Queen Amaranthine Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 VCers are well read and keyed into media, so maybe you can help me! I'm on a committee organizing book, movie, and other artsy events for the community later this year. Every year this project focuses on a different country or region. This year it's the Southeast Asian region. As a committee we aim for materials that could reach a variety of age ranges. We need to find a novel, something by a Southeast Asian author or that has a setting or characters in or connected to that region, to use in local book clubs. Preferably something fairly recent that might interest avid readers as well as spark the interest of less avid readers to encourage more participation. I've been looking at the novel Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss as a possibility--has anyone read this? Do you know of other novels to recommend? Children's books or young adult literature? Music? Art? Photography? Traditional dance? Architecture? It can be current or past, historical. In fact, I wonder if some arts from or about the Vietnam-era war might be important to include, as it seems that teens and young adults don't have much knowledge of that war. The Pol Pot regime is another lesser-known historical era, so The Killing Fields might be a good movie for this series. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Southeast Asia is a pretty diverse place. How many countries are you taking in in. Just Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos alone are very different in culture, language, etc. Throw in some of the other countries and I don't know what to tell you. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Queen Amaranthine Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 The original goal was to focus on the Philippines since we have a sizeable Filipino immigrant population in this region, for a rural area. For some reason, the committee decided a couple of weeks ago to broaden it to the larger SE Asia region, possibly because we have some small Lao, Vietnamese, and Thai communities here and in the surrounding counties. I'm not sure exactly why that decision was made, as I missed that meeting--home sick with bronchitis--and haven't had a chance to ask anyone else why that decision was made. At least I wasn't nominated to do something in my absence, which is the typcial good-natured practice with this group...anyway... I'm open to most any arts from any of those countries. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Queen Amaranthine Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Not sure if South Korea is technically SE Asia, but this movie looks funny, titled My Boyfriend is Type B. Some Asian cultures strongly believe thatblood type determines personality and other traits, and type B individuals are said to be unreliable and quirky. It's English subtitled, I hope?! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a cool Thai flick from a couple years ago. It won the Palm d'Or at Cannes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 South Korea is NOT southeast Asia, or at least in my opinion it isn't. Heck I don't even think of the Phillipines as SE Asian, but I suppose technically it is. How old are the students? Stuff from the Vietnam - War Paco's Story is good, as is The Things They Carried. A good movie about the war in Cambodia is The Killing Fields, but not for anyone too young. Unfortunately the war is what is embedded in many American's brains with that part of the world. But again the area includes Thailand and Malasyia as well as what used to be called Indo-China. Oh a great book about SE Asia is The Quiet American. Wonderful and disturbing also. Edit- I forget exactly where you live, but if you contact cultural organizations from some of the folks who are actually from that area of the world, rather than gringos, you may find all kinds of cool stuff. VN pop music is a weird amalagam of eastern, electric and latin music like no other. All these countries make great food (my interest.) I worked with SE Asians for 10 years, they are great people, but very diverse. There are interesting ethinic groups like the Hmong that are very different from the Vietnamese, Chinese-Vietmamese, or the Cambodians, or the Lao, or the Thai. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Queen Amaranthine Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Thanks for the suggestions here so far--I will look into books and movie mentioned above. Culinary arts as well--fine food is an art! I am in the process of contacting state and local organizations too. They tend to give excellent info about music, dance, folk art--physical kinds of arts that immigrants keep alive from their cultures. Here every year when I put out this call for suggestions, I tend to get excellent movie, book, and avant garde art/photography recommendations, so the variety of input from various sources is nice. No Hmong near here that I am aware of, although St. Paul has one of the largest Hmong populations in the U.S.--I'll try contacting an organization there. The age range for participants for this project is really wide, many traditional college age students but lots of older adults too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 After I posted up - a really good book on the Vietnam War is Michael Herr's "Dispatches." LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chinese Apple Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I think the Philippines is a good place to start. The Philippine archipelago was an US territory until the end of World War II, and it is amazing to think that until the 1970s it was Asia's strongest economy. I recommend the book Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn http://www.amazon.co...n/dp/1559362154> about the lives of the Filipino upper-crust from the 1950s. It was nominated for a National Book Award in 1990. And my two young sons (kindergarten and second grade) enjoyed the beautifully illustrated The Two Brothers, about two Cambodian orphans who grew up in a Buddhist monastery : http://www.amazon.co...s/dp/0688125506 Also Somerset Maugham wrote several short stories set in Southeast Asia. Check out his novel The Gentleman in the Parlour http://www.amazon.co...s/dp/0099286777> and short story collection Far Eastern Tales http://www.amazon.co...2155066-9517029>. How fun! I wish I lived in your town! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chinese Apple Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Oh, and the whole fascinating discussion about the Tasadays, a supposed lost tribe that many anthropologists think was an elaborate hoax. Here is a clip from the original 1971 documentary by Elizalde: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8BGW-HwHzA. There is also a more recent Nova documentary about the controversy. They were supposedly a tribe still living in the stone age, and had no contact with the outside world, and there was a lot of excitement in the 1970s about this "discovery" but later some anthropologists argued that Elizalde fabricated the discovery and hiring actors to play cavemen. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chinese Apple Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 And the movie "The Scent of Green Papaya" that was a best foreign picture nominee in 1994. Trailer here: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chinese Apple Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 One last last recommendation, for the cerebral elements in your community who are into high theory and post-colonial discourse, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the arty films of Trinh T. Mnh-ha and her accompanying writings. http://www.trinhminh-ha.com/ She teaches at Berkeley and maybe would be available to come to give a talk. Her film "A Tale of Love", based on a Vietnamese poem, for instance, http://www.wmm.com/f...pages/c60.shtml Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Wasn't sure is India was east enough to be considered a part of Southeast Asia or not. But, according to a few maps that I've looked at, it appears to be.That said, India holds an embarrassment of riches:• The films of Satyajit Ray, for highbrow cinema: Pather Panchali, Aparajito, and The World of Apu. • Bollywood films, for populist cinema• The books of Salman Rushdie: The Satanic Verses or East/West for the adults; Haroun and the Sea of Stories for the little ones.• The music of Ravi Shankar. Lots more that I cannot think of off the top of my head. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Queen Amaranthine Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thanks everyone for these great ideas! Our committee decided to go with the Philippines after all, which works well, since it's easier to do this when it's narrowed down to one country. I think the Philippines is a good place to start. The Philippine archipelago was an US territory until the end of World War II, and it is amazing to think that until the 1970s it was Asia's strongest economy. I recommend the book Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn http://www.amazon.co...n/dp/1559362154> about the lives of the Filipino upper-crust from the 1950s. It was nominated for a National Book Award in 1990. And my two young sons (kindergarten and second grade) enjoyed the beautifully illustrated The Two Brothers, about two Cambodian orphans who grew up in a Buddhist monastery : http://www.amazon.co...s/dp/0688125506 Very timely--I just picked up Dogeaters last week and put it on my reading list to check it out as a possibility. It does sound really good. As for the children's book, I'd like for this project to offer more for kids in the community. How fun! I wish I lived in your town!If you knew where I lived, you might not wish that! I'm in a pretty rural area. Some of us do quite well about providing and finding cultural opportunities here, though. Fun is where you find it, right? And the interstate takes me right to Minneapolis or Chicago on occasion. And the movie "The Scent of Green Papaya" that was a best foreign picture nominee in 1994. Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1onAxSm4zVE I have seen this-- an interesting look at family conflict and dynamics, if I recall. Funny about most movies from that region--they have deep themes but aren't so big on plot or suspense to say the least, for better or worse. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Queen Amaranthine Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Wasn't sure is India was east enough to be considered a part of Southeast Asia or not. But, according to a few maps that I've looked at, it appears to be.That said, India holds an embarrassment of riches:• The films of Satyajit Ray, for highbrow cinema: Pather Panchali, Aparajito, and The World of Apu.• Bollywood films, for populist cinema• The books of Salman Rushdie: The Satanic Verses or East/West for the adults; Haroun and the Sea of Stories for the little ones.• The music of Ravi Shankar. Lots more that I cannot think of off the top of my head. I love the few Bollywood films I've seen! I'll have to look into Satyajit Ray. Salman Rushdie would be perfect for a book club discussion. Some year we need to cover India for this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 India is south asia. But it is an interesting culture none the less. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chinese Apple Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Some of us do quite well about providing and finding cultural opportunities here, though. Fun is where you find it, right? Absolutely! I remember you did Ireland last year. (That's where where I currently live!). Hope that was a success. Funny about most movies from that region--they have deep themes but aren't so big on plot or suspense to say the least, for better or worse. In my undergrad anthropology course we had a discussion about how narrative structures are culturally specific. A number of Asian cultures tend to have a "concentric circle" storytelling structure rather than a linear or reverse/upright triangle (broad to specific or the reverse). That might have something to do with how films from this region are structured. (It maybe influenced by Buddhism; the cycling of karma where a moment of enlightenment comes to you.) Hope the Philippine project is well received. I lived there in my early teens when my family was posted there with an American multinational. I love the beautiful beaches and the post-colonial Spanish architecture. Also the traditional "nipa huts" on stilts to keep above flood water. Food wise, my favorite Filipino dish is chicken adobo. Here is a recipe that was in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/magazine/09Food-t-001.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Queen Amaranthine Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Yes, we did do Ireland! We used Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes and Teacher Man for a reading project, lots of movies open to students and the public, some traditional Celtic music, etc. One of my coworkers organized a spring break trip to Ireland last month. Unfortunately I didn't join the group--I have been to Ireland once about 15 years ago and always meant to go back, but I let my passport expire without renewing it, and then my husband and I had 2 kids who take up much of our money these days. My paternal grandmother grew up in an Irish neighborhood in Chicago, so I feel like I have a little connection to the country. Very cool that you live there, and in the Philippines briefly as well. I'm finding that culture very interesting. The small local Filipino immigrant community is thrilled that is the upcoming topic and is already giving out ideas. Thanks for that chicken adobo recipe--food is an art! Interesting about Asian storytelling and movies, too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I would highly recommend the nonfiction film Give Up Tomorrow (2011), a hoppin’ mad story of wrongful imprisonment that eventually indicts the upper echelons of the Philippines government. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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