SEMESTER 2, 2018

30 points

 
Course Convenor: 

 Xuelin Zhou - x.zhou@auckland.ac.nz

Teacher:

Course delivery format:

3 hours of lecture/Seminar

(Timetable and room details can be viewed on Student Services Online)

 Summary of Course Description:              

 Genre is an important approach in film studies, providing ways to group together films that are marked by similar characters, subjects, settings, styles and/or themes. This course investigates some major genres in the dynamic and proliferating Chinese-language film. The course comprises three sections. Section One focuses on youth film, a genre that began to draw attention from academia only in recent years. Section Two centres on art film, the genre that has played a pivotal role in facilitating “dialogues” between Chinese cinemas and the cinemas in other parts of the world. Section Three considers a most established genre of Chinese cinema, martial arts film. In exploring the three genres, the course pays close attention to the following aspects: generic conventions and inventions, aesthetic legacy and breakthrough, and the implications of the wider context.

The course has a strong comparative perspective, covering three major film cultures in Chinese-language film, i.e. Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China.

 Assessment Summary:

• Research proposal

Length:            2,000 words

Weighting:      25% of final mark

Deadline:         4pm, Thursday 16 August

• Class presentation (week 7, 11 September)

Minimum 1,500 words (approximately 30 minutes long)

Weighting: 15%

• Research essay

Length:            6,500 words

Weighting:      60% of final mark

Deadline:         4pm, Thursday 11 October

Weekly Topics:

• Teddy Girls (飞女正传； Lung Kong, Hong Kong, 1969)
• Youth (芳华； Feng Xiaogang, Mainland China, 2017)
• The Young Ones (彩云飞； Lee Hsing, Taiwan, 1973)
• Yellow Earth (黄土地； Chen Kaige, Mainland China, 1984)
• The Time to Live, The Time to Die (童年往事； Hou Hsiao Hsien, Taiwan, 1985)
• A Touch of Zen (侠女； King Hu, Hong Kong/Taiwan, 1970)
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden dragon (卧虎藏龙； Ang Lee, Hong Kong/Taiwan/Mainland China/America, 2000)
• House of Flying Daggers (十面埋伏； Zhang Yimou, Mainland China, 2004)

Prescribed Texts:

Refer to Talis Reading List

 Recommended Texts:

Refer to Talis Reading List 

 Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.