final reminder for all sorts of things

Everything, including final projects, weekly posts, and whatever you left behind, is due by the end of Thursday.
For papers, email it to ec193209@ohio.edu. Make sure you get my response by Friday. If not, email your paper again.
For final projects, upload it to our class dropbox account. If the storage space is not enough, you can delete the readings, or create another dropbox account with your own id, and share it with filmsofwkw@gmail.com. BE AWARE NOT DELETE OTHER PEOPLE'S PORJECT!!! WRITE ME AN EMAIL ONCE YOU FINISH UPLOADING AND MAKE SURE YOU GET MY RESPONSE BY FRIDAY.
For class evaluation, if you weren't there when we did the evaluation, and you're still willing to submit one for our class, please visit the School of Film office (Lindley 378) during office hours and ask for the sheets.

Look forward to your projects!
Ellen

examples for wkw final project

The project is inspired by three filmmakers, Yasujiro Ozu, Wim Wenders, and Hou Hsiao-Hsien. If you want to conduct your final project by analyzing one or more particular cinematic elements employed among several wkw's films, you can refer to this example.

This project is inspired by an experimental filmmaker, Chick Strand. If you choose to complete your project by focusing on one specific film of WKW, and analyzing one or more elements within that film, you can refer tho this project. It's also applicable for those who are dealing with a series of WKW's films. A project description was handed out in class on Thursday. No matter which way you're doing your final project, you can always refer to that hand-out if you have no clue how to start your project description or presentation.

Final Project and Presentation

For you final project, you can choose to work on either one of the following formats (You'll have to notify me by May 31 in class which format are you going to work on):

1.     Your creative project for this class can be performed in any kinds of format: graphics, videos, crafts, music, or any types that you can think of. Your inspiration can come from one or multiple films, or cinematic/narrative elements.

2.     Your Final paper (8-10 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt.) for this class should focus only on one film from Wong Kar-Wai’s oeuvre. You may either examine a topic we covered in class in more depth, or select an area of interest that we did not directly address. Quotations from at least two readings assigned for class, and at least three readings excluded from the syllabus are required. For online sources, they must only be quoted if they could be classified as academic journals.

Your presentation for the creative project should have at least the following elements – though how you construct the presentation is up to your discretion: (It's always welcome if anyone working on a writing assignment wants to do a presentation as well.)

a.     (A rough draft of your creative work) with a brief introduction of your topic for the final project, including a short review of the important literature on it, and the general approach you propose to follow.

b.     A short clip (approximately 3 minutes) from your selected films as to support your argument.

c.     The presentation should be around 8-10 minutes.

Presentation will be on June 2 in class.

Your final paper is due June 9 by email. (Make sure you get my confirmation email) 

Your creative project is due June 9 by turning in your work to the School of Film office @ Lindley 378.

week7.k.w

Wong Kar-Wai claims that 2046 is about promise, but pretty evidently it's at the same time about making changes and letting go of the past. A series of transformation happens on our leading character, Chow Mo-wan and his past/present relationships with other females somehow hint on this notion.
Tony Leung played out the same character, Chow Mo-wan, in both In the Mood for Love and 2046; however, besides those similarities (name, appearance, outfit...) passed down from the earlier In the Mood for Love, many more different characteristics have been displayed throughout the later 2046.

At the Cannes press conference, Tony Leung said, "This film is about a man who is trying to get rid of his past. Wong told me that it was the same character as before, but that I should treat him as a completely new character. This was quite different and challenging to do, so I asked Wong if I could at least have a mustache to represent this change in the same character for me." Leung was granted the mustache and, indeed it, does help make the transition for the viewer as well. (Brunette, 102)

Watch the clip and consider how the notion of making changes is portrayed in 2046 through either the protagonist, Mr. Chow, or other characters/cinematic elements that you would like to discuss.

The DVD I showed today has too many scratches, which resulted in several scenes being skipped. If you want to catch up with those missing parts, 2046 is available on youtube with English subtitle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNKn5O_XmwA&playnext=1&list=PL0FD52C22B28F7E5B

week6.k.w

Above is an alternative ending for In the Mood for Love, in which the two protagonists have their last encounter in Cambodia.

