reaction/discussion -- tuesday afternoon (Hwang)

[clay dube]

Two films I'm fond of that are easily available in Koreatown, on Amazon, iTunes, and Netflix (via dvd, not streaming).

JSA A what happened/whodunit set in the joint security area shared by North Korea and South Korea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehkL9K9fg5s

Coming Home
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_Home_%282002_film%29

[Anonymous]

Ive shown foreign films in the past and my students have not complained and they pay attention. I usually dont show them at the beginning of the year because I train the students to read when they watch movies by turning on the closed caption on english movies. They get used to reading as they watch the movie. As a result, when they watch foreign films, its not a problem. I do plan on showing "Taegukgi". I enjoy showing students films from different points of view. I'm sure they dont know much about the Korean war and the textbook is all from the point of view of the Americans.

[Anonymous]

The summary provided on Korean History is a great read and accessible for high school students. Before I discuss the Korean war, I would like to have my students read sections of this so they can get an understanding of Korea's background. Showing them some images of Korea, the Korean alphabet, maybe even a few clips could get them familiar before we look at the war. I would like to spend a day or two doing this so kids can get a good grasp before we discuss the war.

[Anonymous]

Professor Hwang's lecture today was insightful and motivating. Having always incorporated film alongside literature, his style was good modeling to avoid having the film/documentary take over class time.

I watched Taegukgi years ago and enjoyed it immensely (maybe because it's filled with pathos). I thought Professor Hwang's point about film being a re-imagining of the past was a good point to drive home to my high school students since there is very little depiction of Americans in the Korean War. Parts of this movie would be good to pair with literature from the US Civil War to show the universal idea of family, brotherhood, and the effects of war.

I'm excited about showing Fascinating Vacation since it shows the student led protests paired with the protests of the Vietnam War in America. Students need to see that these are universal ideas that connect humans and that we as humans share the same universal experiences. Additionally, parts of the film could show students that their voice can make a difference in society.

My objective is to have students evaluate anything they read or see with a critical eye to see the author's purpose and how the purpose is a product of the time period. Like lvalladares points out, "the textbook is all from the point of view of the Americans," so I want my students to recognize others' perspectives and put the piece of literature in context of the time it was written and how it reflect society's viewpoints, so our class discussions do not always support the sentiment of their history textbooks.

[Anonymous]

I truly enjoyed Professor Hwang's lecture this afternoon. Being able to get a different perspective on EA films was great. I didn't realize that the film industry is a purposeful, industrial development of Korea.

[Anonymous]

The Professor's comments were extremely thought provoking as they were a very good lead into the notion of historiography and the notion of constructing a cultural knowledge about the past. I think that my students as seniors in high school would be able to wrap their brains around this notion and it is a provocative way to introduce a topic that demands a higher level of critical analysis. I have a used different films about the shoot-out at the OK Corral produced during the Cold War era to illustrate how those pieces of cinematic art reflect a changing understanding of that historical era and I think it might be lost a bit on my students. I think the discussion of Korean cinema being a more "strategic industry" for cultural construction might be a better way to frame this discussion of meta-cognition and the idea of nation-building through partially state sponsored art.

[Anonymous]

Professor Hwang's lecture was very thorough and insightful. I enjoyed the way in which he presented the material of "Framing the Nation through Films" into 4 sections: External threats, Korean War, Democratization, and Gender & Sexuality. I appreciate all the resources he provided. The films he referenced are all worthy of watching and can easily be incorporated into the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Professor Hwang's lecture was so chocked with morsels of delight, that it was hard to digest it all.
It certainly sparked my curiosity and will move me away from watching KBS to watching more featured length film. Is it possible to get the PowerPoint presentation?

[Anonymous]

How different are post 1987 movies from those that were produced under a less democratic government? What was the level of government control before and is there any government control now that they are in an industry that the government is encouraging to produce a cultural product to be exported? Where is the export market... Here, North Korea, China, the rest of Asia?

