FM2601
ASIAN CINEMAS
Module Booklet for 2014-15
For student completion:
Day
Room
Time
1
Module detail
Credits
Module leader
Assessment
Assessment Dates
20
Leon Hunt
Method
Proportion of marks
2000 word Essay
50%
2000 word Essay
50%
Assignment 1 Thursday March 5th
Assignment 2 Tuesday April 21st
Access to support material
Support material is provided electronically via the University’s
Blackboard Learn system. You can gain access to the Blackboard
Learn system via the following web page:
 https://blackboard.brunel.ac.uk/
Introduction/aims/background
MAIN AIMS OF THE MODULE
 To examine a range of Asian cinemas in their cultural and
industrial contexts.
 To consider how selected Asian cinema circulate globally as
art cinema, genre cinema and popular or cult cinema.
 To examine critical debates surrounding global and
transnational cinema.
 To develop critical skills in the contextual and formal analysis
of films from selected Asian film industries.
Learning outcomes
2
There are learning outcomes that you must achieve in order to be
awarded the credits for this module. These learning outcomes are
listed below:(A)
Knowledge and Understanding of:
 Some of the key developments, trends and aesthetic
traditions within selected Asian cinemas.
 Relevant cultural and industrial contexts for the films
examined on the module.
 Debates surrounding the study of national, international and
transnational cinema.
 Critical and theoretical frameworks within which Asian
filmmaking can be understood: as Art cinema,
commercial/popular cinema and genre cinema.
 Key ‘movements’, historical moments and filmmakers in
Asian cinema.
 ‘Asia’ and ‘Asian cinema(s)’ as conceptual constructs.
(B) Cognitive (thinking) Skills
 Demonstrate analytical skills appropriate to formal and
aesthetic qualities of Asian filmmaking practices.
 Demonstrate an ability to locate texts within a variety or
relevant contexts.
 Apply and engage critically with scholarly sources relevant to
the study of Asian cinema.
 Skills in synthesising primary and secondary sources in
written work.
(C) Other Skills and Attributes (Practical/Professional/Transferable)
 Effective skills in structuring and communicating ideas in
written work.
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 Skills in independent study and independent critical thought.
 Skills in research and time management.
Personal and Key Skills
These are skills that are valued by employers and will help
you in your personal and career development after
graduating from Brunel:
Team working – working with others in seminars or on set
tasks to develop your ideas and create a piece of work like
a group presentation or seminar contribution.
Planning and time management – organizing your study
time, prioritizing your reading and seminar planning,
working with your timetable and preparing to present your
work on time.
Independent study and initiative – working on your own and
thinking ahead. Identifying solutions to problems by
applying your own initiative, and being proactive (closely
related to research).
Research – reading from the reading list and exploring the
world of the text from appropriate sources e.g. historical
texts, interviews, web searches. Using your initiative to
extend your study and preparation beyond that set down by
module information or course tutor.
Live presentation in front of an audience – preparing a
presentation in class if set by tutor/module requirements.
Using Powerpoint and speaking to slides in a confident and
precise manner. Developing the confidence to present your
ideas coherently and cogently to other people verbally.
Method of teaching
 Screenings
 Lectures
4
 Seminars
 Tutorials
Teaching Programme
TERM 2
16
05/01/2015
to
09/01/2015
17
12/01/2015
to
16/01/2015
18
19/01/2015
to
23/01/2015
19
20
26/01/2015
02/02/2015
to
to
30/01/2015
06/02/2015
21
09/02/2015
to
13/02/2015
22
16/02/2015
to
20/02/2015
23
23/02/2015
to
27/02/2015
24
02/03/2015
to
06/03/2015
25
09/03/2015
to
13/03/2015
26
16/03/2015
to
20/03/2015
27
23/03/2015
to
27/03/2015
Reading Week
Japan & the Emergence
of Asian Art Cinema
Chinese Art Cinema: The
‘Fifth Generation’
Contemporary Art
Cinema
Hindi Action Cinema
Hindi Action Cinema
(continued)
Martial Arts and TransAsian Action Cinema
From Kaiju Eiga to the
Korean Wave: Monster
Movies
‘Asia Extreme’ and Asian
Cult Cinema
Transnational Stardom:
Jet Li
Anime and the Japanese
Blockbuster
Bollywood after
'Bollywood'
Week One
Lecture: Japan and the Emergence of Asian Art Cinema
Screening: Rashomon (Kurosawa Akira, Japan 1950)
Recommended Viewing: Seven Samurai (Kurosawa, Japan
1954), Throne of Blood (Kurosawa, Japan 1957), Yojimbo
(Kurosawa, Japan 1961), Late Spring (Ozu Yasujiro, Japan 1949),
Early Summer (Ozu, Japan 1951), Tokyo Story (Ozu, Japan 1953),
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Ugetsu Monogatari (Mizoguchi Kenji, Japan 1953), Sansho-Dayu
(Mizoguchi, Japan 1954), Street of Shame (Mizoguchi, Japan
1956).
Reading:
 Anne T. Ciecko, ‘Theorizing Asian Cinema(s)’ in
Contemporary Asian Cinema, ed. Anne T. Ciecko, Berg
2006.
 Stephen Crofts, ‘Concepts of National Cinema’ in The Oxford
Guide to Film Studies, ed. John Hill and Pamela Church
Gibson, Oxford University Press 1998.
