Since my last entry, the days have passed in a blur. My fellow students seem to be getting burnt out and I am finding it hard to concentrate at the end of our 7- or 8-hour days. The past few days have seen some rather interesting stuff.
Monday morning started with Beijing Film Academy lecturer Yuan Yuanying talking about two famous stars of early mainland Chinese cinema. She started out her lecture with a description of the roles played by woman in traditional Chinese opera culture, then moved on to how they appeared in the 1930s.
Shanghai was a big center of moviemaking due to its unique situation, being split between three governments - the Chinese city, Frenchtown (The French Concession) and the International Settlement; the city saw itself as cosmopolitan and super-modern, a vision of a gleaming future on the banks of the Huangpu River. Audiences flocked to films in large numbers - the rich arriving in cars, the middle class by tram, and the lower classes arriving by the grace of their own two feet.
Her lecture focused on the tragic career of 阮玲玉 - Ruan Lingyu, a silent film actress. Ruan was pretty notable because she always played women whose lives had been hit by tragedy. Her own life was tragic as well, as she committed suicide in 1935.
After that,Yuan talked about 陳波兒 Chen Bo'er, who was a film actress, but later became the head of the Institute of Performing Arts. She died in 1951 of a heart attack.
Following our lunch, noted professor of Chinese cinema Dr. Chris Berry lectured on seperating Nation and Cinema in China. The discussion followed the outline of his book China on Screen: Cinema and Nation. His book was pretty interesting, but the lectures really summarized the chapters, which I had read in advance.
This was quite trying, as the thing I hate the most in a lecture is repetition of materials I already know. As I've been a China Studies student for so incredibly long, that I know a lot of stuff that is covered in lectures. This frustration came to a head long ago, so now I'm just very blasé about much of my lectures. Ugh. It's a horrible feeling, but it's one that shows up when you've been in school as long as I have.
Tuesday started with a visit by noted director Wang Houwei, who spoke about being a woman and a director in the 1980s. At least, that was what her lecture was supposed to be about. Instead, she talked about growing up and being a fourth-generation director, one who studied and worked during and after the cultural revolution. Her lecture was rather interesting, all told.
The afternoon continued with discussion of actors in Chinese cinema and influence they had and in certain roles. Again, it was more reviewing of the readings I had done. Graw.
Wednesday was an easy day. We had an early lecture and discussed more of the Cinema-and-Nation stuff. While I like and admire Dr. Berry's work, it was hard to have another lecture that was lots of review. At this point in our study, we have learned so many disparate things in lectures, it would probably be good to discuss and have a seminar format, where we could discuss things that we have learned and debate, in an academic setting. After so much input, discussion and synthesis would be really productive.
I spent my afternoon off napping. It was lovely.
