ASIAN 207 Special Topics in Literature and Culture of Asia / C LIT 272 FILM GENRE
 
ASIAN MARTIAL ARTS FILMS
Conventions, Institutional History, and Ideology
 

How did martial arts grow into a popular genre in fiction and film, and how did the genre become a worldwide craze? How do martial arts movies comment on East Asian and North American cultures? The course examines the formation of literary and cinematic conventions of martial arts films, the history of their production in countries such as China, Hong Kong and Japan, and their ideological background. In addition to offering an introduction to filmic technique and Asian popular media, the course dwells on the importance of visual and bodily perception, gender constructions, and intercultural translation.

 

 

Hours:  Mondays and / or Tuesdays, 3:00 - 4:50 (screenings; exact duration depends on length of film), AND
  Wednesdays 3:30 - 4:50 (lecture and quiz) , AND
  Thursdays 3:30 - 4:50 (lecture) AND
  Fridays 1:30 - 2:20 OR 2:30 - 3:30 (TA sections)


Classroom:  Kane Hall 210

5 credits; VLPA; NO WRITING CREDIT

 

  email sections office hours
InstructorS:          
Yomi Braester yomi@ regular lectures C-504 Padelford W 1:00-3:00 or by appointment*
Chris Hamm jcsong@ regular lectures M-235 Gowen T Th 11-12 or by appointment*
         
TAs:        
Francoise Belot
fmb2@
AA (3:30-4:20) (MGH 287)
AF (2:30-3:20) (MGH 287)
B-522 Padelford Th 2:30-3:20
F 1:30-2:20*
Kevin Johnson
kbjohnso@
AB (3:30-4:20) (MGH 254)
AG (2:30-3:20) (MGH 254)
Denny 253 M 2.00-2.50
Th 2.30-3.20*
Jennifer Myers
jam33@
AC (3:30-4:20) (MGH 238)
AE (2:30-3:20) (MGH 271)
B-522 Padelford T 1:50-2:50
W 1:20-2:20*
Petia Parpoulova-Rueckert
pparpoul@
AD (3:30-4:20) (MGH 234)
AH (2:30-3:20) (MGH 234)
B-506 Padelford

F 9:00-10:00
M 12:00-1:00*

         
 
* Since instructors' weekly schedules vary and they might miss office hours, students are strongly encouraged to let the instructors and TAs know in advance if they intend to meet during office hours.

 

 

 
Course Description
Assignments
Grading Components
Policies and Procedures
Readings
Cass Schedule


 

Written assignments:
    (1) Biweekly quizzes: Every other Wednesdasy a quiz will be administered (a total of four quizzes; see schedule below). The questions will be based on the last weeks' reading and class discussions, and will center on both facts and film analysis.
    (2) Biweekly response papers: Every other Thursday a response paper, based on preassigned questions, will be due (a total of four response papers; see schedule below). The response papers will focus on generic traits in the films screened and other films discussed in lectures.
    (3) Final quiz: Will be administered during exam week and will include questions about the entire course.

Students are very strongly advised to attend all lectures, discussion sections, and the scheduled in-class screenings. Quizzes are based on all of the above.


Grading Components

Biweekly quizzes 4 x 10 = 40
Biweekly response papers 4 x 10 = 40
Final quiz   20
Section participation   10
   
Total (100 points = 4.0)   110


Policies and Procedures


Make-up policy:

Because of the size of this course, no make-up assignments will be given. In exceptional cases, such as documented illness or college-approved trips out of town, students' grades will be not be docked and will be calculated on the basis of completed assignments. Students who must miss a class must inform both instructors and their respective TA, immediately upon learning of the circumstances of their absence and before the missed meeting, by email.

- The course adheres to UW’s rules on plagiarism. Any form of cheating will be reported to the Provost's office and punished to the full extent allowed by UW policies.
- Students with disabilities are encouraged to inform the instructor or TA, who will do their best to provide the relevant accommodations.

