The Good Earth - Chinese Film History Livestream

About this event

Let’s learn about Chinese history and culture through two classic films: “The Good Earth” and “The Last Emperor.” Each film history program will have two parts. Part one, approximately 15-20 minutes, will be a brief introduction to the film, including its historical context, plot summary, things to look for, accuracy, etc. Part two will be a full screening of the film. During and after the screening you are welcome to join your fellow participants in a live online discussion of the film via Zoom. The Good Earth - Chinese Film History Livestream Saturday, August 22 – 7:00 am - Los Angeles, CA / San Francisco, CA 9:00 am - Dallas, TX / Austin, TX / Chicago, IL 10:00 am - Washington, DC / New York, NY 3:00 pm - London, England (following day) The Last Emperor - Chinese Film History Livestream Saturday, August 22 - 12:00 pm - Los Angeles, CA / San Francisco, CA 2:00 pm - Dallas, TX / Austin, TX / Chicago, IL 3:00 pm - Washington, DC / New York, NY 8:00 pm - London, England *** The Good Earth is a 1937 American drama film about Chinese farmers who struggle to survive. It was adapted by Talbot Jennings, Tess Slesinger, and Claudine West from the 1932 play by Owen Davis and Donald Davis, which was in itself based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck. The film was directed by Sidney Franklin, with uncredited contributions by Victor Fleming and Gustav Machaty. The film stars Paul Muni as Wang Lung. For her role as his wife O-Lan, Luise Rainer won an Academy Award for Best Actress. The film also won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Karl Freund. It was nominated for Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Picture. Its world premiere was at the elegant Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. The Good Earth is a historical fiction novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1931 that dramatizes family life in an early 20th-century Chinese village in Anhwei. It is the first book in her House of Earth trilogy, continued in Sons (1932) and A House Divided (1935). It was the best-selling novel in the United States in both 1931 and 1932, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1932, and was influential in Buck's winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938. Buck, who grew up in China as the daughter of American missionaries, wrote the book while living in China and drew on her first-hand observation of Chinese village life. The realistic and sympathetic depiction of the farmer Wang Lung and his wife O-Lan helped prepare Americans of the 1930s to consider Chinese as allies in the coming war with Japan. The novel was included in Life magazine's list of the 100 outstanding books of 1924–1944. In 2004, the book returned to the bestseller list when chosen by the television host Oprah Winfrey for Oprah's Book Club. A Broadway stage adaptation was produced by the Theatre Guild in 1932, written by the father and son playwriting team of Owen and Donald Davis, but critics gave a poor reception, and it ran only 56 performances. However, the 1937 film, The Good Earth, which was based on the stage version, was more successful. Film Trailer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikY9aQCAujw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikY9aQCAujw "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikY9aQCAujw") *** Zoom Connection Link Click (or Copy and Paste) and Follow the Instructions: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89211545078?pwd=QnK9Dnttn7ndd8al8CCrpjTvmaafgB.1 Meeting ID: 892 1154 5078 Passcode: 154121 One tap mobile +13462487799,,89211545078#,,,,\*154121# US (Houston) +16694449171,,89211545078#,,,,\*154121# US Join instructions https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/89211545078/invitations?signature=DrW0NCrGSACuuidXBy0UJyvEIIAgGZuLdJf2K4H3uZ0 Connecting a few minutes early is recommended. If you experience any technical issues please restart your Zoom session and/or your device. When all else fails please follow the directions. *** Your host for this program is Robert Kelleman, the founder/director of the non-profit community organizat