INSIDE: CHINA AND INDIA DVDs FOR KIDS

Issue 27 News and Reviews Fall 2007 A PUBLICATION OF THE ASIAN EDUCATIONAL MEDIA SERVICE ■ CENTER FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC STUDIES ■ UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

disciplinarians and dedicated, paternalistic coaches, offering tough love and life lessons to generations of teenage players. The first third of the film introduces the TS, INC. schools, a few of the players, and the coaches, and is divided into short sections organized by some keywords of high school baseball: heart, fighting spirit, youth, dreams, and effort. We are shown one of the Tennoji players whose day begins with breakfast at 4:15 am, followed by early morning practice, where the players swing bats like kendo sticks. Both schools have long after-school prac- tices, and we are then taken to Chiben Academy’s 8:30 pm prac-

JAKE CLENNELL, © 2004 PROJECTILE AR tice in the pouring rain, with the coach lecturing Kokoyakyu: High School Baseball the team that they must ■ Directed by Kenneth Eng. 2006. 54 minutes. In English and Japanese with English subtitles. practice three or four times harder than their merican baseball audiences in 2007 are hear- Kokoyakyu is beautifully filmed and Above, left: Tokaidai Shoyo rivals to win. High School players singing A ing a lot about Japan’s national high school well-edited, a bit reverential, but still their school song. Above: One of the film’s baseball tournament because of the Boston Red effective in conveying some of what is Chiben Baseball team march- more poignant scenes Sox’s new $100-million pitch- importantly at stake in this long-running ing in Wakayama opening is the Chiben coach’s ceremonies. REVIEW ing ace, Matsuzaka Daisuke national sports spectacle. It can be used in announcement of his (or Dice-K, as he is called over courses on Japan and on sport and society selection of the 18 players here). Over and over, we are reminded that at the high school and university levels. for the tournament squad, out of a team of 34 Matsuzaka became a national hero at 18 for pitch- The film opens at Ko–shien Stadium with the players. Coaches must balance talent, seniority, ing his team to Japan’s high school championship at pageantry of the opening ceremonies—the parade and effort in choosing from teams as large as – fabled Koshien Stadium in August 1998. Baseball is and assembly of the teams, the players’ oath, the continued on page 2 an official sport in over 4000 high schools in Japan energetic cheerleaders, and the raucous school and the annual summer tournament at Ko–shien is supporters. The film is structured around the the pinnacle of the baseball season. efforts of two representative teams to reach these The summer national championship begins Ko–shien finals in 2004. with 49 qualifying tournaments, and the regional Chiben Academy in Wakayama Prefecture, Contents winners come to Ko–shien Stadium just west of just south of Osaka, is a well-known private school From the Editor ...... 2 Osaka for a two-week single-elimination champi- baseball powerhouse, three times the national How to Contact AEMS ...... 2 onship tournament in the intense heat and humid- champions. Like other “baseball high schools,” Essay: ity of August. Conduct is strictly regulated and it scouts and recruits potential players much as Teaching About Bunraku ...... 3 choreographed by the National High School William Gates and Arthur Agee were recruited by Baseball Federation, supported by the Asahi news- a private school in the U.S. basketball documen- Reviews: paper company, which started the tournament in tary Hoop Dreams. In contrast, Tennoji High Kokoyakyu: High School Baseball ...... 1 1915 and continues to sponsor it. There are other School in Osaka is a gritty urban public high Children of China Series ...... 4 popular youth sports from Little League baseball school that has never been to Ko–shien; its chances Going to School in India ...... 5 to university rugby, but high school baseball— are much more remote. Buffalo Boy ...... 6 ko-ko-yakyu in Japanese—is still the national passion But what both high schools have in common Distributors in this Issue ...... 8 and Ko–shien Stadium remains its Mecca. This doc- are wise and wizened coaches, who are featured umentary tells us why, vividly and poignantly. prominently in the film. Both come across as strict FROM THE EDITOR

