Southeast Asian 188: Cinema of Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian 188: Cinema of Southeast Asia

This Upper Division, seminar-style class introduces students to the modern history and politics of Southeast Asia, from the 1940s to the 2010s, through the lens of cinema and the frame of memory. From American B-Movies to Japanese anti-war features, media monarchs to Indie film-makers, spectral spouses to exorcist monks, Cambodian Claymation to Indonesia film noir, we explore cinema as a vehicle of propaganda, remembrance, experimentation, repression, expression and resistance – but most of all, as a theater of memory. Our line-up includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, with perspectives on Burma from the US, Japan and Taiwan, and Sino Indonesian and Hmong Thai movies. All course films and texts will be made available free to all UC Berkeley students on our bCourse site, via live-streaming and Youtube. Structure & format: This is a seminar course, not a lecture series. Students are expected to participate actively in class, having prepared questions, read the texts and reviewed the weekly movie. During Remote Instruction (Spring 2021), from Week#2 onward, the Tues (Async) Lecture will be set aside for the weekly film, and Thurs Sync Lecture will be dedicated to discussion. From Week #2, students will introduce the films and lead the weekly discussions. Assessment & Assignments: Active Participation: 10%. Oral Presentation: Leading & Facilitating Weekly Discussion: 10% Weekly Responses/Film Reviews: 8 x 1 page reviews @ 5% each: 40% Midterm Essay: 4 pages: 20% Final Project: Film Review Essay or Research Essay (8 Pages): 20% Course Materials: All assigned readings will be made available on bCourse, in PDFs, links, or access to UCB streaming rights for assigned movies.