# Asian Martial Arts Films: Conventions, Institutional History, and Ideology Asian207/CMS272 textbook: [Film (4E 20) Pramaggiore](https://orbiscascade-washington.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01ALLIANCE_UW/1juclfo/alma99330312018901451) [ebook](https://sites.euro.ubbcluj.ro/id/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Pramaggiore-Film.-A-Critical-introduction.pdf) - # intro - ## Yomi Braester: - Background - Area Studies of Asia (modern china) - As an escape mechanism - recognizes local relevance - main focus on Chinese Cinema - Cinema studies - transportive - local cinema resources (microcinemas) - seven gables - grand illusion - interested in Genre - necessarily about a large number of films - context - cultural context - what can or can't be said - **Loving** films - Cinephiles - watch more films - love/obsessiveness - **Analyzing** Films - intellectual - Dialogue should be about permutations MAF allow us - ## Chris Hamm: - Background - Teaches Chinese Literature - teaches this course every other year - MAF closely connected to research - modern chinese popular genre fiction - studied in Taiwan - [martial arts fiction](https://www.tckpublishing.com/wuxia-martial-arts-stories/) - history and role of martial arts literature > film - course goals - MAF as innermost of concentric circles - EA Culture - historical EA cultural interactions with globe - Genre Studies - Film Studies - Humanities - # Section One Course Introduction - ## What is Genre - EAMAF as example of genre - what is genre? - other lectures on youtube - [Film Genres and Hollywood](https://youtu.be/uavggssb_rM?si=evGxMzB7EUIrw0Bd) - but not a hollywood creation - [dr dan cine1601 what are film genres](https://youtu.be/d-H7yxqxO6o?si=iroJf27bNu91efoA) - French for *type* - film, literature, other media - defines a work by its by affinity to other works - generic (adjective) - repetition of themes, conventions - A single film cannot establish a genre. - baguettes look the same but arent exactly the same - genre is self-reflexive - alludes to other films - intertextual - looks itself in the mirror - builds on audience expectations by - confirming or - subverting expectations - EG Kill Bill - Avenging swordswoman - come drink with me - wonder woman may refer to either of the above - requires familiarity to understand - ## How do we define MAF as a genre - Narrative elements - storylines - characters - Thematic Elements - Concerns and issues - Cinematic Elements - ways of manipulating - visual - auditory - Institutional Elements - technical developments and trends in the industry - Presence of Martial Arts - What are Martial Arts - simple definition: - combat techniques - fighting systems - # 武 - [wǔ ](https://www.chinasage.info/chars/fch_wu_martial.htm) - martial; military - Made up of 8 strokes - [止](https://www.chinasage.info/chars/fch_zhi_to_stop.htm) Zhi: to stop; to prohibit; until; footprint radical 77  - [戈](https://www.chinasage.info/chars/fch_ge_spear.htm) Gē: spear radical 62] - distinctions between organized warfare and MA - Warfare focuses on - technology - Collective Power - MA focuses on - capabilities of human body and mind - Individual Power - MA systematized at levels - Styles - techniques - moves with names - acquired through training - Training as theme - developing individual power/skills - happens in a social context - transmitted by a teacher - crucial role/character - in a school - fellow students and teachers become extended family - family also extends in time as a lineage to founder through generations - weight of history and tradition - and hierarchy (junior/senior generations) - Martial code - bushido - japanese - way of the warrior - Wude - martial virtue - xia -virtues of chivalry or a person practicing virtue - Martial arts are a source of power and practicioners should be regulated by a code - The discipline of MA is a way of personal growth, a path to enlightenment - Representation has shaped practice of MA - ## Generic Associations - Nike Commercial analysis - heist film - Spy film - war film - MA Film - Sports Film # lecture 1 - Schedule - sections - office hours - Tuesday - Film 1 - pre-recorded lectures - **class lecture** - Wed - Online response is due - comment on response is due - Thurs - Film 2 - optional film - Readings - **Section** - Sun - Review exercise due on canvas - late or makeup work - due when they are due - late: 10% deduction - >48 hours: 30% deduction - no submissions during the last week of classes - makeup - section participation - (email TA) - submit a set of notes - Films - primary - related - additional reference and ccomparison - The Matrix - to discuss later - Chinese Connection - ideology - bruce lee - nationalism - gender - violence - revenge - Drunken Master - fist of legend - Seven Samurai - bushido - Kurasawa (auteur) - Shaolin Temple & 36th Chamber of Shaolin - Genre - industrial History - Shaw Studios - Masculinity - Touch of Zen - king Hu - swordswoman - choreography - Painted Skin 2 - Ghost stories - Tsui Hark and the Hong Kong new wave - Wong Kar Wai - Ashes of time (Redux) - The Grandmaster - plot - hong kong's "disappearance" - Zatoichi - Japanese - NOT samurai - ronin - yakuza - Lone Wolf and Cub - Hero - Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - nationalism - structure - acting - zhang Ymou - Markets - The Matrix - EAMAF BEYOND East Asia - internationalization - Kung Fu Hustle - Stephen Chow - Slapstick Parody - MAF and commercial Modernity - Paper Tigers - Local Film - post heroic - - Matrix - seen before? - common background - Generic conventions - thematic - technical - "i know kung fu" - QUESTIONS - what characteristics define a genre? - specifically MAF - what distinguishes one genre from another - how do they overlap and mingle? - how tied is MAF to asian cultures and asian national cinema? - what are the commercial and institutional frameworks that have produced MAF - How have technology developments affected the production and the themes of martial arts? - is technology a theme of MAF? - Chinese Connecction - we have all watched a lot of films - how to talk about film - Wu - martial/military - visual tool - poster - movement - dynamics - recreates the chinese character - Mise en scene (meez-on-senn) - putting on stage - composition - relations light and dark - patterns of color - camera position and angle - Blocking - movement within the frame - must take flattening into 2d into account - A surface - Dojo scene (think visually) - Who is "The Sick Man of Asia" - Screengrabs (limit motion) - BL comes to japanese dojo to return painting and seek - revenge? - justice? - BL carries symbol - confronts student - fights whole dojo - "wins" - single shot (alone) carrying the sign - weight on his shoulder - shouldering the burden - entrance and the wall - looks confrontational/assertive - asymmetry - rule of thirds - white/red/red - black robe/red and gold - visual allusions - like a body - string aligns - burden - "bearing his cross" - string crossed - over the antagonist shoulder - higher eyeline - strong wooden beam - key light on BLs face - BL centered in shots - at the end, tableau - BL is vertical - students are scattered - ripple effect - stone landed in water - blocking (closer to camera) - lines of sight - looks like a statue - looking at the calligraphy - martial character - dojo leader is secondary - BL is aiming at the ideal of the Martial - visual symmetry of the sign and BLs pose - formal/visual - visual dimension - individual shots - composition - lines of sight - Thematic Elements - dojo scene - fight - fight between chinese/japanese school - optional film - remake of Chinese Connection - different twist to nationalistic story - ### drunken master - is nationalism an issue in Drunken Master? - if not, what IS the issue? - what sorts of things are martial arts about? - what motivates? - what themes? - prerecorded lectures - Bruce lee - Nationalissm in Chinese connection - history of chinese MAF and Fiction - realism and formalism - how to shoot a kick - readings - intro to film analysis - cinematography camera in time and space - Mise en Scene - films - fist of fury - drunken master - fist of legend - # Section 2: The Kung Fu Subgenre - ## Bruce Lee - Background - Bruce Lee was a Husky 1961-1964 - Dojo on the Ave - First AA Superstar - Key figure in Globalizing MAF - Born SF Touring cantonese performers - grew up in Hong Kong - Became child star - studied dance - boxing - Wing Chun - system developed in southern Cn - legend of a Nun from Shaolin Temple - Anti Manchu secret societies - *Creation of Wing Chun* Judkins and Nielson - studied under Yip Man - 1971 Big Boss - 1972 Fist of Fury - 1973 return to Hollywood to make Enter the Dragon - in July 1973, died suddenly in hong kong (edema?) - remains interred in lakeview cemetery - ## Chinese Connection - #### history/plot - legend about Huo Yuanjia - jingwu athletic association - jingwu-man - modeled on YMCA - exercise and social opportunities for urban youth - rumors he was poisoned and his death followed a bout with a Japanese MA - Chivalric Heros - The Unworthy Scholar from Piang Jiang - The Hero Hua Yuinjia (2020) - Fearless (jet li) - begins with funeral - centered on chen zhen (fictional character) - has become subject of his own serials and films - Fist of Legend (Jet Li) - Legend of the Fist (Donnie Yen) - Theme: Revenge - Cinema of Vengeance (Glaessner) - Simplistic moral framework - clear plot structure - roles - victim - the master (killed) see [[lineage]] - injury to the teacher is an injury to the self - villain - the Japanese - stereotyping - shanghai (early 20thC) - Settlements? - imperialist pressures from japan - meiji restoration (1868) - sino japanese war (1894-95) - japan joins imperial powers of Europe and America - ascent of militarists and political right - puppet state in Manchuria (1932) - Full Scale invasion of China (1937) - War (1937-1945) - hong kong ceded as a colony - Treaty Ports Shanghai and elsewhere - mixed Cn response - avenger - protagonist of the film - MA - the tool for vengeance - the physical display of chinese masculinity - not just Chen Zhen - whole chinese people - js must swallow label "sick man of asia" - validation of chinese power - Cn Nationalism - world view in which NATION serves as central identification - national day - responding to humiliation with aggressive assertion of chines pride - Js not ONLY villains - also south asian guard at garden - protecting white european interests - anti-colonial sentiment in HK - Petrov - Firing squad from various embassies around the world - Masculinity, Martial Arts, Chinese Identity. - BL - physique shirtless contrasted with hairy opponents - costumes - coolie - frail old man - techie nerd - powerful masculine chinese body - final flying kick - spirit - defiance - timeless frozen - ## history of Chinese MA Fiction and Films - ### pre 1970s - fusion of film and earlier narratives derived from historical records, biograpies, and literature - Records of the historian - Tales of (or transmitting) the Extraordinary 7th-9th CE - powers - martial - magical - heroines - vernacular literature 13th-20th c. - spoken language and professional storytellers - Three