The Asian Educational Media Service (AEMS) is a pro- gram of the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies s we all launch into a new academic year, AEMS is pleased to present a diverse set of reviews in our at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Our mission is to help educators at all levels, A Fall 2007 issue. William Kelly—one of the the foremost English-language experts on baseball in from elementary through college, find multimedia Japan—gives us a thoughtful review of Kokoyakyu, broadcast last summer on PBS’s P.O.V. series. This resources for learning and teaching about Asia, to issue also offers two excellent resources for upper primary students, both told from children’s perspec- promote understanding of Asian peoples and cultures. tives: Karla Loveall considers the “Children in China” series, while Rachel Heilman contextualizes Going Our free services include: to School in India. We are pleased to welcome back Jack Harris to review the beautiful Vietnamese fea- ■ News and Reviews, published three times a year; ■ An online database of audiovisual materials; ture film, Buffalo Boy. And finally, Anne Prescott writes about resources for teaching about bunraku, the ■ Reference service; Japanese art of puppet theater. ■ Educator workshops on teaching with film; Our “Teaching and Technology” column is taking a break this issue; I encourage anyone experiment- ■ Lesson plans, streaming video, film ing with new ways to use technology in teaching about Asia at any level to submit an idea for this col- recommendations and other web resources; ■ A lending library for local educators umn to me. Similarly, we have started a new section of our website called “Notes from the Classroom,” in which teachers are invited to share their experiences teaching with specific films (whether reviewed by Please contact us to be added to the mailing list, or for back issues and extra copies of this newsletter. AEMS or not). How did you plan the lesson? How did the students respond? Submissions are always AEMS is funded with generous support from the welcome! You can read our first contribution here: www.aems.uiuc.edu/publications/notes. Freeman Foundation. Asian Educational Media Service Online-Only Reviews Premiere 805 W. Pennsylvania Avenue As promised, we have now added two new sections of online-only reviews: one for films and videos Urbana, Illinois 61801 USA and one for web resources. The first of these, Eating the Scorpion, is a documentary about a group of www.aems.uiuc.edu American teachers who travel to China and bring home what they learn, reviewed by Anne Prescott. [email protected] Robert Petersen evaluates two vivid films about traditional dramatic arts in rural India: Gone to Pat and 1-888-828-AEMS (1-888-828-2367) Fax: 217-265-0641 Surviving Chau. These reviews—and hopefully others, by the time you read this—can be found at www.aems.uiuc.edu/publications/filmreviews. Advisory Board Meanwhile, Rebecca Nickerson, who has just completed a three-year tenure as a graduate editorial Lucien Ellington, Editor, Education About Asia; assistant here at AEMS and is on her way to conduct doctoral research in Japan, reviews how-to- UC Foundation Professor, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga bow.com, a lively and informative website on Japanese etiquette and customs. You’ll find this and other Karl G. Heider, Professor of Anthropology, University website reviews at www.aems.uiuc.edu/publications/webreviews. of South Carolina Ellen C.K. Johnson, Professor, College of DuPage Finally, I will again be guest editing a special AEMS multimedia section for the spring issue of Laurel Kendall, Curator, Asian Ethnographic Collections, Education About Asia; stay tuned for a request for submissions. American Museum of Natural History; Adjunct To keep up to date with new reviews, website features, events, and other announcements at AEMS, Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University subscribe to our RSS feed (an explanation of RSS is available on our home page). ■ Gary Mukai, Director, Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) —Tanya Lee, Editor David W. Plath, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and East Asian Languages and Cultures, UIUC Alwyn Spies, Assistant Professor of Japanese, University of British Columbia-Okanagan Kokoyakyu although the film is more real because of it. continued from page 1 Failure is by far the more common experience, University Committee in this and other competitive sports, and in the Nancy Abelmann, Director, Center for East Asian and – Pacific Studies, and Professor of Anthropology 80 players. In this scene, Ryoichi Haruki, one of end it is the aftermath of defeat that leaves the and East Asian Languages and Cultures, UIUC only five seniors, waits anxiously to be the last strongest impression on this viewer. Jose B. Capino, Assistant Professor, Unit for player chosen and he is assigned #18. In making Japanese high school baseball deals rather Cinema Studies, UIUC his selection the coach makes much of Ryo–ichi’s well with failure, with its staged and public Ramona Curry, Associate Professor, English, Cinema progress in realizing that he must play for the post-game gatherings—the cheerleaders sere- Studies, and Women’s Studies, UIUC Clark E. Cunningham, Professor Emeritus of team and not for himself (and he ends up making nade the team, the team apologizes, the coach Anthropology, UIUC some real contributions). eulogizes, and thick streamers of good luck David M. Desser, Director, Cinema Studies and The rest of the film follows the fortunes of the paper cranes are handed over to the winners. Professor of Speech Communications , UIUC two teams through their regional qualifying tour- The disappointment of the final defeat is faced Kimiko Gunji, Director, Japan House, UIUC naments. Actual game footage is rather brief and head on; the seniors address their teammates Jacquetta Hill, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Educational Psychology, UIUC perfunctory, and the cameras linger longer over and their parents outside the stadium with brief Jin-hee Lee, Assistant Professor of History, Eastern Illinois pre-game and post-game scenes. This editing tearful speeches of appreciation. And the coach University much enhances the value of the film, which is plans the first practice of the next season to Robert S. Petersen, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, more about sports team dynamics than baseball begin the following day! Eastern Illinois University techniques. The pressure is palpable, and powerful High school baseball in Japan has long been Ronald Toby, Professor of History and East Asian emotions lie just beneath the stoic expressions of celebrated for its youthful exuberance, its fight- Languages and Cultures, UIUC coaches, players, and supporters. ing spirit, and its grueling practices. There is Staff No doubt the film crew was disappointed that deep sentiment behind this nostalgia, and there Program Director/Editor: Tanya S. Lee neither team made it through to Ko–shien, is some substance to such an idealization of Assistant Program Director: Susan Norris Graduate Student Assistant: Rebecca Nickerson continued on page 7

