Hamilton College - Associated Colleges in China

During preparation for my travels throughout China's countryside, I decided I was going to carry my video camera and tripod with me to document the field study program's experience. In recent years, I have discovered that film and documentary are a remarkable medium of both study and research. My decision to make a documentary about the education in rural China actually came from another experience the year before.
In the summer of 2007, I filmed a documentary about the rise of "street basketball" (????) in Beijing. I found that making an in-depth film was not only a great way to improve your Chinese, but also the best way to develop meaningful relationships with people you might have otherwise not met. I scoured Beijing for basketball courts and players. To my amazement, I discovered an entire "streetball" culture in Beijing. Every evening after Beijingers were released from work and school, the courts would be flooded with basketball players. I would show up at these courts with a basketball in one hand and a tripod in the other. At first, the players would take cautious glances at me, the strange foreigner, but after awhile they would beckon me over, and we would start playing. Although I was supposed to be studying Chinese, basketball was actually the language that broke the ice. Only after I had played a few games with them would I begin to talk to them about my documentary.
The discussions in between games would often take a life of their own. While the conversations almost always started with basketball-related topics (the NBA, basketball shoes, or strategy), would often evolve into conversations about my live in the United States and their lives in Beijing. I learned about their personal goals, their views of China's rapid development, and even about their girlfriends. The relationships I developed on the courts often ended up taking me off the courts to places I had never imagined. I followed a 10th grade basketball team through an Adidas-sponsored basketball tournament for two weeks. I interviewed physical education teachers. I interviewed Adidas representatives. By the end of the summer, I found myself reviewing hours of footage that helped me understand the importance of sports in Chinese youth's lives as well as to the development of the nation as a whole. The process of editing the film allowed me to practice my Chinese by repeatedly watching clips until I had them practically memorized. It also allowed me to reflect on my experience by reliving it with others who had not even been to China.
When I was accepted by ACC's Field Studies Program the following year, I immediately knew that I would be carrying my video camera with me. I knew I would be travelling to places that most foreigners never have a chance to even see. The Western media is saturated with images of Shanghai's skyscrapers and Beijing's new Olympic stadiums or images of China's illustrious past (the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors, etc.). I hoped to film China's countryside, a place that is often mentioned but rarely depicted in the media.
As with my basketball project, I hoped that my camera would act as a medium for communication and reflection. Because we were constantly on the move throughout the project, I did not manage to make the kind of connections that I had in my previous documentary, but something new arose from this experience. One of the classes I taught during our time at rural schools was a video class in which the students had the chance to film their own scene. I assigned roles to each of the students. Some were actors, some were cameramen, and some were directors. I must have taught the class almost twenty times in total, and in the process I had the chance to truly observe how these fourth and fifth grade students approached making their own small scene. Moreover, I now have twenty records of how my students managed to learn how to use the video camera and tripod, how to act out their character, or how to direct. These scenes acted as a guide for structuring my resulting documentary.
"Educating the Forgotten Majority" refers to the millions of children living in the Chinese countryside who are not afforded the same educational opportunities as urban children. The rural educational system faces many problems (rapidly changing demographics, poor funding, and antiquated teaching methods). However, my experience in Lingao, Hainan and Xiaochang, Hubei revealed to me that "rural China" is an inadequate term. The situations in both of the counties were very different despite both being part of China's countryside. I do not feel knowledgeable enough to go into detail about the challenges that each of these respective places face. However, I hope that this documentary illustrates that while education is lacking in rural China, the environments and situations in each place are unique. China's "countryside" is not one place but many.
Finally, I would like to discuss some of the challenges I faced while making this documentary. As I mentioned above, our group was constantly on the move and working. This made it very hard to conduct in-depth interviews with people and allow relationships to take their natural course. Much of my footage was shot on the fly when I could quickly reach into my bag and shoot the surroundings. Chinese hospitality is truly the most all-encompassing hospitality in the world. Every night, every meal, and every pit-stop were planned out for our trip. As we were shipped from place to place, I did not have the opportunity to film some of the most interesting images in the countryside. I had to compromise and take those shots as we were flying by in a van at sixty miles-per-hour. I hope that you can still get a sense of what these places are like.
This short documentary is only the beginning. I hope that I will be able to continue travelling to China to film parts of the culture that most Americans are not aware of. I believe that China and the Chinese people are often depicted as an authoritarian, monolithic state, but the truth is far from that. More focus should be placed to the individual and his/her own words. I plan to continue finding venues for these words to be conveyed to the rest of the world.

David C. Wang

Pomona College

Made a short documentary: "Educating the Forgotten Majority"

To view the short-version: http://vimeo.com/1799084 (Coming Dec. 15)

About the creation of the film

Please contact David with any questions or comments at: DCW02005@mymail.pomona.edu

2008 Field Studies Outreach Activities

Video: Field Studies 2007