Ideology in Chinese Films - Revision history

Root at 23:54, 4 March 2013

2013-03-04T23:54:31Z

Show changes

Melanie W: /* SOCIALIST MEDIA AND ARTISTIC SUPPRESSION */

2013-03-01T03:53:23Z

SOCIALIST MEDIA AND ARTISTIC SUPPRESSION

Melanie W: /* SOCIALIST MEDIA AND ARTISTIC SUPPRESSION */

2013-03-01T03:52:52Z

SOCIALIST MEDIA AND ARTISTIC SUPPRESSION

Melanie W: /* THE FIFTH GENERATION */

2013-03-01T03:38:55Z

THE FIFTH GENERATION

Melanie W: /* THE FIFTH GENERATION */

2013-03-01T03:37:02Z

THE FIFTH GENERATION

Melanie W: /* EARLY 20TH CENTURY */

2013-03-01T03:29:55Z

EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Melanie W: /* INTRODUCTION */

2013-03-01T03:24:43Z

INTRODUCTION

Melanie W: /* WWII: HOW THE WAR AFFECTED CHINESE FILMS */

2013-03-01T03:15:03Z

WWII: HOW THE WAR AFFECTED CHINESE FILMS

Melanie W: /* THE FIFTH GENERATION */

2013-03-01T03:14:25Z

THE FIFTH GENERATION

Melanie W: /* THE FIFTH GENERATION */

2013-03-01T03:13:49Z

THE FIFTH GENERATION

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 =SOCIALIST MEDIA AND ARTISTIC SUPPRESSION=
 [[ File:496x332px-Revolutionary_opera.JPG|250px|thumb|left|The_Red_Detachment_of_Women. White_House_photo_by_Byron Schumaker.
-Click [ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Revolutionary_opera.jpg]for original source. ] ] A popular form of Communist propaganda was Revolutionary Model Operas. From 1965-1974, these operas that appeared during the Chinese Cultural Revolution that told the stories of working class citizens fighting for a Utopian society. Creators of these operas were made with the purpose of making the average laborer the hero and making people of power and status, such as landlords, intellectuals, etc. into villains as a method to further Socialist ideals. A few examples of revolutionary model operas include Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, The Girl with White Hair, and Red Detachment of Women. According to the ideology of the Cultural Revolution, all traditional facets of Chinese culture were unacceptable, which included Peking Opera. This traditional art form was under scrutiny, because it “told stories of emperors, concubines and generals, which were deemed as remnants of a feudal past which had no place in the new Communist China. (Hays 2008:1)”  These operas were adapted into film and television to distribute them to the masses to advocate the Socialist agenda. “Stills of the characters and scenes were printed on posters, stamps and craft-works. It was a mass commercial campaign even though people didn't understand it in those terms at the time.(Zhang 1)”
+Click [ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Revolutionary_opera.jpg]for original source.]] A popular form of Communist propaganda was Revolutionary Model Operas. From 1965-1974, these operas that appeared during the Chinese Cultural Revolution that told the stories of working class citizens fighting for a Utopian society. Creators of these operas were made with the purpose of making the average laborer the hero and making people of power and status, such as landlords, intellectuals, etc. into villains as a method to further Socialist ideals. A few examples of revolutionary model operas include Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, The Girl with White Hair, and Red Detachment of Women. According to the ideology of the Cultural Revolution, all traditional facets of Chinese culture were unacceptable, which included Peking Opera. This traditional art form was under scrutiny, because it “told stories of emperors, concubines and generals, which were deemed as remnants of a feudal past which had no place in the new Communist China. (Hays 2008:1)”  These operas were adapted into film and television to distribute them to the masses to advocate the Socialist agenda. “Stills of the characters and scenes were printed on posters, stamps and craft-works. It was a mass commercial campaign even though people didn't understand it in those terms at the time.(Zhang 1)”
 [[ File:100_5092px-Beijing_government_building.JPG|250px|thumb|right|. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 =SOCIALIST MEDIA AND ARTISTIC SUPPRESSION=
-A popular form of Communist propaganda was Revolutionary Model Operas. From 1965-1974, these operas that appeared during the Chinese Cultural Revolution that told the stories of working class citizens fighting for a Utopian society. Creators of these operas were made with the purpose of making the average laborer the hero and making people of power and status, such as landlords, intellectuals, etc. into villains as a method to further Socialist ideals. A few examples of revolutionary model operas include Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, The Girl with White Hair, and Red Detachment of Women. According to the ideology of the Cultural Revolution, all traditional facets of Chinese culture were unacceptable, which included Peking Opera. This traditional art form was under scrutiny, because it “told stories of emperors, concubines and generals, which were deemed as remnants of a feudal past which had no place in the new Communist China. (Hays 2008:1)”  These operas were adapted into film and television to distribute them to the masses to advocate the Socialist agenda. “Stills of the characters and scenes were printed on posters, stamps and craft-works. It was a mass commercial campaign even though people didn't understand it in those terms at the time.(Zhang 1)”
+[[ File:496x332px-Revolutionary_opera.JPG|250px|thumb|left|The_Red_Detachment_of_Women. White_House_photo_by_Byron Schumaker.
 [[ File:100_5092px-Beijing_government_building.JPG|250px|thumb|right|. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 From the 1980’s-1990’s, Chinese filmmakers finally begun to enjoy being less artistically restricted by the government. China’s open door policy and economic reforms encouraged artistic freedom and increased production of feature films. This gave freedom for the Fourth Generation to explore cinematic styles. The Fourth Generation produced many films about the average Chinese person’s life, as opposed to the typical socialist film featuring revolutionary hero’s. In this era, there had been an increase of female directors. With less restrictions, many of these female directors touched on hot topics of love and female sexuality.
 =THE FIFTH GENERATION=
-[[ File:100_4252px-Chinese_tree.JPG|250px|thumb|left|Buddhist_lucky_tree. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]Film makers belonging to the Fifth Generation, such as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982. [[ File:100_5018px-Chinese_clothes.JPG|250px|thumb|right|Traditional_robes_royal_family_foreigners. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]Most films produced by the Fifth Generation were primarily an abstract reflection on or exhibitionist display of Chinese culture and
+[[ File:100_4254px-Chinese_tree.JPG|250px|thumb|left|Buddhist_lucky_tree. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]Film makers belonging to the Fifth Generation, such as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982. [[ File:100_5018px-Chinese_clothes.JPG|250px|thumb|right|Traditional_robes_royal_family_foreigners. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]Most films produced by the Fifth Generation were primarily an abstract reflection on or exhibitionist display of Chinese culture and
 history.A few Fifth Generation films challenged the myths of the Cultural Revolution, for example, One in Eight and Yellow Earth. Many films made by the Fifth Generation used visuals to decode meaning and narrative. Films such as Yellow Earth and Horse Thief explores cultural tradition. (Zhang 2008:7)

