In the comments below, first answer the following question:
- In your humble (or not so humble) opinion, what is the theme of Iron Monkey. Provide three examples from the film that illustrate this theme.
Now, answer one of the following questions or respond to something someone else has commented about the film:
- How did the cultural research we did in class prepare you to enjoy this film more?
- Since watching the film, what additional cultural research have you done that has helped you appreciate the film more? Please share it with us for the benefit of all.
- How did this film help you become a better world citizen?
C.J. Barrett: One of the themes of Iron Monkey was outward generosity. Obviously, Iron Monkey himself was being the Hong Kongian version of Robin Hood could be considered generous, (though it could possibly be considered not generosity, since he was taking it from the wealthy to give to the poverty-stricken people. So Iron Monkey was being generous...just with other people's wealth.) Doctor Yang and Miss Orchid are incredibly generous, giving food to a stranger who lost his son, despite the fact that the guy was going after Doctor Wong's alternate persona, Iron Monkey. Lastly, I found the prison guard to be a fairly good example of the generosity theme. He let Dr. Yang take care of Wong Kei-Hung, rather than keeping him in the jail cell, despite the orders from his Government official.
ReplyDeleteI'll write a response to somepony else' post for the latter half of this post.
C.J.'s makeshift edit: *
DeleteGreat examples to illustrate your theme. Have you responded to someone else's post yet?
Deletein my oppinion i think Iron Monkey's theme reminds me allot about carma. my three reasons are: the emperor was very greedy with money, so the Iron Monkey stole money to give to the poeple who really needed it. second, the people who needed the money Iron Monkey gave money to the people that really needed it. third, the dad of the young boy met Iron Monkey and become good friends so they fought together to save everyone from the greedy emperor.
ReplyDeletei also think this film made me a better citizen by helping me see the good side of people eeven during some really bad times. it really showed me that when the doctor takes in the little boy and takes care of him. also when the doctor was giving out free medicine to some of his clients. another one was when the doctor takes in the dad and feeds him and offers him a place to stay and they were still friends even after the dad finds out about the doctors secret life.
-Courtney Valdez
Courtney, you are doing a great job of backing up your opinions with examples. And I am so glad that the film helped you see ways to participate meaningfully in society. That is such a good thing! It is great to have an experience with a film that helps us be better to other people!
DeleteOne clarification: when I talk in class and in the blog about becoming better "world citizens", I mean that we want to have a better sense of all the different cultures in the world so that we are not limited to seeing the world from our American perspective but are better able to see all the different ways that people around the world see things and live.
In my opinion, the theme of this movie was that, not everyone is who you expect them to be. I believe that because, everyone thought Iron Monkey was a bad guy, but he ended up being a great guy to Wong, even though Wong didn't nessisarily like Iron Monkey, UNTIL he found out who he was behind the mask :o
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this movie, I thought it was very funny at parts, but very serious in the same way. And I love that about any kind of movies, becase I think every movie should atleast have some type of comedy to it, to keep viewers entertained. I love the way the expressed the love between Wong and his son, showing how he would do anything for his son, and never wanted to leave him. It's very touching (:
-Bambie T.
What a cool theme to draw from this film. I never would have thought of that. Good work, Bambie!
DeleteTommy kiter here; I think the theme of the movie is mostly what bambi's oppinion of the theme is. like in the movie everyone thought iron monkey was the bad gay well the mayor dude did. But really he was the good one giving money to the poor who needed it the most of all. But also had an identity that the mayor (i dont know if its a mayor but the guy that tries to catch him). The cop no one who would think that would be the iron monkey.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the movie i thought it was cool made me laugh but it was a serious matter more action then comedy type of movie. all movies are different but this movie interested me in a way i dont know if its because i like action-film or mainly because its new to me and is a hong kong film. I thought the movie was great.
It made me a better world citizen by like you people will betray you but also become your bestfriend etc. Give for people that have less than you do. It made me appreciate the film alot i thought it was touching in a way how he cared about the people that had nothing then hiself.
