UCLA Center for 
East Asian Studies



Educational Films
on ASIA

Back to  COUNTRY/REGION
      Index

  View by
           TOPIC

    View 
FILM SOURCES




Search the CEAS website for information on East Asia



Browse the comprehensive
Education Resources Page






Return to
CEAS Home

Educational Films on ASIA

View by COUNTRY/REGION
               
                -GENERAL ASIA-
                     

*NOTES:  The number listed along with film titles refers to video length in minutes.  Where two prices are listed, the first is for purchase and the second for rental.  In many instances discounts are available for purchase or rental of more than one title.  Sources for these videos are indicated by the abbreviation following the capsule description.  See "FILM SOURCES" for a key to the abbreviations and for addresses, phone numbers, and weblinks.

Brotherhood of Words, A     (30 minutes)
Comparison of how Western and Third World media choose the stories they publish or broadcast. Includes looks at Zimbabwe, Morocco, the Philippines, and India. 
<$99>  
[CC]

Delicate Balance, The     (30 minutes)
Malaysia is the biggest producer of rubber, palm oil, and tin.  Resource exploitation and export driven industry dominate the Malaysian economy.  This video looks at the impact of economic change on ethnic harmony and social structure. 
<$99>  
[CC]
 
Long Search, The
Eight part BBC series produced by Peter Montagnon and hosted by Ronald Eyre. One part looks at Buddhism in Sri Lanka, another at Buddhism in Japan, and another at Hinduism in India.  Dated but still useful.

Marco Polo: Explorer or Imposter?     (59 minutes)
Although purported to be a factual travel journal, Marco Polo's Il Milione is now considered a work of historical fiction. Scholars-including Dr. Frances Wood, author of Did Marco Polo Go to China? -cannot reconcile the journal's notable omissions, incorrect details, and derivative information- or the fact that Polo is unmentioned in the official records of Kublai Khan, whom he allegedly served with such distinctions. This thought-provoking program builds a convincing case for the theory that Marco Polo wrote much of his account from secondhand sources such as travelers he met while a trader in Kashgar, the crossroads of East and West. 
<Purchase $149/Rental $75>  
[FHS]

Mini-Dragons, The
Series of four programs examines the politics, economics, and societies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. 
[F]
 
Pacific Century, The
Ten part series produced by Alex Gibney and written by his father Frank Gibney. Broadcast on PBS in 1993.  Highly recommended.  Includes newsreel footage, selections from feature films, and interviews with scholars and participants in the history of Pacific Asia since the Opium War in 1839. Programs include:
   The Two Coasts of China
       -Traces current economic and political issues back to their roots in Asia.
   From the Barrel of a Gun
       -Examines the powerful force of Asian nationalism.
   Writers and Revolutionaries
       -Looks at the ideas that changed the course of history in East Asia.
   Reinventing Japan
       -Looks at the peculiar relationship between Japan and the United States.
   The Meiji Revolution
       -Examines Asia's first great response to Western challenge. 
   Inside Japan Inc.
       -Looks at Japan's powerful system of state-guided capitalism. 
   Big Business and the Ghost of Confucius
       -Examines Asia's newly industrialized countries.
   The Fight for Democracy
       -Examines the link between economic success greater democracy. 
   Sentimental Imperialists
       -Looks at American attitudes toward Asia from 1776 to the present. 
   The Pacific Century
       -Examines America's future as a "Pacific nation."
There’s an excellent book by Frank Gibney to accompany the series as well as a textbook, teacher’s guide, and student’s guide designed to be used with the series. Particularly strong on the Meiji Restoration, the impact of the American occupation on Japan, and on American imperialism in China and the Philippines. Good segments on the struggle for democracy in the
Philippines and in Korea.  
[PBS]

Back to TOP