For this assignment, Analyze the epic film: The Last Emperor.
Write for messages the author(s) of the version are sending about their society, whether they are critiques, praise, or plans for reform. Pay attention to how versions treat the same characters, symbols, and themes differently (recall our discussion of the snake that eats the flower of immortality in versions and retellings of Gilgamesh). You are welcome to use material and epics from the The Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou or Gilgamesh and the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Darmok, for instance, but the analysis should be original and your own (cite references if needed; developing points made in the lecture and discussion is encouraged). You are encouraged to compare and contrast various versions of the epic.
The completed essay should be five to ten pages in length, double spaced.
For this assignment, students must engage with three theoretical concepts from the theoretical concepts from the three attached readings used correctly (maximum of three). (Be sure to cite the relevant readings!)
The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1987)
Brief Introduction:
Bertolucci collaborated with master cinematographer Vittorio Storaro in many films . These include Last Tango in Paris and The Sheltering Sky. However, it is in The Last Emperor that they are both at their finest. The movie is a visual morsel, and it will make your eyes salivate from the first shot to the last.
This biopic tells the story of Pu-Yi, the last emperor of China. The film jumps back and forth across time, from his childhood on the Chinese Throne to his inevitable abdication, from his imprisonment to his release into a world that has left him behind. The film is not the royal tale of an emperor, but the life of a man and the history of a nation.
Bertolucci was given exclusive permission to film in The Forbidden City, a jaw-dropping palace complex built in 1420. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Last Emperor is a remarkable epic with arresting visuals and an amazing score to accompany them.