Kingdom Cycle - dynastic warfare - fate of the empire - military valor - sworn brotherhood - Stories of the Water Margin (outlaws of the Marsh) - bandits and outlaws - vigilante justice - code of honor - Journey to the West - monkey king - buddhist scriptures - adventures - opera versions - first film in china - Dingjun Mountain (1905) - military and martial themes - Modern MA Fiction - Wuxia xiaoshuo "fiction about martial arts and chivalry" - Serialized - first appears in early 20c - urban commercial entertainment - "saturday" fiction - popular through 20s=30s - disappears after 1949 - "New School" revival in 50s-60s - ashes of time - Early MA Film - 1928 Burning of Red Lotus Monastery (temple) - Marvellous Gallants of Rivers and Lakes - 17 sequels - countless imitators - dominated CN Cinema - Mystic flying sword power - Swordswomen were included - woman warrior of the wild river (#6) available online - MA Film craze 20s-30s - production decrease in 30s-40s - revived after war in HK and Taiwan - HK Film - prewar roots - revived after war - Shenguai (fantasy) films - Buddha's Palm (1964) - amazing clip of eagle attacking MAs - Cantonese language MAF - Huang Feihong/Wong Fei-Hung - Mandarin Language MAF - higher production values - Cathay - Shaw Brothers - dramas, comedies, musicals, Swordplay - King Hu - dancelike choreography - strong female characters - Chang Che - bloody violence - macho approach - Wang Yu - Chinese Boxer (1970) Shaw Bros - does the dragon defeat the tiger? - hero avenges teacher against Japanese - hand to hand combat - MA styles and Schools - became "Kung Fu" film - ## Realism and Formalism - what are you saying - how are you saying it? - ### Realism - emphasizes the content - SEEMS to capture flux and spontaneity of events - spectator is drawn into the situation - ### Formalism - emphasizes form - deliberately stylizes - distorts the image - defamiliarizes the spectator - MAF don't typically fall into "Classical" style - realism and formalism can apply to performances also - what happens in a film? - May be a fantastical story but a realist style - this could happen in the way we are seeing it - Film Noir - believable story - exaggerated aesthetic care - Martial Arts - realism? - formalism? - both? - "Realistic" battles and suffering - summoning empathy require "Realism" - "Style" of martial Art - stylish genre reminds us we are watching a film - kung fu jungle - not about realism about aesthetics - western genre - big trucks - extreme close-ups - camera movements - - ## Jackie Chan - #### Drunken Master - ## Jet Li - ### Fist of Legend - ## Realism and Formalism - How to shoot a Kick - building blocks of cinematography - mise-en-scene (frame composition) - editing - Shot breakdown by framing the human figure - six shots - medium shot - dynamics, focused on torso in the center - Long shot - full body stretch of legs - closeup - impact of foot - long shot - result of kick, flying person - Extreme long shot from outside - continued flying person ending in middle of the frame - Long shot > Medium shot - BL asserts his dominance - Formalism/realism? - is it a "realistic" portrayal of a fight? - prowess, also what is possible in the context of the film - combination of the two - Asian architecture excellent to frame the impact - Slow motion opportunity to appreciate the film and the movement - slow motion time distortion - final freeze frame - bare handed against firing squad - lineage - Butch Cassidy and the sundance kid - The 400 Blows (1959) - french New Wave - runs to the edge of the water - turns to look at the camera - lack of clarity - ## Week 3 prerecorded lecture Seven Samurai - japanese MAF dominated by Samurai - is there a Karate film? - Sonny Chiba's Street Fighter films - ## samurai history - Warrior "class" in pre-modern Japan - Composition and role vary over time - "retainer" or "servant" pledged to feudal lord for land grant - Rose to prominence in 12thc. CE as power transferred from Emperor & court to Feudal lords - first Shogunate (military govt) 1192 - symbolic power with emperor but govt in hands of shogun and feudal lords - Kamakura 1192-1333 - Ashikaga (muromachi) 1338-1573 - zen buddhism - tea ceremony flower arranging - began to lose control began a 100 year period of chaos (Sengoku) - Tokugawa Shogunate (Edo (Tokyo) period) 1603-1867 - samurai became closed caste (by birth) - still carried two swords but served as bureaucrats - erosion of status due to merchant class/economy - urban culture began to replace samurai austerity - Meiji Restoration 1868 - abolished feudal system and samurai social privileges - Satsuma Revolt - suppressed by new national army - last samurai (not led by tom cruise) - Samurai as an ideal has continued to influence culture - Bushido - unwritten code of the samurai - martial arts skill - military virtues - confucianism - zen buddhism - Honor (personal integrity)\ - Loyalty (devotion to feudal lord) - Symbolized by the sword - tool - sign of honor - Symbolized by seppuku - devotion - courage - selfless detachment - also tsignificant to the Japanese Culture - Inventing the way of the Samurai (benesch) - Pre-Tokugawa - was unwritten - Tokugawa (1603-1867) - codification - Hagakure - Yamamoto Tsunemoto - preservation nostalgia - Meiji (1868-1912) - bushido for japanese people - loyalty to the emperor, not the feudal lord - book: Bushido the Soul of Japan - Nitobe Inazo - Chivalry and universal ethical values - Militarism and WWII - patriotism and wartime propaganda - martial virtues, japanese essence, sacrifice for emperor (kamikazi) - Post War Crisis - Militarism blamed - assn