 Mitsuhiro Yoshitomo, ‘Kurosawa Criticism and the Name of
the Author’ in Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese
Cinema, Duke University Press 2000
Further Reading:
 David Desser, ‘Remaking Seven Samurai in World Cinema’
in East Asian Cinemas: Exploring Transnational Connections
on Film, ed. Leon Hunt and Leung Wing-Fai, I.B. Tauris
2008.
 Gary Needham, ‘Japanese Cinema and Orientalism’ in Asian
Cinemas: A Reader and Guide, ed. Gary Needham and
Dimitris Eleftheriotis, Edinburgh University Press 2006.
 Donald Richie, The Films of Akira Kurosawa, University of
California Press 1996.
 Stephen Prince, The Warrior’s Camera: The Cinema of Akira
Kurosawa, Princeton University Press 1999.
Week Two
Lecture: Chinese Art Cinema: The ‘Fifth Generation’
Screening: Ju Dou (Zhang Yimou, China 1990)
Recommended viewing: Red Sorghum (Zhang Yimou, China
1987), Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou, China 1991),The
Story of Qiu Ju (Zhang Yimou, China 1990), Farewell My
Concubine (Chen Kaige, China 1993).
Reading:
 Wendy Larson, ‘The Fifth Generation: A Reassessment’ in
The Chinese Cinema Book, ed. Song Hwee Lim and Julian
Ward, BFI/Palgrave 2011.
 Esther C.M. Yau, ‘Yellow Earth: Western Analysis and a
Non-Western Texts’ in Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide,
ed. Gary Needham and Dimitris Eleftheriotis.
 Sheldon Hsiao-peng Lu, ‘National Cinema, Cultural Critique,
Transnational Capital: The Films of Zhang Yimou’ in
Transnational Chinese Cinema: Identity, Nationhood,
Gender, ed. Sheldon Hsiao-peng Lu, University of Hawaii
Press 1997.
6
Further Reading:
 Haomin Gong, ‘Zhang Yimou’ in Fifty Contemporary
Filmmakers, ed. Yvonne Tasker, Routledge 2011.
 Rey Chow, ‘The Force of Surfaces: Defiance in Zhang
Yimou’s Films’ in Primitive Passions: Visuality, Sexuality,
Ethnography and Contemporary Chinese Cinema, Columbia
University Press 1995.
 Shuqin Cui, ‘Gendered Perspective: The Construction and
Representation of Subjectivity and Sexuality in Ju Dou’ in
Transnational Chinese Cinema: Identity, Nationhood,
Gender, ed. Sheldon Hsiao-peng Lu, University of Hawaii
Press 1997.
 Dimitris Eleftheriotis, ‘Cross-Cultural Criticism and Chinese
Cinema’ in Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide, ed.
Needham and Eleftheriotis.
 Yingjin Zhang, Chinese National Cinema, Routledge 2004 –
‘The PRC – Post-Socialist Cinema’.
Week Three
Lecture: Contemporary Art Cinema
Screening: Hani-Bi (Kitano Takeshi, Japan 1998)
Recommended viewing: Violent Cop (Kitano, Japan 1989),
Sonatine (Kitano, Japan 1993), Zatoichi (Kitano, Japan 2003).
Reading:
 Darrell William Davis, ‘Therapy for Him and Her: Kitano
Takeshi's Hana-Bi’ in Japanese Cinema: Texts and
Contexts, ed. Alastair Philips and Julian Stringer, Routledge
2007
 Darrell William Davis, ‘Re-igniting Japanese Tradition with
Hana-bi’, Cinema Journal 40.4 (Summer 2001).
 Steve Neale, ‘Art Cinema as Institution’, Screen 22.1 (1981).
Further reading:
 Aaron Gerow, Kitano Takeshi, London: London: BFI 2007.
 Dan Edwards, ‘Never Yielding Entirely into Art: Performance
and Self-Obsession in Takeshi Kitano’s Hana-Bi’, Senses of
Cinema 10 (2000)
http://sensesofcinema.com/2000/10/hanabi/
 (There are also 4 other articles on Kitano in Senses of
Cinema 10)
 Donald Totaro, ‘Violent Cop’ in Justin Bowyer (ed) The
Cinema of Japan and Korea, Wallflower 2005.
 David Bordwell, 'The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice',
Film Criticism 14.1 (1979).
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Week Four
Lecture: Cinema of Interruptions? Hindi Action Cinema
Screening: Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, India 1975) – Part 1
Recommended viewing: Satya (Ram Gopal Varma, India 1998),
Zanjeer (Prakash Mehra, India 1973), Muquaddar Ka Sikandar
(Prakash Mehra, India 1978).
Reading:
 Rosie Thomas, ‘Indian Cinema: Pleasures and Popularity’ in
The Bollywood Reader, ed. Rajinder Dudrah and Jigna
Desai, Open University Press 2008.
 Tejaswini Ganti, ‘The Production and Distribution of Popular
Hindi Cinema’ in Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi
Cinema, Routledge 2004.
 Lalitha Gopalan, ‘Introduction: ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun?’ –
Cinephilia and Indian Films’ in Cinema of Interruptions:
Action Genres in Contemporary Indian Cinema, Palgrave
Macmillan 2001.
Further Reading:
 Vijay Mishra, ‘The Actor as Parallel Text: Amitabh Bachchan’
in Bollywood Cinema: Temples of Desire, Routledge 2002.