 
Assigned texts and movies

Required
texts
:
At the University Bookstore (and on 4-hour reserve):
Gianetti, Understanding Movies
   
On e-reserve:
Leon Hunt, Kung Fu Cult Masters (chapters 2, 6)
David
Bordwell, Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment (chapters 4A, 7, 8B)
Wimal D
issanayake, Wimal. Wong Kar-Wai's Ashes of Time ("Narrative Structure"; "Style"; "Fragmentation")
Christopher Hamm, Paper Swordsmen: Jin Yong and the Modern Chinese Martial Arts Novel (chapter 1)
Leo Braudy, "Genre: The Conventions of Connection," in Mast, Cohen and Braudy, Film Theory and Criticism, 435-452
Silver, Allan. The Samurai Film, chapters (1, 2, 5)
 
Films, on reserve at the Odegaard Media Center:

Wei Lo, The Chinese Connection
Akira Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai
Liu Jialiang, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
King Hu, Touch of Zen
Ching Siu-tung, Chinese Ghost Story
Takeshi Kitano, Zatoichi
Wong Kar Wai, Ashes of Time
Zhang Yimou, Hero
Brothers Wachowski, Matrix
Steven Chou, Shaolin Soccer

 

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES


kungfucinema
      shaws      kinema      Hong Kong Film Links

 

Class Schedule (SUBJECT TO CHANGE; if you miss a class meeting, check here for updates!)
   
  WEEK 1
   
Tuesday, 1/3
(3:00 pm)
Introduction: what is genre?; genre and subgenre in martial arts films; course outline; closely reading a film sequence; course requirements
  Shooting technique; Bruce Lee's career; choreographing a fight sequence; reading the film's last sequence
   
Wednesday, 1/4
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING Wei Lo, The Chinese Connection (1972, 110 mins.) rotten tomatoes 100 best


POINTS TO WATCH FOR
chinese connection
   
Thursday, 1/5
(3:30 pm)
Chinese Martial arts: historical background; from martial arts fiction to martial arts films; nationalism in The Chinese Connection and Fist of Legend
 
Read for today: Gianetti, Chapter 1 (Photography); Hamm, Chapter 1 (Introduction)
  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
   
Friday, 1/6 quiz section
   
       
 
  WEEK 2
   
Monday, 1/9
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING

Akira Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai  (1954, 206 mins.) I rotten tomatoes

POINTS TO WATCH FOR

seven samurai
Tuesday, 1/10
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING Akira Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai  II  
   
Wednesday, 1/11
(3:30 pm)
Samurai: a historical background; the martial ethics of Bushido; samurai films
 
Read for toda
y: Gianetti, Chapter 2 (Mise-en-scène); Silver, The Samurai Film, Chapters One ("General Introduction," 13-32) and Two ("The Samurai in Fiction," 33-42)
   
Thursday, 1/12
(3:30 pm)
The film director as an auteur; Kurosawa’s appproach to samurai film; mise-en-scene
  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
   
Friday, 2/12
SECTION
FIRST RESPONSE PAPER DUE
 
   
  WEEK 3
   
Monday, 1/16 MLK DAY - NO CLASS
   
Tuesday, 1/17
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING

Liu Jialiang, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin  (1978, 111 mins.) 100 best


POINTS TO WATCH FOR

36th chamber
   
Wednesday, 1/18
(3:30 pm)
A history of Shaolin temple; Basic concepts in film genre; Shaolin films as a genre
  Read for today: Braudy, "Genre: The Conventions of Connection" ; Hunt, Chapter 2 ("Burning Paradise")
  FIRST QUIZ ADMINISTERED (covering all materials introduced on 1/3 - 1/13)
   
Thursday, 1/19
(3:30 pm)
The Hong Kong studio system and Shaw Brothers; key themes: masculinity and revenge
  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
  FOR IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT ON FRIDAY, CLICK HERE
   
Friday, 1/20 quiz section
   
   
  WEEK 4
   
Monday, 1/23
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING

King Hu, Touch of Zen  (1969, 200 mins.) I rotten tomatoes 100 best


POINTS TO WATCH FOR

touch of zen
Tuesday, 1/24
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING King Hu, Touch of Zen  II
 
   
Wednesday, 1/25
(3:30 pm)
Pu Songling’s Stories of the Strange; kung fu and swordplay; King Hu
  Read for today: Gianetti, Chapter 3 (Movement); Bordwell, Chapter 8B ("Three Martial Masters")
   
Thursday, 1/26
(3:30 pm)
women warriors; movement in the frame and the moving frame; watching with our bodies
  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
   
Friday, 1/27
SECTION
SECOND RESPONSE PAPER DUE
   
   
  WEEK 5
   
Monday, 1/30 NO CLASS MEETING
   
Tuesday, 1/31
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING

Ching Siu-tung, Chinese Ghost Story (1987, 98 mins.) rotten tomatoes 100 best


POINTS TO WATCH FOR

chinese ghost story
   
Wednesday, 2/1
(3:30 pm)
Demonology and cosmology; earlier adaptations; editing
  Read for today: Gianetti, Chapter 4 (Editing); Bordwell, Chapter 7 ("Plots, Slack and Stretched")
  SECOND QUIZ ADMINISTERED (covering all materials introduced on 1/18 - 1/27)
   