DESIGN: EVELYN C. SHAPIRO Teaching About Bunraku

■ Bunraku: Masters of Japanese Puppet Theater. Directed by Tomoo Ueno and Hisashi Miura. 2001. puppeteer’s body moves in tandem with the 53 minutes. In English and Japanese with English subtitles. puppet, the intricate movements of the puppet’s fingers, and its facial expressions are all carefully ■ Lovers’ Exile: The Bunraku Puppet Theater of Japan. Directed by Marty Gross. DVD re-release, captured by the camera. The viewer also sees 2006 (original video 1980). 90 minutes. In English and Japanese with English subtitles. the musicians’ facial expressions (or lack unraku puppet theater is one of thereof), body language, and how the B Japan’s classic dramatic arts, dating shamisen is played. back 300 years. Incorporating sophisti- The still photos on the DVD capture cated puppetry, vocal and instrumental the people associated with bunraku in can- music, drama, and classic literature, did moments, reflecting their devotion to bunraku can bring to life many aspects as well as pleasure in performing bunraku. of Japanese culture and history for stu- The written notes that accompany dents. Each puppet is manipulated by the DVD, particularly the excerpt from three puppeteers, who are in plain view Backstage at Bunraku by Barbara Adachi, of the audience. A single chanter gives are a welcome aid to understanding this art. voice to all of the characters in the play, I would highly recommend that teachers as well as narrating the action. He is or others wanting to know more about accompanied by a shamisen (a three- bunraku consult Adachi’s book, as it is one stringed plucked instrument) player, of the most complete sources on bunraku who also musically sets the atmosphere. in English. Another excellent source is For a general introduction to bun- A Guide to the Japanese Stage, which provides raku, a good option is Bunraku: Masters an extremely useful, concise guide to all of Japanese Puppet Theater, which pro- aspects of bunraku, including photos and files a master puppeteer and a musician, stage diagrams. documenting their lives and training, The possibilities for incorporating and even giving the viewer a glimpse of bunraku into classes other than the obvious their private lives as grandparents and music or film courses are numerous. amateur bowlers. There is helpful com- The play performed in The Lovers’ Exile mentary on stage action over excerpts of reflects the historical, business and social performance. conditions in Japan during the Edo period Lovers’ Exile: The Bunraku Puppet (1600–1868), a time when Western influ- Theatre of Japan, first released on video ence on Japan was extremely limited. It in 1980 is distinctive for showing an would be interesting to compare aspects of European or American culture of the same time period. Bunraku is even relevant to the study of international relations. Whaling has been a dramatist of his time and one of point of contention between the United States, the originators of bunraku the- which opposes commercial whaling, and nations ater; many of his plays are also such as Japan and Norway that have a long tradi- performed in kabuki theater. tion of hunting whales. Some of the intricate mov- Lover’s Exile was re-released ing parts of the bunraku puppets are made from last year on DVD with added whale bones, and it is said that no other material features, including notes, still can provide the necessary fluid and noiseless photos of the filming, and movement. But with a ban on whaling, bunraku footage of the filming process. puppet makers face a dilemma—how do they get Although the quality of the pic- the parts necessary to maintain their puppets? MARTY GROSS FILM PRODUCTION MARTY ture betrays the DVD’s VHS Students might examine the play’s characters, entire play (performed by the National Bunraku origins, the viewer is soon entranced by the pup- plot line, setting, etc., to English-language dramas Ensemble of Osaka) without added commentary. pets and story, and much as the puppeteers recede of that era. The single chanter in bunraku must The story told in Lovers’ Exile is the play Meido no in the background, so too does the less-than- change his voice to portray different characters and Hikyaku (The Courier for Hell), a sewamono, or contemporary look. emotions. Are there comparable traditions in the domestic play about everyday people, which It is impossible to get the same experience Western world? How does the playwright aid in recounts a true story that occurred during the life- from a film that one would have in a theater, but this? The play centers on the dishonest business time of the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon there are some things that this DVD offers that behavior of an actual historical person. What plays (1653–1725). Chikamatsu was the most famous make it better than seeing it live. The way the continued on page 8