 Vijay Mishra, ‘Towards a Theoretical Critique of Bombay
Cinema’ in The Bollywood Reader, ed. Rajinder Dudrah and
Jigna Desai.
 Sarfraz Manzoor, ‘How Amitabh Bachchan United
Generations of British Asians’, The Guardian October 25th,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/oct/25/amitabhbachchan-british-asians-bollywood.
 Valentina Vitali, ‘The 1970s’ in Hindi Action Cinema, Indiana
University Press 2008.
 Dmitris Eleftheriotis, ‘Genre Criticism and Popular Indian
Cinema’ in Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide, ed.
Needham and Eleftheriotis.
 Rachel Dwyer and Divia Patel, Cinema India: The Visual
Culture of Hindi Film (Reaktion Books 2002)
 Sangita Gopal and Biswarup Sen, ‘Inside and Out: Song and
Dance in Bollywood Cinema’ in The Bollywood Reader.
Week Five
No Lecture – Seminar only
Screening: Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, India 1975) – Part 2
Reading – as last week
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Week Six
Lecture: Action as Contact Zone: Martial Arts and Trans-Asian
Cinema
Screening: The Raid (Gareth Evans, Indonesia/US 2011)
Recommended viewing: Tom Yum Goong/The Warrior King
(Prachya Pinkaew, Thailand 2005), Ong-Bak (Prachya Pinkaew,
Thailand 2003), Police Story (Jackie Chan, HK 1985), Hard Boiled
(John Woo, HK 1992).
Reading:
 Krishna Sen, ‘Indonesia: Screening a Nation in the Post-New
Order’ in Contemporary Asian Cinema, ed. Anne Tereska
Ciecko, Berg 2006.
 Leon Hunt, ‘Ong-Bak: New Thai Cinema, Hong Kong and the
Cult of the Real’, New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary
Film 3, 2.
 Valentina Vitali, ‘Hong Kong-Hollywood-Bombay: On the
Function of “Martial Art” in the Hindi Action Cinema’ in Hong
Kong Connections: Transnational Imagination in Action
Cinema, ed. Meaghan Morris, Siu Leung Li and Stephen
Chan Ching-kiu, Duke University Press/HK University Press
2005.
Further Reading:
 Leon Hunt, Kung Fu Cult Masters – ch.2.
 Anchalee Chaiworaporn and Adam Knee, ‘Thailand: Revival
in an Age of Globalization’ in Anne T. Ciecko (ed)
Contemporary Asian Cinema.
 Glen Lewis, ‘The Thai Movie Revival and Thai National
Identity’, Continuum 17, 1.
 Ding-Tzan Lii, ‘A Colonized Empire: Reflections on the
Expansion of Hong Kong Cinema is Asian Countries’ in
Kuan-hsing Chen (ed) Trajectories: Inter-Asian Cultural
Studies (Routledge 1998).
 Kim Soyoung, ‘Genre as Contact Zone: Hong Kong Action
and Korean Hwalkuk’ in Hong Kong Connections, ed.
Morris, Li and Chan.
 S.R. Srivinas, ‘Hong Kong Action Film and the Career of the
Telugu Mass Hero’ in Hong Kong Connections.
 Kinnia Yau Shuk-ting, ‘Interactions Between Japanese and
Hong Kong Action Cinemas’ in Hong Kong Connections.
Week Seven
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Lecture: From Kaiju Eiga to the ‘Korean Wave’: Godzilla and
Other Monsters
Screening: The Host (Bong Joon-ho, South Korea 2006)
Recommended viewing: Gojira/Godzilla (Honda Ishiro, Japan
1954), any other Godzilla film (or alternatively, his Japanese rival
Gamera)
Reading:
 William M. Tsutsui and Michiko Ito (eds) In Godzilla’s
Footsteps: Japanese Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage
(Palgrave Macmillan 2006) – particularly essays 3, 4 and 5.
 Chon A. Noriega, ‘Godzilla and the Japanese Nightmare:
When Them! Is U.S.’ in Asian Cinemas: A Reader and
Guide, ed. Needham and Eleftheriotis
 Philip Brophy, ‘Monster Island: Godzilla and Japanese SciFi/Horror/Fantasy’ in Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide.
Further reading:
 Kyung Hyun Kim, ‘Virtual Landscapes: Sopyonje, The Power
of Kangwon Province, and The Host’ in Virtual Hallyu:
Korean Cinema of the Global Era, Duke University Press
2011 – especially pp. 42-51.
 David Desser, ‘Consuming Asia: Chinese and Japanese
Popular Culture and the American Imaginary’ in Jenny Kwok
Wah Lau (ed) Multiple Modernities: Cinema and Popular
Media in Transnational East Asia (Temple University Press
2003)
 Samara Lea Allsop, ‘Gojira/Godzilla’ in Justin Bowyer (ed)
The Cinema of Japan and Korea (Wallflower Press 2004.)
 Ken Hollings, ‘Godzilla, Mon Amour’, Sight and Sound July
1998 pp.20-23.
 Darcy Paquet, New Korean Cinema: Breaking the Waves,
Wallflower 2009.
