O-Bon Festival, Japan (August 13-15, 2007)

O-bon (or Obon) is the Japanese "Festival of the Dead ... when the dead revisit the earth, according to Japanese Buddhist belief. Throughout Japan, in either July or August, depending on the area, religious rites and family reunions are held in memory of the dead." (Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary)

In honor of O-bon, listen to some Japanese music or watch some Japanese movies. We have classic films by Akira Kurosawa, such as Rashomon where the nature of truth and subjective reality are probed in a series of flashbacks from four viewpoints of a man's murder and the rape of his wife by a bandit in 11th century Japan. Or try a more recent movie by Hirokazu Koreeda, like After Life, a fantasy in which the newly deceased find themselves in a way station somewhere between Heaven and Earth. With the help of dedicated caseworkers, each soul is given three days to choose one cherished memory from his or her life to relive for eternity.

If you're into anime, we have lots of great Japanese animation ranging from the Matrix-like Ghost in the Shell to Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haku), the moving story of two orphans during World War II, to the work of Academy Award-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki.

We also have a variety of movies set in Japan, including the French film Hiroshima Mon Amour, in which a Japanese architect and a French actress engage in a brief, intense affair in Hiroshima as they attempt to deal with their personal memories of World War II or Lost in Translation about the unusual friendship that springs up between a middle-aged actor and the wife of a photographer in a Tokyo hotel bar. For action and sword-fighting, try The Last Samurai or Zatoichi. If you're looking for laughs, check out Tom Selleck in Mr. Baseball.

Or use the Mega Media Finder to try some of our other media materials about Japan, including:

• Non-fiction videos


• Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire is a PBS program that looks at the role of the samurai, the shogun, and geishas in Tokugawa Japan.


• Yukio Mishima: Samurai Writer presents a portrait of the author as novelist, playwright, actor, and patriot of the extreme right, torn between Japanese tradition and westernization


• Our Hiroshima combines the eyewitness account of Setsuko Nakamuro Thurlow, a campaigner for peace who was 13 when the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima, with rare archival footage taken before and after the bombing


• Toshiko Takaezu presents an introduction to the art and life of internationally-acclaimed potter Toshiko Takaezu, who creates work in the form of both functional and sculptural ceramics


• Schools of Thought: Teaching Children in America and Japan looks at efforts in both the United States and Japan to balance creativity and discipline in education.


• Three-dimensional artifacts, including kimonos and other clothing, dolls, musical instruments, an abacus, and a calligraphy set


• Pictures, including many of various Japanese matsuri or festivals

Or use the Fiction & Literature Media Finder and select by original language or setting to read some:

• Adult fiction originally in Japanese


• Adult fiction set in Japan


• Children's stories set in Japan


• Japanese folk tales


• Japanese drama, including noh and kabuki, or check out this DVD of The Lovers' Exile, the Bunraku Puppet Theatre of Japan's adaptation of the famous playwright Chikamatsu's Meido no Hikyaku (The Courier for Hell)

If your knowledge of kanji is better than mine, you might even want to try some literature in the original Japanese.

ANZAC Day, Australia + New Zealand (April 25, 2007)

"ANZAC Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day." (http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.htm)

To honor ANZAC Day, why not watch a film from Australia, like Rabbit-Proof Fence, which tells how, in 1931, three half-Aboriginal children from Western Australia, who had been taken from their mothers, set out on an epic journey home, traveling 1,500 miles on foot with no food or water as they followed the fence that has been build across the nation to stem an over-population of rabbits. You might also like Breaker Morant, in which an Australian soldier in 1901 South Africa during the Boer War is ordered to oversee the execution of a prisoner who turns out to be a German missionary and is court-martialed for it. The Proposition is an Australian Western set in the outback of the 1880s, where an outlaw is presented with an impossible proposition by local law enforcement.

Or watch a movie from New Zealand, such as Whale Rider, the story of Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal Maori tribe, who believes she is destined to be the new chief. And don't forget to check out the work of the famous kiwi director Peter Jackson.

Kick back with some music from Australia and New Zealand. Waltzing Matilda is the quintessential Australian song. We also have the children's book and a claymation short in which a chorus of animated clay animals from the Australian bush sing the famous Australian folk song.

From the Mega Media Finder, check out some pictures of Australia (click on zoology under categories to the right of the results to find lots of pictures of animals, like koalas, platypuses, or kangaroos) or New Zealand. We also have a few 3-dimensional artifacts, like these Maori dolls and these boomerangs.

Learn more about Australia or New Zealand from some non-fiction videos, like Aboriginal Art: Past, Present and Future and Te Maori: A Celebration of the People and their Art.

Looking for something to read? We have children's stories and adult fiction set in Australia, as well as children's stories and adult fiction set in New Zealand. Why not try something by Australian Nobel laureate Patrick White? Or something by the well-known author Katherine Mansfield, who was born in New Zealand.

Chinese New Year (February 18, 2007)

Happy Chinese New Year! Check out our Chinese New Year Celebration Box, as well as these videos to get ready for the Year of the Pig (or Boar).

Want to learn more about China or check out some Chinese films, literature, and music?

Use the Movies & TV Programs (fiction video) Media Finder to try some movies from China (select China/Hong Kong under origin) or movies set in China (select China under country in the setting section).

Find some Chinese literature to read by going to the Fiction & Literature Media Finder and selecting Chinese under original language of literature. Combine this with the prose, short stories, poetry, or plays checkboxes to narrow your search. To find Chinese folktales, it works better to choose China from the country list under setting and then check folklore & religious stories. Or find children's literature about China by choosing youth under audience and China from the countries under setting. Change to 10-39 p. under audience and check prose to narrow your focus to little kids' stories.

Why not listen to some Chinese music? From the World Music Finder, select China under country and limit to recordings under format. Or limit to criticism & history under format to find out more about Chinese music.

Check out our VHS and DVD videos on China from the Videorecordings (All) Media Finder. We have titles ranging from The art of architecture in China and Feng shui : environments for success and well-being to Management in Chinese cultures to The tank man, a documentary about a single, unarmed young man stood his ground before a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square and Zhang’s diner, a documentary about the challenges faced by a Chinese couple who illegally move from their rural hometown to Beijing.

If you get really ambitious, you can even check out our Chinese language instruction from the Software & Electronic Games or Audiobooks & Other Spoken Recordings Media Finders.