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 From the 1980’s-1990’s, Chinese filmmakers finally begun to enjoy being less artistically restricted by the government. China’s open door policy and economic reforms encouraged artistic freedom and increased production of feature films. This gave freedom for the Fourth Generation to explore cinematic styles. The Fourth Generation produced many films about the average Chinese person’s life, as opposed to the typical socialist film featuring revolutionary hero’s. In this era, there had been an increase of female directors. With less restrictions, many of these female directors touched on hot topics of love and female sexuality.
 =THE FIFTH GENERATION=
-Film makers belonging to the Fifth Generation, such as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982. [[ File:100_5018px-Chinese_clothes.JPG|250px|thumb|right|Traditional_robes_royal_family_foreigners. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]Most films produced by the Fifth Generation were primarily an abstract reflection on or exhibitionist display of Chinese culture and
+[[ File:100_4252px-Chinese_tree.JPG|250px|thumb|left|Buddhist_lucky_tree. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]Film makers belonging to the Fifth Generation, such as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982. [[ File:100_5018px-Chinese_clothes.JPG|250px|thumb|right|Traditional_robes_royal_family_foreigners. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]Most films produced by the Fifth Generation were primarily an abstract reflection on or exhibitionist display of Chinese culture and
 history.A few Fifth Generation films challenged the myths of the Cultural Revolution, for example, One in Eight and Yellow Earth. Many films made by the Fifth Generation used visuals to decode meaning and narrative. Films such as Yellow Earth and Horse Thief explores cultural tradition. (Zhang 2008:7)

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 =EARLY 20TH CENTURY=
-In the early 1900’s Chinese cinema started out with more of a documentary style of filmmaking. Within a few years, films, such as The Difficult Couple and Conquering Jun Mountain were produced more with the intent to entertain the audience, and to show Chinese culture as a spectacle in a way to draw attention to the film to captivate viewers. During this period of time, filmmaking was generally uninfluenced by the government, because at the time, China was divided by regional warlords it wasn’t until 1927 when the KMT established its central government in Nanjing. (Zhang 2008:1)
+[[ File:100_5115px-Chinese_winter_palace.JPG|250px|thumb|left|Chinese_winter_palace. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]In the early 1900’s Chinese cinema started out with more of a documentary style of film making. Within a few years, films, such as The Difficult Couple and Conquering Jun Mountain were produced more with the intent to entertain the audience, and to show Chinese culture as a spectacle in a way to draw attention to the film to captivate viewers. During this period of time, film making was generally uninfluenced by the government, because at the time, China was divided by regional warlords it wasn't until 1927 when the KMT established its central government in Nanjing. (Zhang 2008:1)
 Many Chinese films produced in the early 1920’s, were about family dramas. Early filmmakers, such as Mingxing produced such family dramas that emphasized traditional ideologies, such as Confucian virtues, as well as making films that  were situated close to “butterfly literature”—highly conservative popular urban fiction. Such Confucian ideas expressed in these films involve virtues of female chastity and filial piety. Films made during this era were primarily focused on enlightening audiences by morally educating them through films. Filmmakers, such as Zheng Zhengqiu made such films that emphasized moral education through popular entertainment that was accessible to the masses. (Zhang 2008:1)