 Hyangjin Lee, ‘South Korea: Film on the Global Stage’ in
Anne T. Ciecko (ed) Contemporary Asian Cinema
 Susan Sontag, ‘The Imagination of Disaster’ in Gerald Mast
and Marshall Cohen, Film Theory and Criticism (Oxford
University Press 1985)
Week Eight
Lecture: ‘Asia Extreme’ and Asian Cult Cinema
Screening: Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, South Korea 2004)
Recommended viewing: JSA/Joint Security Area (Park Chanwook, South Korea 2000), Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (Park,
South Korea 2002), Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Park, South
Korea 2005), Ichi the Killer (Miike Takashi, Japan 2001), Battle
Royale (Fukasaku Kinji, Japan 2001), Three … Extremes (Miike
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Takashi, Park Chan-wook, Fruit Chan, Japan/South Korea/Hong
Kong 2004).
 Oliver Dew, ‘Asia Extreme: Japanese Cinema and British
Hype’, New Cinemas 5:11, April 2007.
 Chi-yun Shin, ‘Art of Branding: Tartan “Asia Extreme” films’,
Jump Cut 50, Spring 2008.
http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc50.2008/TartanDist/text.ht
ml.
 Nikki J.Y. Lee, ‘Oldboy Goes Mainstream? Birth of a Cult
Director?’ in Leon Hunt and Leung Wing-fai (eds) East Asian
Cinemas: Transnational Perspectives, I.B. Tauris,
forthcoming 2008.
Further Reading:
 Kyung Hyun Kim, ‘Park Chan-wook’s “Unknowable” Oldboy’
in Virtual Hallyu: Korean Cinema of the Global Era, Duke
University Press 2011.
 Anne T. Ciecko and Hunju Lee, ‘Park Chan-wook’ in Fifty
Contemporary Filmmakers, Routledge 2011.
 Steven Rawle, ‘From The Black Society to The Isle: Miike
Takashi and Kim Ki-Duk at the intersection of Asia Extreme’,
Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema 1.2 (December
2009).
 Earl Jackson Jnr., ‘Borrowing trouble: Oldboy as adaptation
and intervention’, Transnational Cinemas 3.1 (May 2012).
 Hyangjin Lee, ‘South Korea: Film on the Global Stage’ in
Anne T. Ciecko (ed) Contemporary Asian Cinema (Berg
2006).
 Soyoung Kim, ‘Cine-Mania or Cinephilia: Film Festivals and
the Identity Question’ and Kyu Hyun Kim, ‘Horror as Critique
in Tell Me Something and Sympathy for Mr Vengeance’ in
Chi-Yun Shin and Julian Stringer (eds) New Korean Cinema
(Edinburgh University Press 2005).
 Tony Rayns, ‘Suspicious Minds’, Sight and Sound,
September 2004.
 Tony Rayns, ‘Shock Tactics’, Sight and Sound May 2005,
 Grady Hendrix, ‘Vengeance is Theirs’, Sight and Sound,
February 2006.
 Gary Needham, ‘Japanese Cinema and Orientalism’ in
Needham and Dimitris Eleftheriotis (eds) Asian Cinemas: A
Reader and Guide (Edinburgh University Press 2006).
 Charles Leary and Chua Beng Huat, ‘Introduction: Violence
in Contemporary Asian Cinemas’, New Cinemas: Journal of
Contemporary Film 8.3 (January 2011).
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 Darrell William Davis, ‘Japan: Cause for (Cautious)
Optimism’ in Anne T. Ciecko (ed) Contemporary Asian
Cinema (Berg 2006).
 Tom Mes, Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike (FAB Press
2003) pp.228-43.
 Tony Williams, ‘Case-Study: Battle Royale’s Apocalyptic
Millennial Warning’ in Jay McRoy (ed) Japanese Horror
Cinema (Edinburgh University Press 2005)
 Matt Hills, ‘Ringing the Changes: Cult Distinctions and
Cultural Differences in US Fans’ Readings of Japanese
Horror Cinema’ in McRoy (ed) Japanese Horror Cinema.
 Anthony Antoniou, ‘Batoru Rowaiaru/Battle Royale’ in Justin
Bowyer (ed) The Cinema of Japan and Korea (Wallflower
2004)
 Julian Stringer, ‘Problems with the Treatment of Hong Kong
Cinema as Camp’, Asian Cinema, vol.8 no.2.
Week Nine
Lecture: Transnational Stardom – Jet Li
Screening: Fearless (Ronny Yu, HK/China 2005)
Recommended viewing: Hero (Zhang Yimou, China/HK/US
2002), The Warlords (Peter Chan Ho-sun, HK/China 2007), Once
Upon a Time in China (Tsui Hark, HK 1991), Once Upon a Time in
China 2 (Tsui Hark, HK 1992),Once Upon a Time in China III (Tsui
Hark, HK 1993), Fist of Legend (Gordon Chan, HK 1994),
Unleashed/Danny the Dog (Louis Leterrier, France/US/UK 2005),
The Forbidden Kingdom (Rob Minkoff, US/China 2008).
Reading:
 Sabrina Qiong Yu, Jet Li: Chinese Masculinity and
Transnational Film Stardom, Edinburgh University Press
2012 – ch.’s 1, 5 and 7.
 Leon Hunt, Kung Fu Cult Masters: From Bruce Lee to
Crouching Tiger, Wallflower Press 2003 – ch.’s 6 and 7.
 Sabrina Yu, ‘Jet Li: Star Construction and Fan Discourse on
the Internet’ in Chinese Film Stars, ed. Mary Farquhar and
Yingjin Zhang, Routledge 2010.