between Right wing and martial traditions - Seven Samurai - 10 years after japanese surrender - reassessment of martial traditions - proper role for military - what is the samurai? - a group of 7 with different - traits - skills - personalities - each represents different aspects of samurai identtity - comparison with 47 Ronin - considers as a social group - relationship with the peasnts - mirrored by the bandits - Apprenticeship and initiation - Seasoned Warrior kanbei - Noble Youth katsushiro - Peasant wannabe kichiyu - what iss a samurai - plot and narrative - visual images and mise en scene - ## What is a Samurai - standoff in framing - embodiment of values and characteristics - film is a code to be deciphered - formal analysis as a key to - symbolism - meaning - relationships between shapes and meaning - form can insinuate content - frame - shot - sequence - - # Film : a critical introduction - Authors:[Maria Pramaggiore](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au=%22Pramaggiore%2C%20Maria%22) (Author), [Tom Wallis](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au=%22Wallis%2C%20Tom%22) (Author) - Laurence King Publishing, London, England, 2020 - [Second Edition Ebook](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZWcFsTWK1nWDnMSzjTSjWTgTuFVOLd_H/view?usp=drive_link) - ## Ch.2 Approach to Film Analysis - ### Analysis is dependent on - audience - experience - context (eg. historical situation) - preferences - formal training - filmmakers' choices - ### Chapter ideas #### 1. expectations influence - filmmaker's choices - viewer's experiences #### 2. Filmmakers systematically orchestrate details to: - present information - elicit emotions - suggest ideas - ##### Analyzing film's details can provide clues about - structure - themes - ### Viewers form expectations about movies by - learning - labels (genre) - #### Major Modes - ##### narrative - Cause and effect logic - ###### character - development - conflict - invites audience identification/projection - motivations - conclusions - expected to provide closure - may be open-ended/unresovled - ##### documentary - some tell stories - may follow broad structures of narrative films - Statements about real world may be - Explicit - Implicit - Informative - Emotional - ##### avant garde - explore aesthetic capabilities of film as medium - make meaning through - symbols and metaphors - composition - sound - non-narrative or nontraditional narrative - #### Genres, Stars, and Directors - audiences have expectations - genres - stars - directors - filmmakers anticipate these expectations - may satisfy - may modify - may subvert expectations - #### analysis should note expectations and how they are handled - ### Orchestration of Detail - #### Motifs - ##### any detail that takes significance through repetition - lines of dialogue - gestures - costumes - locations - props - music - color - composition - ##### encourage spectators to compare and contrast - characters - plot events - objects - situations - may evolve over time to imply development of - character - situation - #### Parallels - ##### comparison through - narrative element - visual or sound device - ##### Comparison of - characters - events - locations - may serve as metaphors - contribute to meaning - motivations - themes - story - connections between ideas - may motivate reconsidering initial thoughts - #### Details and Structure - ##### Beginnings and endings - openings and closings - are they circular? - have things changed? - ##### Turning points - signal end of one section and beginning of another - progress? setback? - notice editing transitions - fade to black - fade to white - framing - color/grading - notice repetition - #### Creating Meaning through the World Beyond the Film - ##### References to - events - people - ideas/attitudes - ###### intertextual - other films - other art - ##### using - props - recognizable brands - product placement - commentary - satirical brands - music - costumes - titles - actors - casting as a nod to previous roles - cameos - surprise casting - non-actors - celebrities - ##### intertextual references - visual references/allusions - noted: *Run Lola Run*: Spirals - hairstyle - blocking - timeline - references made to *Vertigo* - ##### Avant Garde - Compilation/Appropriation Films - ##### Documentaries - refer to real life - #### The Goal of Film Analysis - ##### Identifying and Articulating themes and meaning - Descriptive Claims - neutral account of the characteristics, may refer to genre and context - Plot Summary - sequential account of film's events - Evaluative Claim - author's beliefs about the film - establish credibility - state criteria for judgement - Interpretive claim - argument about films meaning and significance - make claims about the use of themes using details from the film and considering aspects that support or weaken the claim - may indicate how films affected audiences at different times depending on changing cultural or historical contexts - may provoke or further conversations about issues outside the films themselves - #### Film Style - ##### Classical - hollywood studio - story first - artfulness should contribute to immersion and story - invite viewers to identify and "become part of the story" - ##### Realist - characters, places, eras, spontaneity may take precedence over plot or storytelling - often average/everday people - may be digressive or have content that doesn't further the plot but adds context or information about the characters - not necessarily more 'realistic' - ##### Formalist - Self consciously interventionist - may explore abstract