Watch the clip and consider which ending you feel like working better in contributing and developing the overall atmosphere or narrative for In the Mood for Love. If you like, you're always super welcome to share another ending created by you, which you feel like working better according to your understanding of the film.

PS. It's natural that different people have different perspectives and understanding of the same film, so don't worry about arguing for the alternative ending which wasn't selected as the official ending for In the Mood for Love by the filmmaker.

week5.k.w

"Wong relies once again on voice-over, but in [Happy Together] its role is somewhat reduced, more conventionally, to providing minimal exposition, as well as the intimate calibration of Yiu-fai's feelings. In the earlier films, the very existence of so much voice-over was a sign of the characters' alienation from one another, but Happy Together actually contains a great deal of dialogue. The alienation remains, but it's shown through the more conventional--and perhaps ore emotionally involving--method of having characters talk to (and scream at) each other." (Brunette, 74)

Before the screening, I introduced Happy Together as a gay film, which cares less about the social-political issues surrounding the notion of homosexuality. In Teo's reading, a debate on whether Happy Together should be categorized as a gay movie was deployed by introducing Edward Lam's critique of the film published in City Entertainment (See Teo 105: "A Man and a (Wo)man"). Teo, having a counter viewpoint from Lam, analyzed the role of our two protagonists by quoting one dialogue between them, and augured that Wong was trying to "parodies the notion of the surrogate woman and the idea of acting like a man" in Happy Together. (Teo 108)

For this week's response, either investigate how dialogue is being used in Happy Together, how it is different/similar to the voice-over in the film and how it contributes to the overall meaning of the film, in consideration of WKW's earlier works or analyze how those dialogues (or other techniques) in Happy Together are adopted to complicate the discourse of homosexuality.

* Happy Together is available on netflix (although not for instant watch). Our library also has a VHS copy with English subtitle aviable at the 4F circulation desk, and there are players right next to it.

[Dialogue 1: Lai gets sicks and sleeps on the sofa. Ho tries to wake him up]

HO: How do you feel?

LAI: Terrible.

HO: You're feverish.

LAI: Of course I am... jogging in that unbearable cold

HO: Didn't know you're so weak... getting sick so easily... Can you get up?

LAI: For what?

HO: Cook something... We haven't eaten for two days!

LAI: Are you cold blooded or what? Asking a sick man to cook for you?

(Lai goes cooking...)

[Dialogue 2: Ho is lying on the bed as Lai sleeps on the sofa. He goes over to the sofa and snuggles up to Lai] (see Teo 108-9)

LAI: Why do you want to sheep here where we're so pressed for space?

HO: Because I like it.

LAI: Don't you think this is too small for us?

HO: No it's comfy.

(Ho gives Lai a bite)

LAI: Ow! Why are you biting me?

HO: I'm hungry.

LAI: Do you want to sleep here on the sofa?

HO: Why?

LAI: Because I'll sleep on the bed then.

HO: Don't go on about it. Just go to sleep.

LAI: Or else you take the bed and I'll sleep on the sofa.

HO: What an old fusspot you are.

(Lai stnads up and gets into the bed. Ho follows, and again tries to snuggle up to Lai)

HO: You are not so heartless, are you?

LAI: We are tight for space.

HO: Not at all

(Ho climbs on top of Lai)

HO: I'll get on top and we'll just sleep like this.

(Ho lies on top, his face digging into Lai's neck)

LAI: So you want to sleep here?

HO: Are you going to be like that?

(Lai pushes him aside and tries to get up)

HO: All right... I'll sleep here. Let's sleep together.

LAI: All right. Go to sleep. But don't you trifle with me.

HO: Who, me? Don't you trifle with me.

(He quickly plants his lips on Lai's cheek)

Give us a kiss! Good night.

Start working on your midtern paper!! No weekly response for Fallen Angels!