Further reading:
 Leon Hunt, ‘Dragons Forever: Chinese Martial Arts Stars’ in
The Chinese Cinema Book, ed. Song Hwee Lim and Julian
Ward, BFI/Palgrave Macmillan 2011.
 Mary Farquhar, ‘Jet Li: Wushu Master’ in Celebrity in China,
ed. L. Edwards and M. Farquhar, Hong Kong University
Press 2010.
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 Barna William Donovan, ‘Jet Li: The Noble Warrior’ in The
Asian Influence on Hollywood Action Films, McFarland 2008.
 Steve Fore, ‘Jackie Chan and the Cultural Dynamics of
Global Entertainment’ in Transnational Chinese Cinemas:
Identity, Nationhood, Gender, ed. Sheldon Hsiao-peng Lu
 Steve Fore, ‘Life Imitates Entertainent: Home and Dislocation
in the Films of Jackie Chan’ in At Full Speed, ed. Esther Yau,
University of Minnesota Press 2001.
 Mark Gallagher, ‘Masculinity in Translation: Jackie Chan’s
Transcultural Star Text’, Velvet Light Trap, 39, Spring 1997
 Leon Hunt, ‘Once Upon a Time in China: Kung Fu from
Bruce Lee to Jet Li’, Framework 40, April 1999.
 Mary Farquhar, ‘ Jackie Chan: Star Work as Pain and
Triumph’ in Chinese Film Stars, ed. M. Farquhar, Y. Zhang,
Routledge 2010.
.
Week Ten
Lecture: Anime and the Japanese Blockbuster
Screening: Spirited Away (Miyazaki Hayao, Japan 2001)
Further viewing: My Neighbour Totoro (Miyazaki, Japan 1988),
Princess Mononoke (Miyazaki, Japan 1997), Kiki’s Delivery
Service (Miyazaki, Japan 1989), Howl’s Moving Castle (Miyazaki,
Japan 2004), Ponyo (Miyazaki, 2008).
 Rayna Denison, ‘The Language of the Blockbuster:
Promotion, Princess Mononoke and the Daihitto in Japanese
Film Culture’ in East Asian Cinemas: Exploring Transnational
Connections on Film, ed. Leon Hunt and Leung Wing-Fai.
 Rayna Denison, ‘The Global Markets for Anime: Miyazaki
Hayao's Spirited Away’ in Japanese Cinema: Texts and
Contexts.
 Andrew Osmond, Spirited Away, BFI 2008.
Further Reading:
 Rayna Denison, ‘Hayao Miyazaki’ in Fifty Contemporary
Filmmakers, ed. Yvonne Tasker, Routledge 2011.
 Susan Napier, Anime From Akira to Princess Mononoke:
Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation,
Houndmills and New York: Palgrave 2001
 Susan Napier, From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as
Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West, Palgrave
2007.
 Chris Berry, ‘”What’s Big About the Big Film?”: DeWesternising the Blockbuster in Korea and China’ in Movie
Blockbusters, ed. Julian Stringer, Routledge 2003.
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Week Eleven
Lecture: Bollywood after 'Bollywood' - re-thinking the Indian
Blockbuster
Screening: Gangs of Wasseypur (Anurag Kashyap, India 2010)
Recommended viewing: Satya (Ram Gopal Varma, India 1998),
Bombay (Mani Ratnam, India 1995), Roja (Mani Ratnam, India
1992), Dil Se (Mani Ratnam, India 1998)
Reading:
 Dmitris Eleftheriotis, ‘Genre Criticism and Popular Indian
Cinema’ in Asian Cinemas: A Reader and Guide, ed.
Needham and Eleftheriotis.
 Phil Hoad, ‘Why Aren’t More Bollywood Films Marketed in
English?’, The Guardian (October 23rd 2012)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/oct/23/whyarent-bollywood-films-marketed-english
 Nitin Govil, ‘Bollywood and the Frictions of Global Mobility’ in
The Bollywood Reader.
 Ashish Rajadhyaksha, ‘The ‘Bollywoodization’ of the Indian
Cinema: Cultural Nationalism in a Global Arena’ in The
Bollywood Reader, ed. Dudrah and Desai.
Further Reading:
 Sudhanva Deshpande, 'The Consumable Hero of Globalised
India' in Bollywood: Popular Indian Cinema Through a
Transnational Lens, ed. Raminder Kaur and Ajay J. Sinha
(eds) (New Delhi: Sage 2005).
 Vijay Mishra, ‘After Ayodhya: The Sublime Object of
Fundamentalism’ in Bollywood Cinema: Temples of Desire.
 Lalitha Gopalan, ‘Screening the Past in Mani Ratnam’s
Nakayan’ in Cinema of Interruptions.
 Lalitha Gopalan, Bombay, BFI Modern Classics 2005.
 Nicholas B. Dirks, ‘The Home and the Nation: Consuming
Culture and Politics in Roja’ in The Bollywood Reader, ed.
Dudrah and Desai.
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Brunel University
Generic Undergraduate Grade Descriptors
Grade A*
Clearly demonstrates a highly sophisticated, critical and thorough
understanding of the topic. Provides clear evidence of originality
and independence of thought and clearly demonstrates
exceptional ability to develop a highly systematic and logical or
insightful argument, solution or evaluation at the current Level.