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 =INTRODUCTION=
-Throughout the history of Chinese cinema, the changing ideologies that were present in films in flux as time passed seemed to rotate through in a roundabout way. Early Chinese films began with a more humanistic focus and geared toward entertaining audiences. These films became more intellectually inclined as the years progressed. Throughout and following WWII, Chinese films began to take on a message of patriotism, and many were used for the purpose of documenting war and training troupes. Throughout the Cultural Revolution, creativity in films became highly suppressed, as they became more focused on expressing the ideology of the Communist Party. Chinese films began to become more free to artistic expression and less focused on political ideologies as China opened up their doors to the West, thus becoming increasingly geared toward a documentary approach toward the human experience for people in China. Thus we see a rotation in the way that films express certain ideas: First with creative films to intellectually driven documentaries, then from becoming more patriotically driven to becoming nationalistic tools for Communism, back to regaining some artistic freedom while documenting realistic experiences and emotions with the 5th and 6th generation of Chinese filmmakers. Chinese film had also evolved as an art form as a result of the influence of globalization and from a new generations revolutionized thought process that challenges the status quo compared to previous Chinese generations who would not dare to think of questioning the ways of society and government.
+Throughout the history of Chinese cinema, the changing ideologies that were present in films in flux as time passed seemed to rotate [[ File:100_4543px-Chinese_conference_room.JPG|250px|thumb|right|Chinese_conference_room. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]through in a roundabout way. Early Chinese films began with a more humanistic focus and geared toward entertaining audiences. These films became more intellectually inclined as the years progressed. Throughout and following WWII, Chinese films began to take on a message of patriotism, and many were used for the purpose of documenting war and training troupes. Throughout the Cultural Revolution, creativity in films became highly suppressed, as they became more focused on expressing the ideology of the Communist Party. Chinese films began to become more free to artistic expression and less focused on political ideologies as China opened up their doors to the West, thus becoming increasingly geared toward a documentary approach toward the human experience for people in China. Thus we see a rotation in the way that films express certain ideas: First with creative films to intellectually driven documentaries, then from becoming more patriotically driven to becoming nationalistic tools for Communism, back to regaining some artistic freedom while documenting realistic experiences and emotions with the 5th and 6th generation of Chinese filmmakers. Chinese film had also evolved as an art form as a result of the influence of globalization and from a new generations revolutionized thought process that challenges the status quo compared to previous Chinese generations who would not dare to think of questioning the ways of society and government.
 =EARLY 20TH CENTURY=
 In the early 1900’s Chinese cinema started out with more of a documentary style of filmmaking. Within a few years, films, such as The Difficult Couple and Conquering Jun Mountain were produced more with the intent to entertain the audience, and to show Chinese culture as a spectacle in a way to draw attention to the film to captivate viewers. During this period of time, filmmaking was generally uninfluenced by the government, because at the time, China was divided by regional warlords it wasn’t until 1927 when the KMT established its central government in Nanjing. (Zhang 2008:1)

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 =WWII: HOW THE WAR AFFECTED CHINESE FILMS=
-During the 1930’s-1940’s there were several changes occurred as a response to modernization and nationalism.  The KMT government began cracking down on martial arts pictures and films became regulated of ideological content as a means to promote modern images of China. Next, a "national cinema" movement briefly united producers and exhibitors and brought new looks to the screen and new audiences to theaters. (Zhang 2008:3)
+During the 1930’s-1940’s there were several changes occurred as a response to modernization and nationalism.[[ File:100_4551px-Chinese_flag.JPG|250px|thumb|right|Chinese_flag. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]  The KMT government began cracking down on martial arts pictures and films became regulated of ideological content as a means to promote modern images of China. Next, a "national cinema" movement briefly united producers and exhibitors and brought new looks to the screen and new audiences to theaters. (Zhang 2008:3)
 Also, the emergent leftists successfully launched ideological film criticism, maneuvered through cracks in the censorship system, and produced leftist films exposing class exploitation, national crisis, and social evils.  (Zhang 2008:3) When the Japanese invaded China during World War II, filmmakers began to produce several patriotic films and documentaries of the war. Many of these war documentaries were used for the purpose of training Chinese troupes for combat.
-[[ File:100_4551px-Chinese_flag.JPG|250px|thumb|right|Chinese_flag. Photo by Melanie Woodbury.]]
 Following WWII, the production of postwar films had increased. Many of these films honored the Communist Party.  Even though Hollywood films dominated in films that were shown in China, this period attracted a bigger audience for domestic films compared to before the war. Many of these films specialized in melodramas emphasizing human compassion, as well as many films made by pre-war left wing artists who focused on movies with plots based on social intervention.