Exploring the Creative World of American Film…Chinese style!

(Joseph)

Last week I embarked on a somewhat challenging and intimidating task: teaching the famous American film Citizen Kane to junior-level Chinese students with no experience studying film at all…and all this in less than 45 minutes. Of course, I did not really teach as much of the film as I would have liked, but we covered an amazing amount of film in our limited time.

Thankfully, the students had watched the film before our class meeting, and they even completed a study guide that I made for them in order to focus our much-concentrated discussion of this very dense film. For those of you who don’t know, the film Citizen Kane (1941) is basically a textbook for every film device imaginable (except color, of course); therefore, I typically use it in my film class as an excellent review of film techniques such as cinematography, mise en scene, editing, and sound. The Chinese students were very excited to be studying a film, which is a vast departure from their typical studies. In fact, when I asked students whether they enjoy watching movies, many claimed that they would, but they have no time for such luxuries—all of their time is spent on schoolwork.

In order to give the students context before our study of the film, I asked them questions about William Randolph Hearst (on whom the film is based) and the concept of the American Dream. Hearing Chinese students speak of the American Dream was amusing, but they eventually ended up with freedom and the pursuit of happiness, which is often (thought to be) through the acquisition of money. We charted how this movie shows the evolution of a man who once had nothing but ended up having everything (the romantic and iconic “rags to riches” story)—except the love and warmth he enjoyed as a child before he was adopted by bankers who groomed him into an astute businessman and entrepreneur. We spoke about how the film is deeply critical of the American Dream—and the students all “got it”. A few spoke of how Kane loses his heart and love because of his pursuit of wealth and greed. Others spoke of how controlling Kane becomes, and how he often alienates people around him—even those close to him.

After we spent about five to ten minutes setting the stage for the themes of the film, we had a very productive session of my teaching them basic film terms and then analyzing three or four scenes from the film in some detail. The problem, however, was that the Chinese students are not accustomed to participating in class, so when I “opened the floor” to their individual opinions and ideas, most were deadly silent. A few frank students and teachers explained to me that (a) Chinese teachers do all the talking during class while the students’ job is to listen, (b) Chinese students are never asked to voice their opinions and ideas during class, (c) asking questions is perceived as a sign of weakness or lack of intelligence, so most remain quiet, and (d) closely related to c, Chinese students are afraid or embarrassed to speak what they consider to be poor English in front of their classmates and teachers. One brave student even added that (in my own words, not his) the Chinese school system does not inspire creativity, as it is not a requisite part of the big national exam; thus film, a creative medium, is completely foreign to these students. So how did we manage to have “productive sessions” of film study? I showered praise on students who bravely participated, which encouraged others to do the same. I kept saying, “I’m really a nice guy,” which always got a laugh. Some struggled to express their ideas, but most were quite good—not only in their English-speaking skills but also in their analysis of the scenes I showed them. See, most Chinese students can read, write, and listen well enough in English, but they lack practice in actual speaking. Having taken German myself for over six years, I can relate to this as well; I would always earn As on written and listening skills, but, when called upon to speak, I would often stutter the words in very broken German.

Regardless, my Chinese students gained confidence with each successive scene I showed them, and they began to feel more comfortable discussing camera angles, placement of characters and objects within the frame, lighting, and sound effects—we even discussed numerous symbols that appear throughout the film. In my classes at Dover-Sherborn, I would have taken two or three classes to cover this material—but I would have waited a lot more for students to come up with the answers than I did in my Chinese classes, in which I admittedly did end up answering too many of my own questions. What can I say? I felt rushed for time, and I wanted to show them the “arc” of three specific scenes that build off each other in order to have some cohesion or unity in my mere 45-minute lesson on a film we could discuss for a week or more. The teachers told me to simply call on random students, which is what teachers here do, but I felt awful putting unwilling and habitually reserved students in an unwelcome spotlight with a foreign teacher—regardless of the fact that he claims he’s “a nice guy.” A few classes were much more responsive and talkative, but most were far too quiet. I believe that, after a few more classes with me, I would have much more of the class talking, but it takes time to challenge what the traditional education system values: quiet discipline and unwavering attention to what teacher says.

Whatever I did, however, must have worked, because I’ve been invited to three additional classes to continue my/our discussion of the film. I’ve even been invited—by very special invitation—to teach two senior-level classes, which are typically off-limits because 100% of their class time is dedicated to reviewing for the national exam…on which film is certainly not tested. I rest assured, however, that in my mere 45 minutes of teaching film to my Chinese students, I have taught them to be more astute in their understanding of visual art. Of that, I am quite proud.

On a completely un-related but culturally important note (and for those still reading this blog), the Chinese celebrate a National Woman’s Day on March 8 every year. When I asked a female teacher what this means to the Chinese people, she explained that, in a country that has often elevated the status and respect of men at the expense of women, this day is observed for women to celebrate and remind the Chinese people of the many important contributions women have made to this culture. So what do women do? They go out together and celebrate by drinking tea and having dinner together in the afternoon and evening while the men take over their afternoon classes. I have been led to believe that this is a very understated and “subtle” holiday or observance, a gentle but culturally important reminder. I’m glad this holiday exists—although I believe that Chinese women have earned the right to perhaps drink more than just tea…or maybe celebrate once a month, at least. I think Chinese women deserve a lot more recognition. In my humble opinion.