Demonstrates exceptional ability in the appropriate use of the
relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, etc., to
analyse and synthesise at the current Level. Shows an
exceptionally high level of clarity, focus and cogency in
communication at the current Level.
Grade Band A (A+, A, A-)
Clearly demonstrates a sophisticated, critical and thorough
understanding of the topic. Provides evidence of independence of
thought and clearly demonstrates the ability to develop a highly
systematic and logical or insightful argument, solution or evaluation
at the current Level. Demonstrates excellence in the appropriate
use of the relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices,
tools, etc., to analyse and synthesise at the current Level. Shows a
high level of clarity, focus and cogency in communication at the
current Level.
Grade Band B (B+, B, B-)
Clearly demonstrates a well-developed, critical and comprehensive
understanding of the topic. Provides some evidence of
independence of thought and clearly demonstrates the ability to
develop a systematic and logical or insightful argument, solution or
evaluation at the current Level. Demonstrates a high degree of
competence in the appropriate use of the relevant literature,
theory, methodologies, practices, tools, etc., to analyse and
synthesise at the current Level. Shows clarity, focus and cogency
in communication at the current Level.
Grade Band C (C+, C, C-)
Demonstrates a systematic and substantial understanding of the
topic. Demonstrates the ability to develop a systematic argument
or solution at the current Level. Demonstrates a significant degree
of competence in the appropriate use of the relevant literature,
theory, methodologies, practices, tools, etc., to analyse and
15
synthesise at the current Level. Provides evidence of clarity and
focus in communication at the current Level.
Grade Band D (D+, D, D-)
Provides evidence of a systematic understanding of the key
aspects of the topic. Demonstrates the ability to present a
sufficiently structured argument or solution at the current Level.
Demonstrates an acceptable degree of competence in the
appropriate use of the relevant literature, theory, methodologies,
practices, tools, etc., to analyse and synthesise at the current
Level. Provides evidence of effective communication at the current
Level.
Grade Band E (E+, E, E-)
Provides evidence of some understanding of key aspects of the
topic and some ability to present an appropriate argument or
solution at the current Level. Demonstrates some competence in
the appropriate use of the relevant literature, theory,
methodologies, practices, tools, etc at the current Level. Provides
some evidence of effective communication at the current Level.
However, there is also evidence of deficiencies which mean that
the threshold standard (D-) has not been met.
Grade F
Work that is unacceptable.
Assessment
Two pieces of coursework - 50% each.
Assignment 1 – due Thursday March 5th
Write an analysis of 2000 words of one film from one of the
national cinemas studied on the module. Your analysis should
include consideration of the following:
 The relevant national/cultural/historical context of the film.
 The film’s place either within its genre(s) or as a type of Art
Cinema.
Assignment 2 – due Tuesday April 21st
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Choose one of the following and write an essay of 2000 words.
1. With reference to 2-3 films, discuss the proposition that all art
cinema is also commercial cinema.
2. With reference to one Asian filmmaker, discuss the
importance of authorship in the promotion and reception of
national cinema.
3. In what ways can Kurosawa be considered one of the first
transnational Asian filmmakers.
4. To what extent can martial arts action be seen as a ‘contact
zone’ for different Asian national cinemas? You should refer
to 2-3 films.
5. Comparing The Host with at least one Japanese monster
movie, discuss how the figure of the monster functions within
national and/or historical contexts.
6. How useful is Lalitha Gopalan’s idea of a ‘Cinema of
Interruptions’ in accounting for the pleasures of popular Hindi
cinema?
7. Compare two different examples (from two different Asian
national cinemas) of what can be seen as ‘Blockbusters’.
What does each suggest about its respective industry and its
international reputation?
8. According to David Desser, the influence of East and West
does not go in one direction but ‘back and forth … popular
culture circulates, available for both producers and
consumers to mediate, extend, rework, rethink, reinvent’.
Discuss with reference to 2-3 relevant films.
9. Rayna Denison suggests that Miyazaki is as much a ‘global
brand’ for Studio Ghibli as auteur filmmaker. Discuss.
10.
In what ways can the ‘Asia Extreme’ label be seen to
have extended the audience for Asian cinema at the
expense of fostering a misleading image of particular Asian
film industries?
11.
‘In contrast with the cinemas of Hong Kong, Japan and
South Korea, Indian popular cinema has largely failed to
extend its audience beyond a national and diasporic one’.
Discuss.
12.
Critically discuss the career of ONE transnational Asian
star. Your answer should not simply provide a career
overview but analyse how their persona has been shaped
and/or received in different cultural contexts.
How the assessment relates to the learning outcomes
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Assessment criteria:
A good assignment will:
 address the question and keep it central to the essay’s
argument.
 demonstrate an understanding of and engagement with theories
and debates relevant to the study of Asian films.
 combine skills in textual analysis with appropriate contextual
material.
 show evidence of reading and viewing beyond material covered
in class, including use of journals and other research materials
held in the University libraries or in the BFI, or on the Internet.
 engage with the reading rather than simply restating it, both by
applying it to selected texts and by offering views and arguments
on the reading material.
 demonstrate an effective synthesis of materials in constructing
the assignment - selection of primary materials, textual analysis,
critical debates and individual argument.
 be well structured and focused, with a coherent and persuasive
argument backed up by appropriate research, reading and viewing.
 be clearly expressed and presented, with an appropriate
standard of spelling, punctuation, grammar and referencing for
honours level work.