www.aems.uiuc.edu 3 Children of China Series ■ One Day in Ping Wei. 2004. 30 minutes. ■ New Year in Ping Wei. 2005. 30 minutes. also included, some- ■ Land of the Dragon. 2006. 30 minutes. thing missing from the first two films, In English and Chinese with English subtitles. ZHANG MING and particularly Series created by Pearl River Productions. ideal for use in the classroom. At times n every classroom visuals and media are an some may find that I important part of the lesson when teaching Liu Hui Ping and about China. This is particularly true for the the other narrators primary grades, but finding rich and rewarding are difficult to hear documentaries is often difficult. Fortunately, clearly and some of a small production company, Pearl River the English vocabu- Productions, based in Centerville, Massachusetts, lary is complex for some students, but the visuals in all three films are real- istic and memo- to a student audience here in the United States. rable, and their high potential for use Despite the vast contrasts students will latch in the classroom clearly stands out. onto, there are familiar moments, like when All three documentaries in the Children of Twin Twin returns home from school and China series could be used effectively in the upper watches TV before doing homework or shares a elementary and middle school classroom depend- special dinner at the “kids table” with the rest of ing on the lesson. With their narration in English the children in the family. and Mandarin they would be ideal for Mandarin The next film in the series, New Year in language programs or for introducing students to Ping Wei, follows the same Liu family as they the sounds of Mandarin and the use of subtitles. PEARL RIVER PRODUCTIONS prepare and celebrate the important Chinese Another possible use could be as part of an orien- has produced a series of visually memorable and holiday of Spring Festival, often called Chinese tation and introduction for student groups prepar- useful documentaries about China that could be New Year here in the United States. The same ing to go China. included in the upper elementary and middle rural streets and countryside of Ping Wei are now As with all media for classroom use, effective school grades. The Children of China film series the setting for the holiday preparations, narrated strategies should be carefully planned and media includes three 30-minute documentaries that step-by-step again in both English and Mandarin. should be woven with a few key exploratory ques- explore what life is like in China today. The Liu family prepares a homecoming meal, vis- tions. Discussion about these pieces is key. The first in the series, One Day in Ping Wei fol- its ancestors’ graves, hangs red couplets on doors, Screening the documentaries in short clips or stop- lows a day in the life of a 10-year-old girl, Twin lights firecrackers, and shares in the first of the ping and starting while viewing for explanation is Twin, from the Liu family who lives in the small New Year dumplings. This documentary would be a must. There is a lot to digest visually about rural village of Ping Wei, just outside of Huainan a great addition to a unit on Chinese New Year as China and debriefing with students is essential for in Anhui province. The strength of the documen- it provides the visual detail of customs and tradi- understanding the complexities of the detail. tary is its ability to present a realistic portrait as tions as put in practice in today’s China. Although there are some errors of Mandarin pro- images fade and roll through rural and small-town While the first two documentaries of the series nunciation and some generalizations about China China. The film does not follow China’s new follow one family in a small village, the final film in the series, the overall effect provides a glimpse glamour and glitz, which is so often seen in the in the series, Land of the Dragon, provides a larger of a China not often available in the primary and headlines and on TV. The viewer is simply treated overview of China. This general sweep of Chinese middle school classroom. ■ to a slice of life in rural China where the one- culture, history, and language is narrated in burner kitchen finds its place in the spotlight. English by a 13-year old Chinese host, Liu Hui Karla Loveall works for the Program for We also see a woman washing clothes in a river Ping. The documentary has been edited neatly on Teaching East Asia at the University of Colorado and a market filled with small stalls and colorful the DVD and the menu provides a 21-chapter where she specializes in professional development fruits and vegetables. topical index. Liu Hui Ping journeys through programs for K–12 teachers, including the Viewers watch Twin Twin go to school, return China introducing sites and teaching language National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. for her after-school activities (which include help- along the way. She introduces typical sites in She has conducted programs about China that ing with the family’s traditional tofu business they Beijing, like the Forbidden City and the Temple of include workshops, summer institutes, and study have been running for generations) and interact Heaven, as well as rural sights like the Yellow tours and has spent significant time living and with her family and friends. All this day-to-day Mountains. We also see elements of contemporary working in China. activity is detailed with explanation in both Chinese life, such as a tea harvest, urban apart- Each of the films is available on DVD from English and Mandarin Chinese (with subtitles) and ment living, and home cooking. Pearl River Productions. Price is $24.95 per film. takes place in a world that is no doubt unfamiliar A Mandarin language lesson at the market is