-Tommy Kiter
Tommy, I am so happy to see that you are broadening your horizons with the kinds of films you see and enjoy through this class. That is most excellent. Yay! :D
DeleteAlso, see the note I wrote on Coutney's comment above about the term "world citizen".
Ellooo, this is Randi Ralston :) So yeah.
ReplyDeleteThe theme in Iron Monkey, or at least one of them, is selflessness. Iron Monkey took from the rich and gave to the poor, kind of like an Asian Robin Hood or Obama. Even though stealing is wrong, he still did it for a good cause and he had a good reason to. For example, Doctor Yang gave the poor man medicine for free, while he gave the wealthy man medicine for a cost. He and Miss Orchid risked their lives to steal gold from the governor to give to the needy, and even told them not to be greedy with it. Another example is that even when Wong Kei-Hung found out Dr. Yang was the Iron Monkey, he still supported his friend's side even though he knew it would risk his life.
(the bell just rang! I'll do the second half of my post later!!)
Alright I'm finally doing the second part of my post, haha. This is still Randi..by the way....if you didn't already know. Anyhow! So the question is, "How did the cultural research we did in class prepare you to enjoy this film more?" Well, I learned before we watched the movie that Hong Kong movies no matter what genre they are, (romance, horror, action, drama, you name it) they always have comedy in them, and there's always a funny moment at least at one point. During this movie, there were definitely some funny parts even though it was an action film. If Josh didn't tell us that Hong Kong movies always had at least one funny moment in it, I would've been kind of confused and weirded out a little bit thinking "Wait, what?" So I'm glad he told us that Hong Kong movies will have comedy in it no matter what.
DeleteRandi, I love the personal voice of your blog posts. By "personal voice", I mean that your blog posts have a personal tone that is pleasant to read. The rubric I use to grade the essays we will turn in later in the year states that "Your essay’s readers should feel from your writing that you are a delightful human being with whom they’d like to hang out, not some stiff scholar or computer. Consider using humor, wit, personal experiences, colloquialisms, etc. to make your voice very personal."
DeleteIn your posts on this movie, you do a great job of writing with this kind of voice.
I believe that the theme of Iron Monkey is overcoming corruption. The Shaolin monks, the local police, and the Providence Government all have been corrupted by money and power. They've been plagued by luxury. Because of all the corruption, a local legend, Iron Monkey, is forced to act as the towns vigilante, taking from the government, who takes from the people, in order to give it back to the people!
ReplyDeleteThis film made me appreciate Hong Kong, in new ways. I think you learn more about a country from its films, more than anything else, and I very much enjoy Hong Kong. I feel like my understanding of their culture is much better than it was before. The way this film was set up, and the way the symbols of this movie were relayed, I really felt like I was watching a piece of art, and not just another movie. It was thoroughly entertaining. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor, and a stronger sense of new adventures. Off to Hong Kong!
I find it interesting how the theme you pulled from this film connects to the theme of humanity that you have identified as the common theme in your own work. That's phenomanonology in action!
DeleteGood job backing up your theme statement with specific examples from the film.
One question for you that I am dying for you to answer: what specifically did you learn about Hong Kong culture by watching this film? You said many times in many different ways that you feel you understand them better but you did not say the specific cultural understandings that you gained.
I think the theme of Iron Monkey was to do what's right even when others think it's wrong and may judge you for it. The Iron Monkey is a wanted man known for taking from the wealthy and giving to the less fortunate, although I'm not sure the authorities knew that everything he stole ended up in the hands of someone who needed it. The Iron Monkey is fearless, brave, generous, and respectable. I think everyone needs a little bit of Iron Monkey attributes to them.
ReplyDeleteI loved how the Iron Monkey went and saved Wong Kei-Hung's son because he knew he was imprisoned because of the Iron Monkey. Ms. Orchid was probably one of my favorite characters in this movie because it showed women that they, too, can be as strong, mysterious, valiant, and brave as any man can be. I also loved how she nursed and nurtured Wong Kei-Hung's son back to health.
