Modernity Examined in New Cinema Class

A new class that begin this Summer semester, Special Studies in World Cinema, allows for in-depth exposure and understanding of the culture in one of BYU–Hawaii’s target areas. Yifen Beus, associate professor in the International Cultural Studies department, developed the course and defines it as an opportunity to explore and examine issues that rise from the impact of modernity reflected in sino phone cinemas. Sino phone cinemas are productions by filmmakers specifically from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

In the class, students define and characterize modernity, cultural and national identity, historiography and cinema, as well as the inequality between the urban and rural, gender and sexuality, and the negotiation between traditional and modern living through film study. Modernity is the change from traditional values and ways of thinking to more contemporary perspectives, which matters to students since it analyzes the world in which we live today. By doing so, all students regardless of their cultural background, will have greater understanding of modernity and the impact it has on the people and cultures portrayed in the films.

Inspiration to build the curriculum for this class came from many sources. “China has risen to become very competitive in international politics and economy after several waves of vigorous modernization, and its government is ambitious to promote its cinemas to rival Hollywood,” explained Beus. “Many of these films have won international acclaim, but are not taught on this campus. To offer such a class in the context of Chinese cultural studies and the study of film medium within the humanities will provide a small window into the screen culture of a nation that has encountered the challenges of modernization,” said Beus. “Another key issue is the study of cultural identities of the ‘Chinese’ people--namely China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Chinese diaspora.”

Beus said the selection of films “largely depends on their treatment of certain themes and topics. I tried to choose works that depict effects of modernization, such as issues on migration, individual and collective cultural identity shift, ethnicity, environmental and social impact, and human rights.” She continued saying that some of the best selections are “films by directors whose work can typically represent the Zeitgeist of a particular era or historical juncture or that belong to a specific movement or generation.” The final factor in a film being considered for the course was that it has “been distributed with English subtitles in a playable format.”

The study of modernity is pertinent to any major or discipline because it is affecting people and cultures around the world.

See this article on BYU-Hawaii University News Room

In addiction, I wrote another version the same topic for the college student magazine.  

Beus teaching new film class that explores modernity through movies