ideas through stories and character - may rely on unusal visual techniques - situated as artistic exploration - Mixed - may draw from multiple styles - may shift between styles to signify - different perspectives - changes in characters or context - #### Film Analysis - Active viewers - noticing details - not taking anything for granted - watch twice - watch film - take notes the second time - chart motifs - ## Cinematography - ### Supports narrative - ### contributes to the viewers - emotional response - intellectual response - aesthetic experience - color - film stock/processing - lighting - filters - inventive and experimental - ### Film and Video Comparison - #### Film - Aperture - emulsion - negative - printed to positive - contact printing (through 1920s) - Optical printer - Master negative printed onto reversal film produces internegative - release prints are struck from internegative - 24fps - Projection: - two bladed shutter - frames are flashed twice - watched at 48fps - Persistence of vision? - phi phenomenon? - Short range apparent motion? - historical: - advantages - higher resolution than video - wider exposure latitude/dynamic range - color saturation - disadvantages - slower process - more expensive - storage and shipping costs - #### Video - to be continued - ### Camerawork - #### The shot - # Genre - science fiction - thematic: - space travel - narrative - over reliance on thought - stylistic - characters (astronauts) - in shaolin temple - scene - training in a dusty courtyard in a temple - group exercise - display of masculinity - - architecture style (columns) bricks, bars on windows - time period, costumes (robes) and hair style (monk vs initiate) - gourd jugs - master appears to be old but is powerful - student tries and fails - hard work daily chores - disciple and master - conflict - student gains awareness of power - newcomer getting training - seemingly irrelevant chores - Close ups of hands and body - close ups of expressions - synchronized sound effect and editing - from medium to close up - Shaolin temple 1982 - formal - training - newcomer - other students relationship - "ya wong" typical dog name like rover - pointed bucket - able to run across rocks (like walking on water) - group exercise - narrative - student cant keep up - distracted - stylistic - long shot in canyon - music - bridge and mist - flowers on the trees create continuity between settings - clowning - chinese ghost story - creative assignment due - participation assessment - editing - collage/relationships to images - comparison - contrasts - create meanings - tempo - length - transitions (time) - sets pacing of film - timing - coordinating transitions with other - visual and sound elements - Story centered editing - time - chronology - condensing/expanding - simultaneity (parallel editing) - rearrange the order (flashback - space - tableau - shot/reverse shot - eyeline match - associational editing - soviet montage - metaphor/abstract ideas - popular in silent era - sequence analysis - how many shots comprise the sequence - 20 - what are main characteristics? - stillness/motion/POV - parallelism - strange place - light/color to show masculine/ghost - tempo got faster - many close-ups of objects Lecture 3 - coursework - by wed response due - sun exercise 3 due - next week - textbook by tues - lect. by thurs - Policies - student conduct code - academic honesty - WAC 478-121 - respectful participation in community - drs - religious accommodations - SafeCampus - well-being - 206-685-7233 - Seven Samurai - 1954 - asian course perspective - from Cn Kung Fu persp. - to Js jidaigeki (historical drama) - different genre conventions - institutional context differs (Js studio system vs HK system) - does it make sense to consider samurai film (SF) along with KFF? - cinematic techniques - genre : director (Kurosawa (AK)) - signature of director : differs from Genre - Auteur v Genre in analysis - watch 5-6 m together - discuss from stills - plot - conflict - characters - themes - Mise-en-scene - visual representation of - conflict - characters - theme - frame structure - formal changes in a shot - contrast/focus - over horizon - wide - sillhouette - rising muountain - looking down on the village - barely contained by the frame - horses moving - conflict? - starting to develop - bandits v village - returning later - topography - establishes the desperation of villagers - timeline for raid - shot 1 - uncertainty of size of group - galloping, swarming - clouds and dark sillhouete - dark figures - no faces - warriors - ominous audio - storm is coming - they are "rising" - season "barren" landscape - thicket - narrow strip of visible activity - claustrophobic - shot 2 - moves right to left - how much can we extrapolate from traditional visual elements and contemporary - painted scroll? - panning - brighter sky - dawn breaking - motion match - change in angle - ### throne of blood - opening sequence - similar scene but different - not clear dynamics - on horseback - samurai? - influenced by john ford - extremely wide - sets into a place - relationship between - small figures, - large landscape - landscape becomes a character - social background - roaming outlaws - numbers as force - hero will be alone or small group - posse - 47 Ronin - stick together - hero is "set apart" - bundle of sticks - part of landscape (camouflage) - harmony with nature - hiding or observing from below - face of the village - deep focus - long lens - perspective - still shot - location shot (wysiwyg) - earth is textured and has detail - background has human habitation - village into the heavens - Shot 3 - contrast of comical villager with realistic? exaggerated suffering - conflict on how to respond to bandits - kill themselves - give in and beg for mercy - fight - "what we did" to keep rice - visit the old man - Sound design - thunder > birds > weeping - villagers are defenseless - foreshadowing - killed samurai - Rikichi's wife - no kids in the scene? in the village? - casting? - content? - "zooom" in through wipes - ## groups/individuals - detail - human factor - emotions - defeated, seated - no one standing - bare dirt - lighting - grouped in wider shots - sense of isolation in tighter shots - exterior shots "exposed" - claustrophobic composition - - mediator - line of sight - themes - role of the martial? - diff from Cn Connx role of indivicual role of group ## Role of Narrative - 3 act structure - introduction - turning point - changes methods or goals - obstacles - turning point - climax - denoument - resolution (possibly closure) - four part structure - exposition leads to turning point - Complicating action leads to central turning point - development (struggle for goals) leads to climax - Epilogue - Motivation - Exposition - Backstory - frame/embedded structure - Episodic structure - Clarity - Unity - characters - closure - unobtrusive craftsmanship # Mise en scene Elements - setting - red square - sculpture - garbage cans - library - lighting - shadow - secluded - bright exposure - exposed - figure - single - seated - solitary - quiet (headphones) - close - couple - standing - active - conflict - distant - composition - medium vs long shot - line of sculpture dividing - converging lines - - setting - hidden - shadowy room - protected but trapped - lighting - natural - key - human figure - kikuchiyo is larger better lit - conflict and response - younger samurai on the left side - composition/framing - kambei enters - center of frame - eveyone looks to the bandits (following kambei) - kikuchiyo still cheated to camera - kikuchiyo blends into outside less shadow less hidden # Swordplay Films 2023-10-24 Week 5 - Housekeeping - social on OCT 27 3:30-5pm - HUB Bowling alley (free) - emphasize weekly responses - 30% minor penalty for lateness # Swordplay Film - ## Touch of Zen - two parts, intermission - fight in bamboo forest end of part one - #Swordplay subgenre - differences from Kung Fu - Defining Conventions - #theme: woman warrior #gender - differs from melodramatic masculinity - feminine genre as a response - ### MAF: study of movement - synchronized movement - moving together - choreography - movement of the camera, - pan - movement of the lens - zoom - change of focal length - King Hu (Hu jinquan) 1932-1997 - first impression - ### beginning/opening shots of films - what is it telling? holding back? - titles (yuzen) - first shot (horror) - spider on web - extreme darkness - glinting light on the web - music - trapped dragonflies - good fortune - smoke - second shot (fantasy) - deep valley little bit of sky - sunlight over the ridge - low clouds - low angle - "... a long time ago" "a kingdom far away" - 7 samurai (approaches this vibe) - Chinese connection (urban) - third shot (aerial view of the village) - sequence - human presence - long tilt down - musical cue - slight tone shifts - sound: birds - flowers/seeds/dry - sinister - crane shot - moving into space - location/tone emphasized - dominated by nature - or working with nature - struggle for survival - immersion - location titles - ruins/abandoned/ghost-town - more smoke - where are we? - two sides to culture imperial chinese tradition - very quiet setting - scholar - knowledge - literature/painting - Isn't Martial Artist - complementary of MA - 36 chambers also starts with school - Politics - Students - Revenge - image (seated at desk) - arrived at extremely composed shot - tools and technology - implements of scholarship - identity as role - contrast with unruly natural world previous - interactions - build from initial images - Shadow falls on desk audio Sting - sillhouette silence - head hat looks like a spider - tiring journey, i know everyone - zoom to eyes - intense closeup - drama of SEEING - Who sees what? - light vs dark - too intense, turn head to side - gu shengau - we see what he sees - he seems confused - our stand in - still useful as "protagonist" - first to emerge - we follow - differences from other protagonists - enter ouyeng - lu they came a month ago - fabric as webs - hiding, creeping around - sitting entrance monks - music change - ouyeng flees - unsettling of reality - the camera - us as audience - visual experience made available to us - three monks - intentional? travelling in a pack - change the sequence/balance - synchronized movement - powerful - danger but not clear what is going on - predator/prey - spider/dragonfly - ### Mulan - portrayal/introduction - camera movement specifically - analysis in cinematic terms - total mess - moving "with" - mulan - close ups - time dilation - power over time - character has time to formulate a solution - distortion in the camera - control over movement - control of situation/space - film is a medium of time - temporal medium - gendered presence - movement of camera - narrative perspective in camera movement - - institutional history # Gender and Shaolin temple - Chinese Ghost Story (TA Presentation) - blending genres (romance, ghost story) - Ashes of Time (Redux) (2008/1994) TA Presentation - ## Shaolin Temple Subgenre - Genre reading - institutional history - Shaw Brothers Studios - Gender and Masculinity - local and national histories - approaches to reading - history and legends - Opening Scene - ## 36th Chamber (1978) - Liu Jialiang - Gordon Liu - Lo Lieh - before opening, no narrative content? - how hard it is? - story of individual? - how far he's gone by the end - description - training - strength - endurance - bare body - silence - masculinity? - tone - facial expressions - sharpness of camera motion - noises - water - rings - vocalizations - music - builds intensity - elements - earth/air/fire/water - spiritual form - body appreciation - releasing energy with movements - reviewing our assumptions - modes of analysis - visual elements - training montage - thematic elements - narrative elements - Cinematographic conventions in genre - - ## Shaolin temple (1982) - Zhang Xinyan - Jet Li - Chung Yuen - opening - no subtitles - narration - looked like advertising/propaganda/documentary) - visibly on stage - have you seen beautiful dancing/combat? isnt this amazing? where did it come from? - on location stupa - beauty of the natural landscape - temple - martial music - heroic - cave of bodhidharma - historical - who walked on (broke?) these stones - modern day/combat - students still training today! - Acousmetre - number of films made in mainland china: 0 - we are here - cultural integration - showed the cave - narrator - commercial - product? - recruiter - propaganda - voice familiar in cn media from - documentary films - focus on specific subject - first - void/abstract settings - visually - individually focused - second: - more diverse - community/collective focus - verite style - an appeal? - conventions highlight differences - Other examples - ### once upon a time in china III (1993) - tsui hark - intimidation? who? - International market - nationalistic themes - we have SO MANY POMPOMs and MUCH ribbon and silk - settings - number of people on screen - grandiloquent - setting up narrative in advance - connection to history - tradition - ### Mulan (2020) - live action - donnie yen (i have a secret also) - chi is powerful - 4oz can move 1k lbs - mistaking slow motion for impact - conventions? subversions? - visual? - thematic? - narrative? - ### master/student - (i knew your father) - voice-over - do better - "let it out" rather than discipline - she made it up the mountain on her first try - not "forced" into it - struggle - crane shot - inserts, wide angle, group she's with size of the mountain - sublime nature (low angle looking up at statue @top) - mountain: peak (temple) buddhist connotation - ### Think about when watching Touch of Zen - training montage? - first Mulan 1930s - Conventions - work together to define genres - visual/formal - story/narrative - ideas/issues/themes - Gender and MAF: - Masculinity # Writing about film also review exploring space techniques in practice camera movement ## Seven Samurai - Why is it important to consider who the director of _Seven Samurai_ is? Give an example from another of Kurosawa's films as a key to understanding what Kurosawa tries to achieve in _Seven Samurai._ In isolation, Seven Samurai might be misread as a chanbara or kung-fu film which valorizes submission, discipline, austerity, and kenosis (obedience to the point of death) in service of an ideology of authority, social order, rigid class structure and masculine honor. But in the context of Kurosawa's oeuvre, Seven Samurai presents a subversive response to this ideology, though wrapped in the generic conventions of chanbara. Chūshingura (47 Ronin) depicts the essential dilemma of individuals who are devoted to an inhuman power structure -- bound by honor to remain loyal to an ideology which ultimately destroys them. This same plight is the moral center of Fist of Fury, as Chen Zhen navigates his competing duties: to vengeance for his master's honor, to solidarity with the Chin Woo Athletic Association, and to obedience to the Shanghai government. In both of these martial stories, the heroes' "victory" consists of fulfilling all of the claims on their loyalty, and dying while retaining their personal honor. Considering the 1952 film Ikiru may highlight the individualism embedded in Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Setting aside the generic differences between the films, and the overlapping casting; both films explore themes of mortality and non-attachment, the relationships between the powerful and powerless, and reciprocal responsibility between the individual and the community. Watanabe demonstrates the power of the individual who transcends a rigid class based social system. His liberation is based on his terminal diagnosis, and his victory lies in leading an interclass, intergender collective to accomplishing a modest goal despite the overwhelming bureaucracy set against him. Kanbei is introduced having his head shaved, placing his duty outside of his own masculine honor, and his victory lies in finding samurai willing to "debase" themselves by performing their role without the social gains that come from it, and leading an interclass and intergender collective to victory against greater military and technological power. Kanbei and Watanabe are honorable men, not because of their austerity, their discipline, or their obedience to power, but because they are humble, tenacious, and committed to interclass, intergender solidarity. They choose loyalty to humanity over loyalty to legalism and commit their individual agency against social expectations. +++ human first not system first about individual agency and responsibility to the community than a . ikiru finds fulfillment when he abandons his social expectations role they are honorable men. "the reason i made myself a mummy was... for my son's sake." . The 