How the assessment relates to the learning outcomes
Assignment 1 requires students to:
 Demonstrate an understanding of relevant debates surrounding
selected Asian national cinemas through the analysis of an
individual film.
 Demonstrate an awareness of the cultural and generic context
of the chosen film
 Demonstrate a familiarity with a range of secondary critical
sources.
 Demonstrate skills in textual analysis.
Assignment 2 requires students to:
 Demonstrate an understanding of key debates surrounding the
study of selected Asian cinemas.
 Critically engage with relevant theoretical ideas and sources.
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 Demonstrate an independent selection and use of secondary
materials.
 Demonstrate skills in textual analysis alongside cultural and
historical contextualisation.
Assessment Criteria
Indicative
Mark Band
Degree class
equivalent
Grade
Grade Point
29 and below
Non
submission
Fail
Fail
F
F
1
0
Submitting your work
In order to be marked without penalty for lateness, work must
always be handed in before 3.00 p.m, on the day it is due, hard
copy to Gaskell Building and Electronic copy to Blackboard Learn.
It should be submitted with an official cover sheet (available in the
foyer of the Gaskell Building).
The assignment and the attached cover sheet should be “posted”
in the appropriate coursework collection box in the foyer of the
Gaskell Building.
You must add your student number to the top of every page of
your work.
You must NOT write your name on the pages of your work.
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ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF COURSEWORK:
You are also required to submit an electronic copy of every piece
of work submitted. This electronic version must be submitted by
3.pm on the day of the deadline.
Your work is to be submitted through Blackboard Learn. In order
to submit work, you need to click on Assignments on the left hand
side of the Module page and follow these instructions:1.
Click on the Assignment button on the left hand side of
the page.
2.
then select the correct coursework you want to submit
for; and scroll down to Add Attachment – click into
this.
3.
This will take you into a Browse screen, then double
click on my computer and this will take you into your
computer files then you can select the c/work you want
to attach. Now double click your work and this will
place it underneath the box for attachments, once you
are sure this is the correct piece, then press SUBMIT –
there is no need to add any comments. You will
now have successfully submitted your coursework
on to Blackboard Learn.
Email submissions direct to the module leader are NOT
acceptable
If work is submitted late, the following penalties will be uniformly
applied, in the absence of accepted relevant mitigating
circumstances:
o Up to 1 working day late
Mark capped at 70%
o Up to 2 working days late
Mark capped at 60%;
o Up to 5 working days late
Mark capped at 50%;
o Up to 10 working days late
Mark capped at 40%;
o Up to 15 working days late
Mark capped at 30%;
o More than 15 working days late Mark capped at 0%.
A working day is defined as Monday to Friday at any time of year,
with the exception of UK national holidays.
Mitigating circumstances are serious factors that explain why you
are unable to meet a deadline. For example, serious illness or
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death of a close relative. Please refer to the College handbook for
further details.
Feedback on your work
Academic staff aim to mark work and provide detailed and
constructive feedback, normally within three weeks of the hand-in
date. However, there may be delays. An example Feedback
Sheet is at the back of this Module Booklet.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is passing off ideas words, illustrations, ideas or other
materials created by someone else as being one’s own ideas or
words. The following penalties currently operate:
First offences for
undergraduate
students
a mark of zero is assigned to the piece of work in
question and to the associated module; a
reassessment may be awarded where permitted
under the Regulations, but for the achievement of
credit only; the zero in the module may not be set
aside, condoned for credit or, in modules above level
1, excluded from any calculation for the classification
of an award.
Repeat offences a mark of zero is assigned to the piece of work in
for undergraduate question and to the associated module; the student
students
shall be expelled from the University and barred
from re-entry; any credits already achieved will be
retained and an intermediate award may be awarded
as appropriate, unless the Panel determines that
there is just cause to deprive the student of any
credits already achieved and any intermediate award
to which they may lead.
Referencing
You should use the Harvard method of referencing – name, year
and page number in brackets i.e. (Bordwell 2003: 67). When
referencing essays from edited collections, the bracketed citation
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should give the name of the author(s) of the essay, not the
editor(s) of the book.
Core reading list
Anne Tereska Ciecko (ed) Contemporary Asian Cinema (Oxford
and New YorK; Berg 2006)
Dimitris Eleftheriotis and Gary Needham (ed) Asian Cinemas: A
Reader and Guide (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 2006)
Leon Hunt and Leung Wing-fai (eds) East Asian Cinemas:
Exploring Transnational Connections on Film (Lobdon and New
York: I.B. Tauris 2008)
Jenny Kwok Wah Lau (ed) (2003) Multiple Modernities: Cinema
and Popular Media in Transcultural Asia, (Philadelphia: Temple
University Press).
Vivian P.Y. Lee, East Asian Cinemas: Regional Flows and Global
Transformations (New York and Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan
2011)
Secondary Reading
Jinsoo An (2001) ‘The Killer: Cult film and Transcultural
(Mis)Reading’ in Yau, Esther (ed) At Full Speed: Hong Kong
Cinema in a Borderless World, ed. Esther Yau (Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press).
Arjun Appaduri (ed) Globalization (Durham NC: Duke University
Press 2003).
