Films as Expression of Asian

Films as Expression of Asian Values

Film is one of the most popular form of media utilized today, for the simple fact that it allows filmmakers and directors a variety of tools with which to not only convey a story, but also to convey the mores and markers of culture that provide narrative background. Due to its popularity, one could argue that film has become one of the most viable forms of transmission of culture, with its values displayed for all the world to see and gain a better understanding of. This paper proposes that individuals can learn a significant amount about a specific culture simply by watching a plethora of films pertaining to it. Asian culture in particular has been well documented in movies, demonstrating the role of conventional family values in Asian heritage. Traditional family values that are decreasing throughout the Western world still hold true throughout most of Asia and for Asian-American citizens, as a study of Asian films indicates.

Thesis -- Traditional family values that are decreasing throughout the Western world still hold true throughout most of Asia and for Asian-American citizens, as a study of Asian film indicates.

A. The Asian family structure is based on the traditional nuclear family model with a wife, a husband, and children.

1. Such images and the perception of the family as a unit, one which is honorable and is regarded as and defended as such, populate a variety of different films.

B. Homogeneity is a powerful part of Asian culture and is reflected in family values by the fact that there is a distinct lack of intermingling and intermarriage with those outside of the Asian heritage.

1. Asian films portray the fact that homogeneity is a key aspect in preserving the strong culture of family value for Asians.

C. Heterosexuality is a principle aspect to preserving the nuclear family. Asians may be tolerant of homosexuals, yet typically do not portray images of homosexuality within their films.

1. This aspect of Asian family values and its reinforcement of the principles of the nuclear family stands in stark contrast with conventional Western films, particularly American ones, which usually allude to homosexuality at some point within them, whether implicitly or implicitly.

One of the core values in Asian culture is the concept of marriage. Like other facets of this culture, the institution of marriage within Asian cultures is immensely revered, particularly due to the fact that it functions as the basis of familial life. In many respects, however, the notion of Asian marriage is deliberately more staid and somewhat more old-fashioned than the concept of marriage in other cultures. The traditional values that Asian marriage typifies are perhaps best expressed in popular culture through the medium of film. Mores related to the different roles of gender are evinced in a wide number of cinema depicting Asians, which both elucidates as well as reinforces the customs associated with the institution of marriage. The convention that the husband fulfills the dominant male provider role while his wife supports him in all of his endeavors, particularly domestic ones, is at the heart of the cultural value of Asian marriages.

I. Thesis -- the convention that the husband fulfills the dominant male provider role while his wife supports him in all of his endeavors, particularly domestic ones, is at the heart of the cultural value of Asian marriages.

A. Asian society, as well as that of Asians in the westernized world, is male dominated.

1. There are numerous films that depict males and husbands in roles in which they are the material provider and principle decision maker in a marriage.