4 www.aems.uiuc.edu classrooms. An older viewer will pick up on Going to School in India themes such as militancy in Kashmir, the limited ■ Created by Going to School. 2007. 76 minutes. In English or Hindi with English and Spanish subtitles. opportunities available to some girls, and the uni- versality of some aspects of childhood. The lives of oing to School in India is a series of nine also their world—and their curiosity these students also provide some G short films that introduce the viewer to a about the worlds of other children—are context for a discussion of child diverse group of students. Among them are a often entertaining and apparently their labor, as many of these children young boy walking to school through the desolate own. Appealing local music and eye- also work in some capacity. beauty of Ladakh, a young girl traveling Kashmiri catching images of each child’s home This is also an opportunity waters in a shikara (a type of wooden boat) on her and surroundings are likely to catch for educators to reflect on the way to school, and students attending classes as and hold the attention of any viewer. process of education—is it necessary they ride in a bus. Although these films were Thought-provoking statements that an education system be stan- created by Going to School (GTS), a non-profit are sprinkled throughout. For exam- dardized? Are there benefits to find- organization, in order to encourage Indian chil- ple, a boy who lives on a street cor- ing more imaginative ways to fit dren to view schooling as a fun and relevant expe- ner and wants to grow up to be education into the diverse lives of rience and thereby increase enrollment, they can like his favorite movie star observes children and families, both in India engage American students just as easily, if for that, “Maybe all you need to be a star are the right and the United States, or does such different purposes. clothes.” Another believes that children in diversity of provision result in the entrenchment In general, education in India is a messy com- America live in palaces. There are many opportu- of societal inequalities? There is something in these bination of private and public schooling in which nities for reflection on not only the lives of Indian films for every viewer. even universal primary school education cannot be children but on the lives of the viewers as well. However, there are some flaws. The only map taken for granted. As government funding for edu- From Indian culture to the role of children in on the DVD is on the school selection page. It cation has lagged, most members of the middle society to philosophical points, there is a lot to would have been helpful for American students to and upper classes have opted out of public educa- think about. Given the potential for wide-ranging see where India is in relation to the rest of the tion. Government-run schools often have poor classroom discussion presented here, this DVD is world and also where each school is within India. infrastructure and impossible student-teacher particularly well-suited to classroom use. The schools are generally in remote areas where ratios which combine with socio-economic factors The films provide a glimpse into the lives of formal schooling is limited and the students tend to make attendance at these schools an unattrac- nine children; the focus is more on the students’ to be from families with meager financial resources, tive option, particularly for girls and children from motivations and how they view their own lives but unfortunately this tends to give the films a cer- poorer families. Aimed at these families, these than it is on the actual schooling experience. tain element of the exotic and unfamiliar. vignettes showcase some of the unique ways in However, GTS’s message that school can be a fun Educators should be careful to contextualize which children attend government-funded schools place clearly comes through, as does the children’s the films so that students do not come away from (on a boat, at night, or in the desert, for example). enthusiasm for education. these films with generalizations about Indian chil- The nine featured students tell us about their At 7 to 10 minutes each, the films are a conve- dren or schools in India. Although many children lives and how they go to school. Their words have nient length for classroom use. They are probably in India attend more conventionally structured been translated into English (there is also a Hindi best watched individually with opportunities for schools that would be more familiar to American language track with Spanish or English subtitles) discussion after each one. The bright colors, catchy students, none of these are depicted in these films and the insight into their lives this gives the viewer music, and fast-moving visuals will appeal to because they do not fit the mission of GTS. is both charming and enlightening. Although the young children. Although perhaps directed at ele- Nevertheless, as long as the students’ stories are children are obviously responding to a standard set mentary-level students, the films have potential treated as snapshots of children’s lives, the films are of questions, their views about not only school but for use in middle school and even high school excellent for classroom use and should encourage students to want to learn more about India. ■

Rachel Heilman is a social studies teacher and recently completed an M.A. at the University of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies with a South Asia area focus. Her graduate studies concentrated on education in India. Going to School in India is available on DVD from Asia for Kids or amazon.com. Price is $29.95.

