Movies - Documentaries

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hey All,

"In the Year of the Pig" (1969)

This documentary was produced in 1969 and was titled "In the Year of the Pig." It has nothing to do with Chinese Zodiac. It deals with Vietnam War. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? It tells the story of a war that killed 60,000 American troops and 3,000,000 Vietnamese . . .

This documentary is one of the best ever produced on United States involvement in international affair. I rented this awhile ago and watched it 2-3 times. You can buy it on Amazon.com for about $20 (well worth it)[Edit by="rtaw on Feb 24, 3:03:20 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Hey Y'all,

If you're interested in showing modern China to your students, there's a great segment off of Discovery Atlas that shows various parts of China and the peoples roles in current China. It's called 'China Revealed' and it covers migration to larger cities, industy growth, privatization of land, culture, and so forth. I got it for my iPod for a buck-ninety-nine. It's about 1 hour and 40 minutes long. It's seems lengthy, but it's engaging [at least for me]. The music and short length of each section kept me from falling asleep, but seriously, it's pretty interesting. Well worth the $1.99, if I may say so.

[Anonymous]

Discovery HD also have alot of series regarding China...
And, its in HD. They discuss the new and old China and how they are at a crossroad.
The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and left out of the economic boom. (same old story)

Its amazing how many highrises are going up in China ...

You can use this series to highlight to students how lives in China are different or similar to those of in the United States. Everything in this series can be view by the students (Its all G-rated)

You can use it to discuss Political Development, Economics, or Culture in the Changing China.[Edit by="rtaw on Aug 5, 1:38:58 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I used a well-made Science Channel/Discovery DVD from a series called "What the Ancients Knew". The Chinese developments and the ending commentary about how the Chinese actually lost touch with many of their own accomplishments and wondered at the Western versions of them is an interesting irony.

What the Ancients Knew (television sched for May--will probably expire after broadcasts) follow links to find the DVD

Finding the DVD is quite elusive. You might do well to record it from TV or just search on google (worth it).
[Edit by="vortiz on Apr 9, 9:43:14 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

"In the Year of the Pig"

How can it be used in the classroom?
- Propaganda (the use of it during the Vietnam War) on both side
- Analysis of the Media (what was reported during the war)
- Radicalism / Protesting the government (on both side)

There are many discussion points/topics in the documentary that can create many class discussions.

[Anonymous]

I just saw a quiet movie called Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles by Zhang Yimou. It is a story of a Japanese father trying to redeem himself to his estranged, angry son who is dying of cancer and won't acknowledge him. He goes to China to finish a documentary his son promised to make of a Chinese opera performer in Yunnan. When he gets there to find the specific artist his son was to film is in prison. Pressured to show the DV to his son before dies, Mr Takada goes through many barriers. When he gets to the moment, the dancer breaks down, because he misses his illegitimate son, whom he has never met and is now wracked with guilt over. Though Takada cannot change the world, he discovers his place in it (see, I forgot to tell you he is "running away" from something, as are the dancer, his son, and the dancer's son).

It is richly filmed, just two years ago, and the images show a China beyond what I have seen in earlier films. It is also less than 2 hours long, so there is room for discussion in class, and a worksheet (my personal favorite). Here are some elements it shows:

Propriety
bureaucracy
lifestyle
scenery (both nations)
cultural barriers
personal searching and realization
infrastructural development
The power of the mobile phone (you folks going to China, make sure you have a mobile phone with a changeable chip, or you could rent one--this film sold me)

The apolitical, subtle nature of the film makes it one I'd like to show in the last part of the semester (around the point we have to learn about modern China in History 10B).

Just wanted to share.

[Anonymous]

I just viewed a film titled, "Summer Palace" by Chinese director Lou Ye with Lei Hao . Ye has also directed"Suzhou River". The Chinese government has tried to impair his filmmaking with a five year ban on his art. It is essentially a film on the coming of political consciousness in the the late eightys with the Tinammon Square demonstration as its backdrop. It is more a personal journey than a political one for Hao who is excellent as the student going through significant personal challenges. Be prepared for plenty of youthful lust and a little protest. There are some nice clips of newsreels from that period ,and depicts how the political affects the personal. Tinnamon essentially soured the participants toward Bejing and they scattered throughout other parts of China and Europe. The film's length spanned two and one-half hours.

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