Thursday, 2/2
(3:30 pm)
Special effects; Tsui Hark and the Hong Kong New Wave
  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
   
Friday, 2/3 quiz section
   
   
  WEEK 6
   
Monday, 2/6 NO CLASS MEETING
   
Tuesday, 2/7
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING

Takeshi Kitano, Zatoichi  (2003, 116 mins.) rotten tomatoes


POINTS TO WATCH FOR

zatoichi
   
Wednesday, 2/8
(3:30 pm)
Sound; Samurai film after Kurosawa
  Read for today: Gianetti, Chapter 5 (Sound); Silver, The Samurai Film, Chapter Five (“The Alien Hero,” 76-107)
   
Thursday, 2/9
(3:30 pm)
The Zatoichi subgenre; Takeshi Kitano; blindness and insight; the ethics of violence
  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
   
Friday, 2/10
SECTION
THIRD RESPONSE PAPER DUE; discussion of clip
   
   
   
  WEEK 7
   
Monday, 2/13 NO CLASS MEETING
   
Tuesday, 2/14
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING

Wong Kar Wai, Ashes of Time  (1994, 100 mins.) rotten tomatoes 100 best

POINTS TO WATCH FOR

   
Wednesday, 2/15
(3:30 pm)
reappropriated memories; Jin Yong; film outline; cinematic plots
  Read for today: Gianetti, Chapter 8 (Story); Dissanayake, Wong Kar-Wai's Ashes of Time, "Narrative Structure"; "Style"; "Fragmentation"
  THIRD QUIZ ADMINISTERED (covering all materials introduced on 2/1 - 2/10)
   
Thursday, 2/16
(3:30 pm)


The reception of martial arts films among culturally-informed audiences; Jin Yong on TV and the silver screen; Wong Kar Wai and Hong Kong's culture of disappearance

  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
   
Friday, 2/17 quiz section
   
  WEEK 8
   
Monday, 2/20 PRESIDENTS' DAY - NO CLASS MEETING
   
Tuesday, 2/21
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING Zhang Yimou, Hero  (2001, 118 mins.) rotten tomatoes

POINTS TO WATCH FOR

hero
   
Wednesday, 2/22
(3:30 pm)
Records of the Historian; Chinese state ideology; earlier cinematic versions; nationalistic interpretations of Hero
  Read for today: Gianetti, Chapter 6 (Acting); Hunt, Chapter 6 ("Last Hero in China?")
 
Thursday, 2/23
(3:30 pm)

Zhang Yimou, structure and acting; the international careers of Zhang Yimou and Ang Lee

  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
   
Friday, 2/24
SECTION
FOURTH RESPONSE PAPER DUE
   
   
  WEEK 9
   
Monday, 2/27
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING Brothers Wachowski, Matrix (1999, 136 mins.) Irotten tomatoes

POINTS TO WATCH FOR

matrix
       
Tuesday, 8/28
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING Brothers Wachowski, Matrix (1999, 136 mins.) II  
   
Wednesday, 3/1
(3:30 pm)
Have martial arts been bastardized?: tradition and innovation; martial arts in the digital age; martial arts in Hollywood; Quentin Tarantino
  Read for today: Gianetti, Chapter 10 (Ideology); Bordwell, Chapter 4A ("Once Upon a Time in the West")
  FOURTH QUIZ ADMINISTERED (covering all materials introduced on 2/15 - 5/24)
   
Thursday, 3/2
(3:30 pm)

Sci-fi and the critique of modernity; sci-fi and martial arts; animation; Hollywood as a global empire; Orientalism in Hollywood
  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
   
Friday, 3/3 quiz section
   
   
  WEEK 10
   
Monday, 3/6 NO CLASS MEETING

Tuesday, 3/7
(3:00 pm)
SCREENING
Steven Chou, Shaolin Soccer   (2001, 102 mins.) rotten tomatoes

POINTS TO WATCH FOR

shaolin soccer
   
Wednesday, 3/8
(3:30 pm)
Comedy and parody and genre; masters of comedy: Jackie Chan and Steven Chow; martial arts in a commercial world
 
Read for today:
  FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURE OUTLINE, CLICK HERE
   
Thursday, 3/9
(3:30 pm)
Review section with Chris and Yomi
   
Friday, 3/10
quiz section
   
   

Thursday, 3/16
230-420P

FINAL EXAM ADMINISTERED (covering all materials introduced through the entire course; includes a section devoted to materials introduced on 3/2 - 3/8)