Going to School’s Flash-animated website, www.goingtoschool.com, offers kids’ activities for each of the nine stories (and a few extras), WWW.GOINGTOSCHOOL.COM as well as information about GTS projects, current and planned.

www.aems.uiuc.edu 5 Buffalo Boy depicted in the film. In Kim’s world, survival of ■ Buffalo Boy (Mua Len Trâu). Directed by Nguyen-Vô Nghiem-Minh (Minh Nguyen-Vo). 2004. the family’s buffalos, and the subsistence of the 98 minutes. In Vietnamese with English and French subtitles. family, would be signs of grace—real prosperity is certainly out of reach. We can expect little of these characters except endurance and forbearance. an life be this hard, and maturing into man- So begins this desperate tale, told over two The film is based on a series of short stories C hood this difficult? In this debut feature film flooding seasons, of a young rural Vietnamese remembered by writer-director Nguyen-Vô, who by writer and director Nguyen-Vô Nghiem-Minh, male’s coming of age while “on the road,” a story was educated in France and the United States, everything is difficult, including the actual logistics of male domains characterized by violence and from his childhood. There is certainly an ample and shooting of the film. Water is everywhere rape. Winner of many film festival awards, this share of the typical themes that often make up the and fills the landscape. This is quite typical for film is a dark tragedy buffeted only by fleeting Vietnamese genre—stark poverty and hardship, Vietnam, where the name for country, nuoc, is moments of kindness. Only the most sentimental struggle and survival, tragedy, and the sometimes also the name for water. This film’s location, the will believe that there is light and rescue at the end saving forces of family and community. But unlike southernmost province of Ca Mau, is particularly of this tunnel. many Vietnamese films there is no nostalgia here. severe; rarely visited by tourists, regular and debili- Buffalo Boy is filled with beautiful images. It is In this stark and wet world, women provide tating flooding is a fact of life and death in this true that Vietnam is a place of glorious landscapes; social integration through the binding embrace of part of the country. It also remains a place of however, the beauty conceals the ruthlessness of family and community. Men hold dominion over unsettled ethnic division, where resentment lingers this watery terrain where, as the film’s narrator their families as the putative breadwinners and between remnants of the ancient Khmer tells us in the very beginning, there is rot and spend most of their time in the company of other THE GLOBAL FILM INITIATIVE

(Cambodian) culture and the Vietnamese (Kinh). men. It is a complex masculine world of competi- Our protagonist, Kim, looks back and tells tion, hierarchy, drinking, and violence, but it is his granddaughter and us how he became a man. also one of friendship and camaraderie. There is Though the story is set in the wartime 1940s, the tenderness between Kim and his father, between existence of the French colonialists and Japanese Kim and his friend Det, and between Kim and imperialists is quite irrelevant to this rendition of Det’s son, Thieu, whom Kim adopts. The relation- Vietnamese peasant life, a life that presents few ship between Kim and his father is one of filial choices and is at the mercy of nature. piety and obedience, and also one of silences and Vietnamese peasant farmers depend on their secrets, which the son must discover on his own. buffalos for plowing the paddy and as beasts of decay. The Vietnamese continue to live with this Kim’s father seems like a congenial old man, but burden. In this cyclical season of the floods, the duality—water is the sustainer for wet rice agricul- he was once a buffalo herdsman and a rapist. In buffalos need grass to survive and need to be ture and the serene paddies, and floods provide the season he spends herding buffalo, Kim repeats moved to higher ground. This is brutal and dan- new nutrients for the fields while threatening the sins of the father. gerous work, made more dangerous and more bru- everything in their path. Pray to the Water God, There is a nod to the taxing realities of French tal as the herders compete with rival herdsmen for indeed—for rain to come and to stop the rain! colonialism but these corruptions add little to the choice grassland. When they can afford it, rural This cosmology of powerful gods and a powerful narrative; they are just another cost and nuisance families hire buffalo herders to drive their buffalo Nature is the backbone of a Vietnamese fatalism to living. That aspect has not changed in Vietnam, to fresh pastures. Kim’s family is too poor to hire on the one hand, and a startling hopefulness for a where petty corruptions are a daily occurrence. the herders and his father too ill to travel, so Kim, better future on the other. It is luck and good for- Some of my Vietnamese student friends say at age 15, is charged with getting the family’s two tune to which the rural Vietnamese aspire, espe- that they do not like this morality tale, that it is buffalos to clear grass before they die. cially in environments as unlucky as the one boring and does not express Vietnamese reality. continued on next page 6 www.aems.uiuc.edu They argue that it is a southern story without the southern soul, and that the dialogues are influ- Kokoyakyu enced by the West and are not native to southern continued from page 2 Vietnamese life. While, for my Hanoian students,

