| SLN 11232, 11233-11240 |
| 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, 1:30 - 3:20 (screenings; exact duration depends on length of film), AND | |
| Wednesdays 1:30 - 2:50 (lecture and quiz) , AND | ||
| Thursdays 1:30 - 2:50 (lecture) AND | ||
| Fridays 1:30 - 2:20 OR 2:30 - 3:30 (TA sections) |
Classroom:
|
| * 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. |
Policies and Procedures
| 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 |
|
- 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. |
|
| Assigned
texts and movies |
|
Required texts |
|
On e-reserve: David Wimal D 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 |
|
| Films, on reserve at the Odegaard Media Center: | |
| Wei Lo, The
Chinese Connection |
|
| |
| WEEK 1 |
| Monday, 1/7 |
Introduction: what is genre?; genre and subgenre in martial arts films; course outline; closely reading a film sequence; course requirements |
| Tuesday,
1/8 |
Shooting technique; Bruce Lee's career; choreographing a fight sequence; reading the film's last sequence |
| Wednesday, 1/9 |
|
Wei Lo, The
Chinese Connection (1972, 110 mins.)
 POINTS TO WATCH FOR |
  |
| Thursday, 1/10 |
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, 1/11 | discussion section |
| WEEK 2 |
| Monday, 1/14 |
|
Akira Kurosawa, The
Seven Samurai (1954, 206
mins.) I |
 |
| Tuesday, 1/15 |
|
Akira Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai II |
| Wednesday, 1/16 |
Samurai: a historical background; the martial ethics of Bushido; samurai films |
Read for today: 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, 1/17 |
The film director as an auteur; Kurosawa’s appproach to samurai film; mise-en-scene |
| FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE |
| Friday, 1/18 SECTION |
FIRST RESPONSE PAPER DUE |
| WEEK 3 |
| Monday, 1/21 | MLK DAY - NO CLASS |
| Tuesday, 1/22 |
|
Liu Jialiang, The
36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978, 111
mins.) |
 |
| Wednesday, 1/23 |
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 1/7 - 1/18) |
| Thursday, 1/24 |
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, 1/25 | discussion section |
| WEEK 4 |
Monday, 1/28 |
|
King Hu, Touch
of Zen (1969, 200
mins.) I |
 |
| Tuesday, 1/29 |
|
King Hu, Touch
of Zen II |
| Wednesday, 1/30 |
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, 1/31 |
women warriors; movement in the frame and the moving frame; watching with our bodies |
| FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE | |
| Friday, 2/1 SECTION |
SECOND RESPONSE PAPER DUE |
| WEEK 5 |
| Monday, 2/4 | NO CLASS MEETING |
| Tuesday,
2/5 |
|
Ching Siu-tung, Chinese
Ghost Story (1987, 98 mins.) |
 |
| Wednesday,
2/6 |
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 1/22 - 2/1) | |
| Thursday,
2/7 |
Special
effects; Tsui Hark and the Hong Kong New Wave |
| FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE |
| Friday, 2/8 | discussion section |
| FOR IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT ON FRIDAY, CLICK HERE |
| WEEK 6 |
| Monday, 2/11 | NO CLASS MEETING |
| Tuesday, 2/12 |
|
Takeshi Kitano, Zatoichi
(2003, 116 mins.)
|
 |
| Wednesday, 2/13 |
Sound; Samurai
film after Kurosawa |
| Read for today: |
| Thursday, 2/14 |
The Zatoichi subgenre; Takeshi Kitano; blindness and insight; the ethics of violence |
| FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE | |
| Friday, 2/15 SECTION |
THIRD RESPONSE PAPER DUE; discussion of clip |
| WEEK 7 |
| Monday, 2/18 | PRESIDENTS' DAY - NO CLASS MEETING |
| Tuesday, 2/19 |
|
Wong Kar Wai, Ashes
of Time (1994, 100 mins.) |
 |
| Wednesday, 2/20 |
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 2/5 - 2/15) | |
| Thursday, 2/21 |
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, 2/22 | discussion section |
| WEEK 8 |
| Monday, 2/25 | NO CLASS MEETING |
| Tuesday, 2/26 |
|
Zhang Yimou, Hero
(2001, 118 mins.)
|
 |
| Wednesday, 2/27 |
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, 2/28 |
Zhang Yimou, structure and acting; the international careers of Zhang Yimou and Ang Lee |
| FOR THIS WEEK'S LECTURES OUTLINE, CLICK HERE |
| Friday, 2/29 SECTION |
FOURTH RESPONSE PAPER DUE |
| WEEK 9 |
| Monday, 3/3 |
|
Wachowski Brothers, Matrix
(1999, 136
mins.) I
|
 |
| Tuesday, 3/4 |
|
Brothers Wachowski, Matrix (1999, 136 mins.) II |
| Wednesday, 3/5 |
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 2/19 - 2/29) | |
| Thursday, 3/6 |
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, 3/7 | discussion section |
| WEEK 10 |
| Monday, 3/10 | NO CLASS MEETING |
Tuesday, 3/11 |
|
Steven Chou, Shaolin
Soccer (2001, 102
mins.)
|
 |
| Wednesday, 3/12 |
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, 3/13 |
REVIEW QUIZ ADMINISTERED (covering all materials introduced through the entire course; includes a section devoted to materials introduced on 3/3 - 3/12) |
| GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING FOR THE REVIEW QUIZ |