Message from crieder

[Anonymous]

I know I saw The Last Emperor years ago, but since I am now so immersed in Asian culture, especially that of China, I decided to revisit this film. I viewed it with my sixth and seventh graders in mind considering how I might incorporate it in someway into our studies of China. Since the movie itself is three hours long I obviously will not be showing the fillm in its entirety. However, if you can wade through it there are several scenes which would visually enrich middle school children studying China.
The film by director Bernardo Bertolucci is the life saga of Emperor Pu Yi, the last emperor of China who is taken from his mother at the age of three to the Forbidden City where he lives like a prisoner until he is finally expelled, bescomes the puppet of the Japanese, is imprisoned by the Communists and finally dies a peasant gardener.
Particularly spectacular are the scenes which take place in the maze of the Forbidden City. Spectacularly filmed was the vastness of the city, the oppulence of the art, and the thousands of courtiers who served the emperor indulgling his ever whim. The scenes of daily life in this historical drama would give a middle school student the visual images needed to understand the great power of the emperor. The movie portrays how he was treated as a God and respected by his subjects. His food is tasted in an elaborate ritual to make sure he isn't poisoned, his servant is punished for his bad behavior (a concept to surely appeal to 12 year olds), and he is wealthy beyond belief. The film goes beyond scenes of daily life into much deeper political and social issues which might not be discussed with middlle schoolers but could be analyzed by high school students in a world history or government class.
Picking out the scenes to show students would be a lot easier with a DVD. I think showing clips of this film would be especially powerful in creating a visual image of the importance of the emperor in the lives of the Chinese people. Watching the film after appropriate instruction about the role of the emperor and his position in China would be a worthwhile use of time in my opinion.