Ca Mau is very far away and the lives of their high school sport, TS, INC. poorest farmers quite remote, these representations although the film speak to the conditions of life in the 1940s and lends too much may have applicability today. The film’s depiction credence to the of a darker-side to Vietnamese masculinity with its dubious Japanese violence and misogyny remains a reality in view that such Vietnam. The film’s images of the floods, the stark qualities are unique. minimalism of the houses, the tempered dress, In using the and of course, the centrality of the buffalo are all film with students, quite powerful representations of a Vietnamese it would be more way of life still found in the countryside. useful to probe This is not an appropriate film for young the claims of the JAKE CLENNELL, © 2004 PROJECTILE AR children, because of the violent and sexual subject coaches, players, Pitcher from Komodai Tomokomai, moments before matter (though little is explicitly shown on and supporters. his winning pitch. screen). High school and college students will For instance, it is Tokaidai Shoyo find it a fascinating story of an adolescent coming true that there is a very high ratio of practice to High School of age with its masculine rituals and displays. games in Japanese school baseball, which goes back William W. Kelly is player crying professor of Anthropology after losing at They will also find this watery landscape foreign to the very beginning of the sport. In this, it is less Ko–shien Stadium. and foreboding and get a fictionalized glimpse like baseball in the United States and more like and Sumitomo Professor into the life of desperately poor Vietnamese peas- high school football, whose players can work year- of Japanese Studies in the Department of ant farmers then, and even now. round through spring training, preseason and sea- Anthropology at Yale University. Some of his Although this film would not be useful for son in order to play 10 or 12 games. To talk about research interests include sport and body cultures a history lesson, it does provide some timeless “American game, Japanese discipline” requires a in Japan. He recently edited (with Sugimoto images of daily life, human character, and adver- willful suspension of disbelief about our own Atsuo) This Sporting Life: Sports and Body Culture sity. Useful discussions for Western audiences youth sports! in Modern Japan (2007). might be the complex relationships between And lest we are tempted to accept the spiritual Kokoyakyu: High School Baseball is available on fathers and sons, men and women, men’s rela- nostrums of the two coaches at face value, we DVD from Customflix. Purchase price is $29.95. tionships to other men, respect for elders and should recall that the two other big stories of Suggested Reading ancestors, and human choices in the face of des- Japanese baseball this spring were scandals involv- Cave, Peter. 2004. “Bukatsudo–s: The Educational perate hardship. ■ ing covert payments to players and illegal subsi- Role of Japanese School Clubs.” Journal of dies. In fact, any observer of Japanese baseball Japanese Studies 30:383–415. knows these to be longstanding practices, period- Jack D. Harris is professor of Sociology at Moeran, Brian. 1984. “Individual, Group and ically exposed but never eradicated, not unlike Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, Seishin: Japan’s Internal Cultural Debate.” the underside of the NCAA, Little League base- New York. His research areas include Vietnam Man 19:252–266. ball, and popular school sports everywhere. social organization and Vietnamese masculinity. Gordon, Dan. 2006. “Japan: Changing of the What the Chiben player Maeda notes in a He has been the recipient of an Academic Guard in High School Baseball.” In Baseball moment of candor would surprise no fan of school Exchange Grant from the Henry Luce Without Borders: The International Pastime. sports anywhere: Foundation, Center for Educational Exchange George Gmelch, editor. Albany: State “It’s hard to do both academics and baseball. with Vietnam, American Council of Learned University of New York Press, pp 3–21. I don’t do a lot of studying; it’s mostly all baseball Societies, and ASIANetwork (2006), and a Appropriate for high school and college for me. I know I should, but I can’t keep up. It’s Vietnam Research Grant from the ASIANetwork students. like the baseball club gets special treatment. We Freeman Foundation Student Faculty Fellows have our own classes and stuff. We have it a lot Suggested Viewing Program (2003). easier. We get basic questions on the test.” Buffalo Boy is available on DVD and VHS “Young Baseball Heroes.” 1986. Part of the Faces Of course high-minded character-building from First Run/Icarus Films. Price is $248 for of Japan series produced by TeleJapan USA. goes hand-in-hand with low-down tawdry deal- purchase and $125 for rental. Recommended for comparison with Kokoyakyu. ings. Since the beginnings of school sports in Additional Resources Additional Resources the mid-nineteenth century on the playing A discussion guide for Buffalo Boy, developed fields of English elite schools, the purism of an “Kokoyakyu Lesson Plan.” P.O.V. website: by The Global Film Initiative, is available on amateur ethic and the prestige of success have Kokoyakyu. www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/ the DVD and also at www.frif.com/guide/ mingled uneasily. Japanese high school baseball, kokoyakyu/for.html. buf.pdf. In addition to discussion questions shown here with perhaps a rosier-tinted lens than Kokoyakyu: High School Baseball. Official film on film aesthetics and narrative themes, the necessary, expresses these universal tensions in website. www.projectilearts.org/kokoyakyu/ guide includes background information on colorful spectacle, all-out effort, school spirit, high_school_baseball.html. Includes back- the film, the writer/director, and Vietnam, and national passion. ■ ground information and filmmakers’ weblog. as well as a glossary.

