Approaches to Chinese Cinema

Catalog description

Beginning with one of the earliest Chinese films still in existence and ending with a 2017 blockbuster, our class will examine not only a variety of Chinese films spanning nearly a hundred years of production, but also a number of different intellectual approaches to understanding these films. By focusing on one selected film per week, we will develop our own critical capacities in a way that pays attention to issues of history, politics, ideology, the material conditions of production, aesthetics, and intellectual life. We will generally follow a chronological organization and focus on important works by major directors from different parts of the Sinophone world. We will complement our critical focus on individual films with a selection of secondary readings, some of which will help to paint a broader picture of Chinese cinematic history, and some of which will provide specific readings of films through a variety of interpretive methods. The course is by no means exhaustive, and after being introduced to these several representative films and critical approaches, by the end of the semester students will hopefully be better equipped to continue navigating this rich field of cinematic production on their own.