Comparative Literature 315A: Contemporary Cinema
xxxxx 5 credits; W credit

Contemporary East Asian Genre Film

The course looks at key moments in the recent development of East Asian cinemas, with an emphasis on the role of genre in creating commercially viable industries that have gained artistic recognition. We will examine specific films while asking how the cinemas of China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have responded to political, economic, and social developments. We will also note how East Asian cinemas have inspired one another and borrowed directly from one another, especially in establishing commercial genres, such as horror, action, melodrama, and costume plays. The course does not assume any prior knowledge; historical background in East Asian cultures and critical terms in film studies will be covered in lectures and assigned readings.

TIME AND PLACE:	MTWTh 1:30-3:20 Kane 220
InstructorS:	Yomi Braester and Donghee Han
	officeS: C-504 Padelford / XXXXX
	office hours:xxxxx
	e-mail: yomi@uw.edu / dhhan@uw.edu

Assignments
Policies and Procedures
Class Schedule

Assignments

Readings and film viewings:
All readings must be completed on time. Students are required to attend the screenings. All readings are on e-reserve; efforts will be made to place the films on reserve at the Odegaard Media Center.

Assignments:
Reading reports: Fifteen 200-word reports, summarizing the respective readings. (One of the assigned 16 can be missed without penalty.)
Film reports: Sixteen critical reviews, each 200 words long, discussing main points of the films watched in class. (One of the assigned 16 can be missed without penalty.)

READING AND FILM REPORT QUESTIONS POSTED HERE

Paper #1: Due on May 3; at least 1,200 words long. Paper topic will be announced in class.
Paper #2: Due June 8; at least 1,200 words long. Paper topic will be announced in class.

Grading:
Reading reports: 15 x 1 point (P/F basis for each) = 15 points
Film reports: 15 x 1 point (P/F basis for each) = 15 points

Paper#1 = 35 points
Paper#2 = 35 points

Policies and Procedures

Late submissions must be pre-approved by the instructor or they will not be accepted. Extensions for reading responses, make-up classes, and extra screenings will be available only in very special cases, where the students can demonstrate circumstances beyond their control.
All assignments, except in-class commentary, must be typed. Please use Times New Roman font, size 12, double-spaced.
The course strictly adheres to UW’s rules on plagiarism.
Students with disabilities are encouraged to inform the instructor, who will do his best to provide the relevant accommodations.

CLASS SCHEDULE (subject to change)

NOTE: Readings are available on electronic reserve or online (linked directly)

week 1

3/29 Mon	Introduction: Genre film in East Asia
3/30 Tue	No class meeting
3/31 Wed	Film screening: Infernal Affairs I (97 mins)

4/1 Th

Film screening: Brother (114 mins) Reading 1 (for today): Marchetti, Infernal Affairs, 1-50

week 2
4/5 Mon	Seminar: Genre, post-genre Reading 2 (for today): Gerow, Kitano Takeshi (selection); Varese, "The Secret History of Japanese Cinema"
4/6 Tue	Film screening: Rough Cut (113 mins)
4/7 Wed	Seminar: Gangster film and unstable identities Reading 3 (for today): Shin, “Globalization and New Korean Cinema"; Choi, “No Blood? No tears! Korean Gangster cinema.”
4/8 Th	Film screening: 2046 (first part of 129 mins)
week 3
4/12 Mon	Film screening: 2046 (second part of 129 mins)
4/13 Tue	Seminar: Sculpting in time Reading 4 (for today): Teo, Wong Kar-Wai (selection)
4/14 Wed	Screening: Save the Green Planet! (118 mins)
4/15 Th	Seminar: Abducting the Sci-fi genre Reading 5 (for today): Darcy Paquet, "Genrebending in Contemporary Korean Cinema"
week 4
4/19 Mon	Screening: The Puppetmaster (first part of 142 mins)
4/20 Tue	End screening: The Puppetmaster (second part of 142 mins) Seminar: Traditional performance and national allegory Reading 6 (for today): Yeh and Davis, "Trisecting Taiwan Cinema"
4/21 Wed	Screening: Sopyonje (112 mins)
4/22 Th	Seminar: Exterior and interior landscapes Reading 7 (for today): Kim, “Korean Cinema and Im Kwon-Taek: An Overview”; Julian Stringer, “Sopyonje and the Inner Domain of National Culture.”
week 5
4/26 Mon	Screening: J.S.A.: Joint Security Area (110 mins)
4/27 Tue	Seminar: The Cold War goes on Reading 8 (for today): Kim, “Each Man kills the Thing he Loves: Transgressive Agents, National Security, and Blockbuster Aesthetics in Shiri and Joint Secuirity Area”; Kim, “Crossing the Border to the ‘Other’ Side.”
4/28 Wed	Screening: Assembly (first part of 124 mins)
4/29 Th	End Screening: Assembly (second part of 124 mins) Seminar: Postsocialist Chinese cinema Reading 9 (for today): Zhang, The Cinema of Feng Xiaogang (selection)
week 6
5/3 Mon	Screening: Attack the Gas Station (113 mins) MIDTERM DUE
5/4 Tue	Seminar: Comedy and violence Reading 10 (for today): Ablemann and Choi, “’Just Because’: Comedy, Melodrama and Youth Violence in Attack the Gas Station.”
5/5 Wed	Screening: Crazy Stone (98 mins)
5/6 Th	Seminar: Local, Global, Glocal Reading 11 (for today): Mcgrath, "New Year's Films"; Braester, "New Year's Movies"
week 7
5/10 Mon	Screening: The Good, the Bad, and the Weird (first part of 139 mins)
5/11 Tue	Screening: The Good, the Bad, and the Weird (second part of 139 mins)
5/12 Wed	Seminar: The western in the East Reading 12 (for today): Choi, “Blockbusters, Korean Style.”
5/13 Th	Screening: The Swordsman in Double Flag Town (90 mins)
week 8
5/17 Mon	Seminar: Genre film after the Cultural Revolution Reading 13 (for today): Rayns, "King of the Children"
5/18 Tu	Screening: Thirteen Princess Trees (100 mins)
5/19 Wed	Seminar: Coming of age in the PRC Reading 14 (for today): Zhou, "Rock'n'roll: From Rebellion to Consumption"
5/20 Th	Screening: My Whispering Plan (first part of 147 mins)
week 9
5/24 Mon	Screening: My Whispering Plan (second part of 147 mins)
5/25 Tu	Seminar: J-Horror and Soft Gay films Reading 15 (for today): Braester, “The Impossible Task of Taipei Films”
5/26 Wed	Screening: Memento Mori (98 mins)
5/27 Th	Seminar: Specters of memory Reading 16 (for today): Choi, The South Korean Film Renaissance, pp 124-138
week 10
5/31 Mon	MEMORIAL DAY - NO CLASS
6/1 Tu	Seminar: Conclusion no readings
6/2 Wed	Reading period
6/3 Th	Reading period
6/8 Tu	Final paper due