Best writers. Best papers. Let professionals take care of your academic papers

Order a similar paper and get 15% discount on your first order with us
Use the following coupon "FIRST15"
ORDER NOW

CHINA AND THE WORLD CHINESE CULTURE THROUGH FILM

In this assignment you will examine Chinese thinking and culture as reflected in Chinese film. You will select one film from the approved list (below).

Your purpose in viewing the film will be to glean insight into Chinese thinking and culture. Your observations might extend from the insignificant and mundane behaviour traits of everyday life such as etiquette and food habits to the refined arts of society. You might observe aspects of Chinese thinking, beliefs, art, morals, laws, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by humans as members of society. Each society has a body of norms governing behaviour and other knowledge to which an individual is socialized, or encultured, beginning at birth. In your analysis, you should not be distracted by individual personality traits that might be universal in nature and not unique to Chinese society.

Share your insights into Chinese culture by writing a summary of your observations. You should also include a paragraph describing the film’s impact upon you and your understanding of China. Your paper should be typewritten or word-processed. Word length: approximately 600 words (2 or 3 pages).

*Important Note: The film report is not to be a film review. Some students make the mistake of getting caught up in the story line and telling me what the movie was about. Remember, you are watching the movie to obtain insight into the unique features of Chinese culture. This assignment is not about the movie per se. Here are several good examples from previous student reports:

“The film also shows the Chinese superstition towards ghosts. In one scene, the housekeepers are frightened by the third mistresses’ ghost and panic when…..”

“The main theme of the film is that of traditional Chinese hierarchy within the family structure based on Confucianism: the master of a house possesses the exclusive right to rule the house, and everybody is expected to follow his order……Next to the master is his mistresses, usually based on the order of their wedding………..This is one reason why the master prefers the third mistress more than the second who could only give birth to a useless daughter.”

“Another point which is identified with Chinese culture is the clothes a bride wears. The suit and a veil the bride wears are of red colour, the symbol of happiness in China…..also, the bride could only visit her family three days after the wedding.”

“I think this is an example of Daoist culture, the balance of Yin and Yang…”

So please do not give me a movie review or critique the film like a film reviewer. The biggest mistake students make in this assignment is looking up movie reviews on the internet. Such reviews almost never contain the kind of information being graded in this assignment. This is the best way to get an “F”. Each semester a few students receive an “F” because they have consulted movie reviews rather than simply watching the movie and making cultural observations.

Suggested Approach For Film Assignment

I suggest you begin with a brief paragraph that summarizes the story line.

Following this, you might use some headings such as:

Rules/Laws
Customs
Behavioural Traits
Beliefs
Arts
Morals
Food/Etiquette
Political Culture
Contrast with Western Culture (highly recommended inclusion)
Contrast with older Chinese culture (if your movie has a modern focus)
Contrast with modern China (if your movie has an historical focus)

With respect to the above, remember you are looking for aspects of culture that are somewhat unique to Chinese culture (or perhaps other Far Eastern cultures like Korea). If you choose to tell me about someone’s particular behaviour or personality, you should indicate how this reflects the culture, otherwise the comment will be deemed to have low value.

You should end your paper with a summary.

Please do not begin your paper, as one student did, with “In ancient China, more than twenty years ago….”. Your professor might be sensitive to your suggestion that life “20 years ago” constitutes some sort of ancient history.

 
Looking for a Similar Assignment? Order now and Get 10% Discount! Use Coupon Code "Newclient"