The Freeman Foundation seems pretty clear of bias... Especially given Weslyen's anything goes bent... But can we say the same about a government supported film industry? How much support does it provide and what are its goals? The history we were supposed to read today was produced by a South Korean government organization that was founded to refute a Chinese government effort to lay some sort of historical claim to parts of North Korea... Just in case.. Wink,wink... North Korea falls. Does not mean it was wrong... Just balanced so that the chips fall a certain way. Does not mean I have any problem with Prof. Hwang's presentation. I thought he was great and honest. Would love to take a full class.

Couple of other random thoughts. Evangelical Christians? Are we talking about the Rev. Moon? How influential are these groups in Korean society? Also,what are South Korean students taught about Kim Il Song and his descendants? Are we talking about National Enquirer coverage of the British Royal Family? We in America seem pretty focused on the guy in charge in the North thanks to Dennis Rodman... Are they more focused? And what about Japan and China's focus on him? There is am amazing dynamic at play here and Kim Jung Un seems to be the wild card that has everybody nervous.

[Anonymous]

"Taegukgi" is definitely a film that would be worth showing to HS students. Students touch upon the Korean War in their history class but don't truly understand what it's about. This film would give them a true Civil War perspective between North and South Korea. It's an allegory of the Civil War nature of the Korean War.

[Anonymous]

Many people struggle with their sexuality and so when films like "Bungee Jumping on Their Own" are produced, I believe it provides them with some sort of comfort and hope. It's a film from a Buddhist perspective that you don't have to love a physical person as much as you love a soul. Another film I definitely plan to watch!

[Anonymous]

I was very inspired by how we traced major themes in Korean history through film. I was so moved by the clip from "Tae Guk Gi" that I went to the library on my way home and checked it out! It's important to me to be familiar with films so that I can show appropriate clips that depict context, history, culture and emotion of the era or historical event I am teaching. Having had very few resources for the Korean War, I am very excited to potentially add this to my repertoire.

[Anonymous]

I'm wondering if any of Korean films focus on families that were separated, both geographically and politically, as a result of the division of the country. That seems as if it would be a compelling subject.

[Anonymous]

I learned a lot from this afternoon's class. Using movie to teach history has multiple advantages. It attracts students' attention and engages them in learning. It makes the textbook and other reading materials vivid and interesting. There are various ways to involve films in teaching. Teacher may give the lecture first and then show the relevant movie. Or teacher may use tailored movie clips at different steps, i.e. anticipatory set, modeling, guided practice, independent practice, etc.

[Anonymous]

I love when instructors use multimedia in the classroom to demonstrate their points, and I can see how his class on this would be amazing! There are so many films we previewed today that piqued my interest and I would love to watch in my "downtime" (although I'm a teacher and we don't really get downtime ).

I'd like to watch "The Brotherhood of War" because the storyline seems very well thought out, and even though he told us the ending, I would love to see how it all plays out. Although I wouldn't be able to show it all in class to my students, I would love to talk to them about the allegory of a civil war within a family. It looked like I could probably show parts of this movie to them without having to send home permission sips or get approval from my principal. It was mentioned that this movie depicts how Korea is "one big family" and the two brothers represent the two sides forced to fight against one another. I think that is a theme students would overall find interesting because they come from large families where there are feuds (obviously not as big as the Korean War) that tear families apart or separate them for a little while. It would be nice to connect it back to them.

Also, "Spring in My Hometown" looked like a great movie as it showed the lives of two innocent boys being changed forever when they find out a secret about each of their parents. This is not one I think I can show in class as I do not want to discuss the topic of pimps and their clients (middle schoolers are too immature for that), but I would love to watch this one for my own personal interest. The movie looked like it was put together well even though it went for the overdramatic pulling of the emotions; however, sometimes I like to watch movies like that ("The Notebook" anyone? haha).

"The Old Garden" also seemed like a good movie I could show parts of to the children. It didn't seem to be overly violent or inappropriate, and I would be able to pose the question of whether the greater good is worth more than your own personal happiness. I think students would have very distinct feelings about this because it is such a large question. As human beings, we are natually pretty selfish when it comes to wanting to be happy, and I think it would be great to pose situations that cause them to consider the greater good vs themselves being happy. Maybe like a "What Would You Do" game?

[Author]

Posts