Film as a historical source
Or: How to get class credit when all you did was watch a movie

    One of the nice things about studying modern history is that a lot of it can be done by watching movies. Film is one of the most important ways that modern culture reflects on itself. This is particularly true in Japan, where the Samurai film fills the same role as the American Western in generating myths about the national past. For this class you may watch pretty much any  film made in the place we are studying (or film about the place we are studying) you would like and write a review of it. 
Picking and getting the movie
What movie you would like to see is determined in part by what sort of thing you like and what you can get a hold of.
    First, you need to pick out a movie. Some of you can probably think of half-a-dozen possibilities right off the top your head, and some of you are wondering if Godzilla would count (I suppose it would.) There are a number of ways to come up with a movie. The Internet Movie Database and Amazon.com are places to look for information about movies. You can also ask the professor for suggestions. I have a fair number of movies I can loan out. Remember that the point of watching this movie is not entertainment (although it will probably be entertaining.) The point is to be able to say something about Asia. You certainly can say something after watching pop entertainment like Shaolin Soccer, but the assignment is easier when you pick something like Dersu Uzala, which was intended by the people who made it to say somthing Big About Asia.
Getting the movie
I have limited number of  films that I can give out to students, as does the library. Through the wonders of Interlibary loan you can get almost anything. You can also buy or rent movies, which costs money. If you can get a couple students together I may be willing to rent or buy it for you. You can also borrow them from other people in class, and I will be happy to arrange showings in the library (which has a nice big viewing room) if we can get a few people together.  
Writing about movies
    The final result of this should be a brief paper of a couple pages or so that says something about the movie. I do not want a plot summary, although you may want to include one, and I am not as interested in cinematography and such as I am in what you can learn about Asia, Asia people, or the individual artists associated with the film. One way to look at these films is as straight historical documents, but it is probably a lot more helpful to see them as expressions of individual directors' and actors' questions about modern life and the meaning of their national histories. You need to keep asking yourself what the director (most of these are director films) is trying to do or say or answer with this story. Remember that movies are things made by people, the scenes that are there or not there, the things characters say, the scenery and even the music are there for a reason. You may want to come talk to me about your film after you have watched it and before you start writing. There is no right or wrong way to write the paper, but if you sit through Dersu Uzala you should be able to come up with more than "Manchuria is cold."