47 Ronin to code above conscience In Fist of Fury, martial in Ikiru, Kanji Watanabe discovers his use of "duty" to his son has obscured a higher duty to the good of the community. samurai were not protected by the martial code and owed it no loyalty this actually misses the point of 7S. but would likely be a significant theme in other Chanbara films , while criticizing nameless bureaucracy and glory-seeking co-writers Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni - kurosawa is a humanist chinese connection depicts martialism to be the solution to problems seven samurai depicts martialism to be the source of problems and the solution is human connection/kindness depicted in ikiru zen non-attachment of "inevitability of death" mortality/ samurai "maybe this is the one that kills us" parallels terminally ill bureaucrat themes of power villagers complaining about sewage pond he isn't even living The best way to protect your place in this world is to do nothing at all is this really what life is about Acousmatic voice 7S should we contact the magistrate? lots more have to die before its your turn i hardly feel alive unless my stomach hurts humor AND pathos cancer/ulcer stickman and crying villagers ikiru is liberated by death kambei is trapped by survival mitsuo goes off to war certificate of appreciation not going to work 5 days stayed single 20 years for mitsuo offers author sleeping pills i can't bring myself to die feeding dog feeding samurai feeding rice to misfortune teaches us the truth we only realize how beautiful life is when we chance upon death but few of us are able to face death rebelling against life at your age your rebellious spirit moves me human duty to enjoy life pachinko band (horn section) dancing women took his hat buy a new hat switch to a new self ecce homo cross called cancer moment he started living gather flowers life is brief song today will never return antidote to the alienation is becoming part of what is going on around you being part of the party reveling in being the cause of a traffic jam Our place crams three generations in two rooms. It's like civil war. the mummy you cant blame it all on your son unless he asked you to make a mummy of yourself. ## 36th Chamber his week we are thinking about (among other things) genres and sub-genres. Like the films from Week 02 (_Chinese Connection_, _Drunken Master_), this week's films (_36th Chamber of Shaolin_, _Shaolin Temple_) can be considered kung fu films. But they can also be considered a sub-type of the kung fu film: the Shaolin film. So what connects the two types, or genres, and what distinguishes them from each other? Choose one of the films from Week 02 and one from this week; identify two significant themes or plot elements they share, and two significant themes or plot elements that show a difference or a contrast. drunken master v 36th chamber 1. Shared themes: 1. training 2. gender 2. differences 1. Solo vs collective 2. political power vs kung fu power 36th chamber of Shaolin, a Shaw Brothers film, and Drunken Master, a Golden Harvest production, represent two distinct subgenres of Martial Arts Films. Although there are some visual and stylistic similarities in production design, cinematography, sound, and choreography, there are significant differences in their aesthetics as well. Where 36 Chambers is more evenly lit and has greater color saturation, and is almost or entirely shot on sound stages; Drunken Master leans on higher speed film which produces less intense color but allows the use of more outdoor sets and locations. Where 36 Chambers has many scenes bursting with extras, Drunken Master is largely focused on the Student and Master. And though the sound effects of both films are quite intense, the music is different. 36 Chambers has much larger orchestral score and Drunken Master is less ambitious and folksier. Much of the difference may stem from the budgetary constraints of Golden Harvest, and the sizable production team and extensive experience that was available for Shaw Brothers films; but the aesthetic produced by the two approaches each have their appeal. Besides these similarities, there are thematic consistencies that denote they are in the same genre. Both films focus on a young character training for combat, using elaborate devices at the instruction of a master, and both films are almost exclusively male environments and relationships, with no significant romance or women characters. Wong Fei Hung and San Te are also both historical figures, though they lived hundreds of years apart. In contrast to these parallel generic conventions, there are some important distinctions. 36th Chamber highlights the collective identity of the temple, where Drunken Master emphasizes independence. The Shaolin Temple is a historically situated institution, with traditions, detailed systems and rituals, where Sam Seed/Beggar So is a wandering old man who survives on his wits (and skills at three card monty). The culmination of 36th Chamber is a collective one, San Te takes the Shaolin Kung Fu to the lay people outside the temple to build collective power, while Wong Fei Hung defeats Yim Tit-sam alone (while his two father figures watch). The guiding principle seems different as well. 36th Chamber identifies the value of kung fu power to be essentially political. Kung Fu is used to resist Manchu occupation. Drunken Master positions kung fu as an end unto itself, where power is cultivated and measured in combat, but even the Master seems indifferent to the moral implications of power or the need to cultivate character beyond charisma and fortitude.