Colette Balmain, Introduction to Japanese Horror Film (Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press 2008)
Chris Berry (ed), Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes (London:
BFI 2003)
Chris Berry (ed), Perspectives on Chinese Cinema, (London: BFI
1991)
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David Bordwell, Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of
Entertainment, (Harvard: Harvard University Press 2003)
Justin Bowyer (ed) The Cinema of Japan and Korea, (London:
Wallflower 2005).
Nick Browne, Paul G. Pickowitz, Vivian Sobchack and Esther Yau
(eds), New Chinese Cinemas: Forms, Identities, Politics,
(Cambridge University Press 1996)
Jonathan Clements, Anime: A History (London: BFI 2013)
Rachel Dwyer, 100 Bollywood Films (London: BFI 2005)
Rachel Dwyer and Divia Patel, Cinema India: The Visual Culture of
Hindi Film (Reaktion Books 2002)
Kate Egan and Sarah Thomas (eds) Cult Film Stardom: Offbeat
Attractions and the Processes of Cultification (London and New
York: Palgrave Macmillian 2012)
Elizabeth Ezra and Terry Rowden (eds) Transnational Cinema: A
Film Reader (London: Routledge 2006)
Mary Farquhar and Yingjin Zhang (eds) Chinese Film Stars
(London and New York: Routledge 2010).
Tejanswini Ganti, Bollywood: A Guide to Popular Hindi Cinema
(London: Routledge 2004)
Aaron Gerow, Kitano Takeshi (London: London: BFI 2007)
Lalitha Gopalan, Cinema Of Interruption: Action Genres in
Contemporary Indian Cinema (London: BFI 2002)
Christopher Gow, From Iran to Hollywood and Some Places InBetween: Reframing Post-Revolutionary Iranian Cinema (London
and New York: I.B. Tauris 2011)
Leon Hunt Kung Fu Cult Masters: From Bruce Lee to Crouching
Tiger, (London: Wallflower 2003)
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Leon Hunt (2005) ‘Ong-Bak: New Thai Cinema, Hong Kong and
the Cult of the Real’, New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film
3, 2 (2005).
Raminder Kaur and Ajay J. Sinha (eds) Bollywood: Popular Indian
Cinema Through a Transnational Lens (New Delhi: Sage 2005)
Kyung Hyun Kim, Virtual Hallyu: Korean Cinema of the Global Era
(Durham and London: Duke University Press 2011)
Hyangjin Lee, Contemporary Korean Cinema: Culture, Identity and
Politics (Manchester: Manchester University Press 2001)
Leung Wing-Fai and Andy Willis (eds) East Asian Film Stars
(Edinburgh University Press 2014).
Song Hwee Lim and Julian Ward (eds) The Chinese Cinema Book
(London: BFI 2011)
Sheldon Hsiao-peng Lu (ed) Transnational Chinese Cinema:
Identity, Nationhood, Gender (Honolulu: University of Hawaii
Press 1997).
Jay McRoy (ed) (2005) Japanese Horror Cinema (Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press 2005).
Jay McCroy, Nightmare Japan: A Contemporary Japanese Horror
Cinema (Editions Rodopi 2007).
Tom Mes, Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike, (London: FAB
Press 2003).
Russell Meeuf and Raphael Raphael (eds) Transnational Stardom:
International Celebrity in Film and Popular Culture, (Palgrave
Macmillan 2013)
Vijay Mishra, Bollywood Cinema: Temples of DesireLondon:
Routledge 2002)
Meaghan Morris, Siu Leung Li and Stephen Chan Ching-kiu (eds)
Hong Kong Connections: Transnational Imagination in Action
Cinema (Hong Kong, Durham and London: Hong Kong University
Press/Duke University Press 2005)
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Susan Napier, Anime From Akira to Princess Mononoke:
Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation, Houndmills and
New York: Palgrave 2001
Susan Napier, From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy
and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West, Palgrave 2007.
Aihwa Ong (1999) Flexible Citizenship: The Cultural Logics of
Transnationality, Durham NC: Duke University Press 1999
Darcy Paquet, New Korean Cinema: Breaking the Waves (London:
Wallflower 2009)
Alastair Philips and Julian Stringer (eds) Japanese Cinema: Texts
and Contexts (London and New York: Routledge 2007)
Isolde Standish, A New History of Japanese Cinema (London:
Continuum 2005)
Julian Stringer and Chi-yun Shin (eds) New Korean Cinema,
(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 2005).
Kush Varia, Bollywood: Gods, Glamour and Gossip, London and
(New York: Wallflower/Columbia University Press 2013).
Valentina Vitali, Hindi Action Cinema: Industry, Narratives, Bodies
(Indiana: Indiana University Press 2010)
Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto, Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese
Cinema (Durham, NC: Duke University Press 2000)
Sabrina Qiong Yu, Jet Li: Chinese Masculinity and Transnational
Film Stardom (Edinburgh University Press 2012)
Yingjin Zhang, Chinese National Cinema, (London: Routledge
2004).
Journals:
Asian Cinemas
Cinema Journal
Journal of Chinese Cinemas
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Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema
Jump Cut (http://ejumpcut.org/)
New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film
Senses of Cinema (http://www.sensesofcinema.com/)
Scope (http://nottingham.ac.uk/film/journal/)
Transnational Cinemas
Student Support:
Study skills support is offered in the Library. This covers a number
of areas including:
Academic Writing; Critical Reading; Maths, Numeracy and
Statistics; Time Management; Presentations and Seminars; Note
Taking; and Critical Thinking.
For further details, please contact the Library
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