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East Asian Studies




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Educational Films on ASIA


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f

architecture / art / calligraphy dance / flower arrangement
geisha / literature / martial arts music / tea ceremony / theater

aRTS

ancestor worship
caste system / children
communes / community / crime
domestic violence / education
elderly / family / fashion
female infanticide / festivals
gender relations
homelessness / housing
marriage / migration / parenting population / poverty / retirement
stereotypes / students / tradition
western culture / women

CULTURE & SOCIETY

agriculture / conglomerates
economic development / economy
foreign trade / entrepreneurship
government policy / industry / labor
marketing / poverty / re-education
reform / trade / transportation  

ECONOMY

development / deforestation
ecology / protection
water shortage

eNVIRONMENT

china / india / japan / thailand

fOLKLORE & MYTHOLOGY

landmarks
rural regions / urban regions

gEOGRAPHY

abortion / addiction
doctors / family planning
medicine / mental health

HEALTH

chinese dynasties / daimyo
feudalism / foreign invasion
geisha / indian civilizations japanese dynasties / nationalism
samurai / silk road

hISTORY (pre-1800)

1911 revolution
battle of tsushima
boxer rebellion
chinese dynasties / cold war
cultural revolution / hiroshima
japanese dynasties / khmer rouge
korean war / long march
meiji revolution / pearl harbor
propaganda / rape of nanjing
tiananmen square / vietnam war
world war II

hISTORY (post-1800)

crime / law
law enforcement / organized crime
prison systems / punishment

LAW

film / media bias
media perceptions / propaganda
pop stars / television

mEDIA

cory aquino / chiang kai-shek
kublai khan / confucius
dalai lama / deng xiaoping
genghis khan / indira ghandi
rajiv ghandi / hirohito
kublai khan / ferdinand marcos
mao zedong / russi mody
akio morita / murasaki shikibu
ogodei / onue baiko
ossian / matthew perry
pol pot / marco polo
qin shi huang / franklin d. roosevelt
ravi shankar

pERSONALITIES

colonialism / communes communism / democratization
diplomats / dissidents
human rights / imperialism
land reform / one-child policy
prison systems / re-education
revolution 

pOLITICS

buddhism / catholicism / christianity
confucianism / daoism enlightenment / hinduism / islam
missionaries / monks
religious practice / zen culture

RELIGION & PHILOSOPHY

armed forces / battles
cold war / communism
foreign invasion/occupation
khmer rouge / korean war
marital law / propaganda
rebellions/revolutions
samurai / vietnam war
warlords / world war II

WAR

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.

While this is an extensive list, there's obviously much that I have not included.  If you have any suggestions or comments please contact me at <cdube@isop.ucla.edu> or Clayton Dube, UCLA Center for East Asian Studies, 11266 Bunche Hall, Los Angeles, California 90095-1487 or (310) 825-0007.  I would like to make this list more useful to educators by including films and videos particularly appropriate for elementary and junior high school students.  Most of the titles listed here are intended for senior high or college students.

I have found many feature films useful in teaching about Asia, but I have not included these excellent resources (e.g. Zhang Yimou’s To Live [Huozhe] for China since 1945, Ray’s Apu triology for rural India, and Imamura’s Black Rain for the prejudice suffered by atomic bomb survivors) here. In time, I hope to develop a teacher's guide to such films, but in the interim, I encourage you to visit the excellent USC Asian Films Online website.

Clayton Dube
July 1997, updated June 2001


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