for a unit (i.e., the total of your marks for each assessment item) may not be the same as the SNG which you receive. Under the Senate guidelines, results may be scaled to ensure that there is a degree of comparability across the university.
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