Hollywood is the place to go if you want to make movies—right? Not necessarily. A fascinating video about the history of 20th century Asian cinema discusses the reflections of Japanese culture in the works of directors Yasujiro Ozu, Ishiro Honda, and Akira Kurosawa, as well as how the communist government impacted film production in China through the 1966 Cultural Revolution. Additionally, the video addresses the popularization of martial arts films from Hong Kong with stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, and the beauty and depth of films from India—which happens to be the largest film industry in the world.

Concepts

film, film analysis, film making

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Additional Tags

visual and performing arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Have class members complete a KWL chart about cinema from Japan, China, Hong Kong, and India, and reflect on what they learned after watching the video
• Show Godzilla (1954) in a social studies or film class, and have class members draw parallels from the film and post-war Japan
• Create a cross-curricular lesson with Throne of Blood or Ran in which language arts learners analyze the adaptations of the original Shakespeare plays, and film students compare the techniques used as an evolution of Kurosawa's style
• Incorporate into a film unit on Bollywood or when discussing prominent Indian filmmakers

Classroom Considerations

• Provide a handout with names of all of the mentioned titles from the video, as the narration moves quickly
• Part of a longer series on film history from Crash Course

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Filmmakers and film enthusiasts alike will appreciate the explanations and references
• Provides a great starting point for the discussion of world cinema

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.9-10.2 SL.11-12.2