www.aems.uiuc.edu 7 Asian Educational Media Service Non-Profit Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies Organization University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign U.S. Postage 805 West Pennsylvania Avenue, MC-025 PAID Urbana, Illinois 61801 Permit No. 75 www.aems.uiuc.edu Champaign, IL

Bunraku Bunraku: Masters of Japanese Puppet Theater is from the Barbara Curtis Adachi Bunraku continued from page 3 available on VHS and DVD from Films for the Collection at Columbia University are Humanities and Social Sciences. Price is $149.95. available at www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/ Some libraries may make this film available eresources/eimages/eastasian/bunraku. or stories from that time in the United States or streamed online. Cavaye, Ronald, Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda. Europe are similarly based on actual historical Lovers’ Exile: The Bunraku Puppet Theater of 2004. A Guide to the Japanese Stage: From figures and happenings? What are the social, Japan is available on VHS and DVD from Marty Traditional to Cutting Edge, Tokyo: Kodansha. economic and historical conditions in which this Gross Film Productions. Retail price is $40; insti- National Theater of Japan (with links to bunraku story occurred? How does bunraku compare with tutional price is $150. and other theatrical arts) www.ntj.jac.go.jp/ soap operas and telenovellas of our time? english. Many students (and teachers) may believe that Suggested Reading Tanizaki Jun’ichiro. 2001. Some Prefer Nettles. bunraku is stuck in time, and has no relevance to Adachi, Barbara C. 1985. Backstage at New York: Vintage Press. (First published in post-Edo people. However the modern author Bunraku: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Japan’s English, 1955 by Knopf Press.) Tanizaki Jun’ichiro (1886–1965) used bunraku as Traditional Puppet Theatre. New York: a central point in his book Some Prefer Nettles, a Weatherhill. Additional photos of bunraku work that could open up interesting discussions on the tensions between tradition and modernity. An unfamiliar art, in this case bunraku, can be a good way to approach historical and cultural Distributors in this Issue topics that may have become stale from a too- Asia for Kids, 4480 Lake Forest Dr. #302, First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court Street, 21st familiar approach. Young people who are fans of Cincinnati, OH 45242. Tel: 800-888-9681 Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Tel: 718- 488- anime may find familiar characters among bun- or 800-765-5885 or 513-563-3100. Fax: 513- 8900. Fax: 718-488-8642. E-mail: mail- raku puppets, but with the added twist of the pup- 563-3105. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: [email protected]. Website: www.frif.com. peteer giving life to the character. Add it all up, www.afk.com. Marty Gross Film Productions, Inc, 637 and this film is a good hook for discussion of CustomFlix, 100 Enterprise Way, Mod G: Davenport Road, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA many historical and contemporary issues in Japan Production, Scotts Valley, CA 95066. Website: M5R 1L3. Tel: 416-536-3355. Fax: 416-535- and the West. ■ www.customflix.com 0583. E-mail: videos@martygrossfilms.com. Films for the Humanities and Social Website: martygrossfilms.com Anne Prescott is associate director of the Sciences, P.O. Box 2053 Princeton, NJ Pearl River Productions, 353 Riverview Lane, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies at the 08543-2053. Tel.: 800-257-5126. Fax: Centerville, MA 02632. Tel: 617-510-7491. University of Illinois. She holds a Ph.D. in ethno- 609-671-0266. E-mail: custserv@films.com. Fax: 508-790-8633. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: www.films.com. musicology, specializing in the music of Japan. Website: www.pearlriver.tv.