Sum: Films for Cross Cultural/Intercultural Discourse class

[Scott F. Kiesling]

Hi all-

Thanks to Maggie Ronkin, I discovered that a summary I wrote and thought I
had sent was still sitting in my drafts folder. So here is that long-awaited
summary!
SK

Original message:

Below is a slapdash compendium of responses from my recent query about films
good to use in Cross-cultural communication/discourse classes. Thanks
everyone for your suggestions! I found the book suggested by Jane Elvins to
be especially helpful. In addition to suggesting films, it gives some nice
pointers on how to integrate them into the course and the classroom. I've
tried to highlight the films mentioned in the text below.

Thanks again-

Scott


Laura Chao-chih Liao:
As a Taiwanese teaching EFL (English as a foreign language), I feel that
many films are good for cross-cultural communication class. For example, in
*YOU'VE GOT MAIL*, Kathleen  says goodbye to Mathew by saying, "Goodbye Matt."
Taiwanese EFL learners are generally innocent about English affectionate,
short and formal names (Liao, 2001). Asking my students to pay attention to
this part helps them in intercultural communication; otherwise, they are
innocent about this.
The topic of what films are good for intercultural communication depends on
what problems the teacher has recongized in his/her students. Teaching,
close observation, researching and attending  relatively related or
unrelated conferences are good for helping students.  Your comments are
welcome.

Cassily Charles:
Re: the films - Australian movies seem to be pretty rich in this kind of
thing. I haven't seen the Australian movie *Searching for Alibrandi*, but
I've seen it discussed on another list (Linguistlist?) previously as a
good one for code-switching, and I know it deals with the bi-cultural
issues of second generation Italian-Australians - so perhaps it might
have some moments in there where differing discourse features of
Standard Australian English/Italian Australian English/Italian are an
issue. Should be out on video now. If not, there are plenty of
Australian films with similar multicultural themes  (tho' it may be a
lucky dip to find one that specifically uses discourse features to make
the point. I'm racking my memory...)

Susan Eggly:
Think about using the scene in *Edward Scissorhands* where he comes into the
home for the first time and looks around.  It's a good view of U.S. culture
from the perspective of an outsider. Some other good choices are *Mississippi
Masala* and *Baji on the Beach*.

Jane Elvins:
I am teaching a senior level intercultural communication course here
at CU-boulder and I use a lot of films and videos. The following are some
suggestions you could consider:
*El Norte*
*Skin Deep*
*Just Black: Multiracial Identity*
*American tongues*
*Wild Horses of Mongolia with Julia Roberts (PBS)*
I also suggest a book called Crossing Cultures Through Film by Ellen
Summerfield (avail. from Intercultural Press).  It has been a great
resource for me.  Please let me know if I can provide further information
about any of the above titles.

Fiona Glade:
I use an excellent film called _Skin Deep_ about a group of undergraduates
from various U.S. universities who are sponsored on a retreat together to
discuss issues of race in their lives.

Barbara Johnstone:
I've just ordered for our library a short film called *Le Mur*.  It's one of
a set of European short films (67 minutes) made in connection with the
Millennium.  It's a good fictional treatment of the Francophone-Flemish
conflict in Belgium -- which is apparently a lot more heated than I thought
-- with an apocalyptic, sci-fi angle and characters in their 20s; the film
itself is bilingual and subtitled in English. Here is the info:
The Wall (Le Mur)
Directed by Alain Berliner
cat. # FLV1627  [I don't know what catalog this refers to]
1988, La Sept ARTE/Haut et Court/WFE
Fox Lorber Films
distributed by Winstar TV and video

Mindy McWilliams:
I always like Spike Lee's films for making this point, especially *"Do
the Right Thing"*. Many scenes in this film involve intercultural
miscommunication escalating into conflict.

Maggie Ronkin:
I recommend a film that goes beyond the normal fare of intercultural
communication classes to portray the life of a performer in the context of
forging a national identity: *_Umm Kalthum, A Voice Like Egypt_*, directed by
Michael Goldman, 1996, 67 minutes, produced with funding from the National
Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation. It's available from
<Arabfilm.com>, which also offers an accompanying book. Their blurb:
"She had the musicality of Ella Fitzgerald, the public presence of Eleanor
Roosevelt, and the audience of Elvis Presley. Her name was Umm Kalthum, and
she became a powerful symbol, first of the aspirations of her country,
Egypt, and then of the entire Arab world. Narrated by Omar Sharif, _Umm
Kalthum, A Voice Like Egypt_ is the first documentary to bring the
celebrated Diva of the Arab world to an American audience. The film puts her
life in the context of the epic story of 20th century Egypt as it shook off
colonialism and confronted modernity."

Cynthia Roy:
How about an old film called the
*Ballad of Gregorio Cortez*? It's the story of Spanish speaking people in and
around the US in the days of cowboys and how a guy gets caught up in a life
and death situation over the misunderstanding of the meaning of one word.
Video stores can usually find it. We use it to show students who are
becoming interpreters. Pretty powerful.

Akira Satoh:
I can't tell you the title out of my head, but it is like this: an American
baseball player (played by one of those appearing in "A baby and three
men(?)") comes to Japan to play in a Japanese professional league, and he
encounters some problems with the manager (coach) of his team (Chunichi
Dorgons), the father (played by Ken Takakura) of his Japanese girlfriend.
In the film, he (the American) learns it is polite to make noise in eating
noodles in Japan, and one girl says that although it would be nice to have a
foreign boyfriend, he would eventually leave, and so on.

--
Scott F. Kiesling

Assistant Professor			
Department of Linguistics
University of Pittsburgh

kiesling at pitt.edu
2816 Cathedral of Learning
Pittsburgh, PA 15260  USA

412-624-5916 (voice)
412-624-6130 (fax)