Session 13: Recent cinema from China (Beijing): House of Flying Daggers — one session only

Initial comments

Below are links to last year's course, when the film was screened in class. Since this semester's class has a provisional, one-time schedule based on the fact that we are in a pilot room, I am going to continue to link to outside pages rather than build entire pages for this class.

There are two types of film modules: full modules used in the past and more informal notes on movies I watched over winter break 2012. This winter break films have a green banner across the top. I was, and probably will continue, to share my thought on various films I watch, to help in the process of selecting films.

By the way, you should not be trying to select films yet. It will probably be a waste of time because I will soon release specific instructions and also a database of films.

Please note that when inside the "full" film modules, that have been used for teaching, the sidebar might look the same but it is for other classes. I recommend that you don't use it.

The "full" film module material might seem like a lot but in the past this was how I was establishing method. We've already done similar work via the whiteboards. That being said, there are lots of questions you can think about, and these can be good leads for your projects, even for films other than this one.

Links to Summer 2012

First of five sessions | Second of five sessions | Third of five sessions | Fourth of five sessions | Fifth of five sessions

Topics for this session

Overall, persistent topics for this film:

Deception's role in romantic narratives
(Confucian) loyalty (zhong) / faithfulness (xin) vs. individual desire (Confucian ren? Qing? Modern liberties?)

In semesters when the films are screened in class this course was on a MWF, 50-minute session schedule. We had about 10 minutes for discussion at the end of a session. In order to quickly focus discussion, I distribute discussion questions ahead of time, students take notes on these while viewing the film, and submit written comments and/or have discussion at the end of class.

These various questions are on the modules. The underlined questions are the focus of attention. The other questions are more along the line of "It is also interesting to think about ..."

Taken as a whole, these questions give a very good sense of how you should handle your IE and TCP in general. They are examples of analytic directions as well as specific directions you might be able to use.

The "Topics for today" segment on the session pages is a short summary of the texture of those questions linked more or less to the film as far as we had seen it by that day. (Remember, the film is released in segments. Students, in fact, are not asked to view beyond the assigned segment.) I am collecting all of those sub-topics here, for your convenience.

Session One:

Getting comfortable with the story line
Compare: Beating/threat of beating of the female protagonist in Chunhyang and Flying Daggers

Session Two:

"Layering" (related to deception but that aspect not pursued here)— multiple loyalties, multiple loves
Duty (yi) to the group (so, issues of loyalty, zhong) / faithfulness to a lover (xin) vs. individual desire: seduction in the name of duty, games becoming difficult to control realities

Session Three:

Deception creating and shrinking romantic spaces

Session Four:

What is faithfulness? What is love?
Comparisons: How "Chinese" is this film? How "Western" is this film?
Comparisons: Faithfulness in Flying Daggers and Chunhyang.

Thoughts*

You can check the above five sessions but thoughts are rarely there—just about everything is located in the modules.

Required—to be completed for today's session

✓ You are to have read all the modules in full, gotten very comfortable with the background material and characters, and viewed the film in full, hopefully with your group with and ensuing discussion. As stated earlier, this material will be quizzed if you are not prepared. I will asked around the room ten or more questions on this day, to check how well you have prepped. Even one blank answer or off mark answer can trigger quizzes, depending on the question and the answer. Remember that I am interested in context, so the director's background, audience and such are relevant sometimes.

Although your team has probably already solved access issues, the movie is available as follows:

Netflix: DVD
Media Resources Center (Moffitt): DVD 3178

*UNDER CONSTRUCTION: If this has not been erased it means something on this page is incomplete. Perhaps I want to recheck information or perhaps I haven't converted the page from the version of the previous class. It is available but should be taken dubiously.

*THOUGHTS: My hope is that you look at this portion BEFORE a session. If there is content here it might help you focus on the main points of the day. However, I add various things here at various times. When I feel I haven't succeeded in class stating something clearly, I might restate it here. Of if it is a difficult concept in might be given in written form here. I will assume that you have read and rechecked for changes this session in preparation for any midterm or other quiz or test.