This movie helped me to become a better world citizen because it showed me that I can so much more than what others think I'm capable of. I can be daring, brave, strong, courageous and still be caring, loving, generous, and thoughtful.
I love to read how this film inspired you so much. That is the power of movies at their best. YAY! YAY! YAY!
DeleteIn regards to becoming a world citizen, see my notes on Courtney's response.
Tayia Groesbeck- I agree with Katie, i think the theme of Iron monkey is to do what's right even when others try to tell you not to. I also liked how she said she thinks everyone needs a little bit of Iron Monkey attributes to them.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this film and i think watching the English preview helped me understand what was going to happen and things like that because I can't really read all that quick. I liked when he gave jewels or whatever that valuable stuff is to all the people that needed money for something.
This film helped me become a better world citizen because he went around helping people and you can never go wrong with helping people, I;m going to start helping out more.
I love to see how you are learning from reading what other people said about the movie. Keep that up, my friend. I also love to see that you have a stronger desire to help out more. Definitely do that.
DeleteAlso, please read my note on Courtney's post above about what I mean when I use the term "world citizen".
MIND BLOWN >.<
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these sorts of facts with us. By doing so, you are serving all of us by helping us all appreciate the films more. I hope we all use this blog to share extra cool things we learn about the movie we watch and the countries where they were made so that we can learn and grow and what not. I love seeing us come together as a class to teach each other! It's the coolest.
ReplyDeleteThis movie could have so many different themes drawn from it. One of which would be family, the bond between father and son especially. Another big theme may be that sometimes in life, we must go against the law and what is considered "right" in order to do the best thing, not only for ourselves, but also for those around us.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I thought was really fantastic about this movie is how it show variations in people of the same culture. When we think of foreigners, we tend to clump them all into one big generalization stemming from the few things we may know about the country they are from. But this movie showed some differences within the people of the country that we would not think of, such as how they cooked different kinds of meals and prepared them in different ways, and how they fighting technique's they learned usually varied depending on the specific part of the country they were from.
That's really cool how the film helped you see the variations of people within a country! Way to become a world citizen by breaking down those walls of misunderstanding!
DeleteAlyssa Strasburg
ReplyDeleteIron Monkey
In my humble opinion, the theme of Iron Monkey is honor. Threw out the movie the characters are constantly trying to prove to themselves that they make a difference in people’s lives. The Governor is trying to provide a luxurious life with his wives. The Governor’s thoughts on honor may not be ethical, but having a luxurious life is honorable to him. The Iron Monkey (Dr. Yang) proves his honor by helping people that desperately need the help. Wong Kei-Ying is proving he can save his son by trying to prove his honor with his fighting skills.
I was able to know that Hong Kong cinema loves fighting. They just have so many fight scenes. So I was able to expect the amount of physical fighting in the movie.
I just researched more about the kind of movies that come out of modern Hong Kong. And I noticed a lot of history of Imperialism China and a need for a LOT of action.
Watching Iron Monkey made me want to become a better person by helping people in need. I try to do all I can at my job. I try to do as much work as I can in the time. And by doing so much my coworkers with children can go home early to their kids. And as a kid that didn’t have their parents around much it just makes me feel better that I can help someone with that.
I love the thoughts you share in your last paragraph. Makes me think of a thing I listened to on NPR this morning about how studies have shown that people deal better with grief when they focus on helping other people deal with that same type of grief.
DeleteWell it says on my grades that I didn't write a response but I did.
ReplyDeleteTayia Groesbeck- I agree with Katie, i think the theme of Iron monkey is to do what's right even when others try to tell you not to. I also liked how she said she thinks everyone needs a little bit of Iron Monkey attributes to them.
I really enjoyed this film and i think watching the English preview helped me understand what was going to happen and things like that because I can't really read all that quick. I liked when he gave jewels or whatever that valuable stuff is to all the people that needed money for something.
This film helped me become a better world citizen because he went around helping people and you can never go wrong with helping people, I;m going to start helping out more.
Sorry, Tayia. Corrected. Thank you for calling this to my attention.
Delete