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New Chinese Cinema Challenging Representation
New Chinese Challenging Representations examines the "search for roots" films that emerged from China in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. Sheila Cornelius contextualizes the films of the so-called Fifth Generation directors who came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, and Tian Zhuangzhuan. Including close analysis of such pivotal films as Farewell My Concubine (winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes), Raise the Red Lantern, and The Blue Kite, the book also examines the rise of contemporary Sixth Generation underground directors whose themes embrace the disaffection of urban youth.
144 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2002
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May 17, 2008
Not written for academics it is very accessible--possibly too much so for long time fans of Hong Kong/PRC/Taiwan movies who may have already assimiliated much of the information the author presents. On the other hand it isn't necessary to wade through yet another set of discussions of semiotics, structuralism, neo-Marxism and pre-post-modernism (I just made that one up) for those who find that insalubrious and which most academic oriented texts include
It has a chapter on cultural history topics or influences and a discussion of movies that illustrate the response to them. The chapter on Confucius and Patriarchy, for example, covers the tenets of Confucionist thought--I don't know how accurately but it isn't very different from other short accounts I have read--and how they have affected the view of women in China. She presents some films from very early days of the industry, from post-revolutionary China but spends most her time on more recent works, concentrating on Gong Li movies in this case.
It is a short book, almost an outline, but I thought it was a pretty good introduction to how Chinese movies reflected culture, politics and society. Sheila Cornelius, the author, doesn't grind many axes or at least isn't obvious when she does. In the Confucious chapter, for example, she quotes from an author who says that if "women are to achieve equality in China they must challenge the simplistic reductionism of Marxism itself".
It doesn't have an index which I found to be a major drawback. "New Chinese Cinema" is decently written, basic, balanced and jargon free.
It has a chapter on cultural history topics or influences and a discussion of movies that illustrate the response to them. The chapter on Confucius and Patriarchy, for example, covers the tenets of Confucionist thought--I don't know how accurately but it isn't very different from other short accounts I have read--and how they have affected the view of women in China. She presents some films from very early days of the industry, from post-revolutionary China but spends most her time on more recent works, concentrating on Gong Li movies in this case.
It is a short book, almost an outline, but I thought it was a pretty good introduction to how Chinese movies reflected culture, politics and society. Sheila Cornelius, the author, doesn't grind many axes or at least isn't obvious when she does. In the Confucious chapter, for example, she quotes from an author who says that if "women are to achieve equality in China they must challenge the simplistic reductionism of Marxism itself".
It doesn't have an index which I found to be a major drawback. "New Chinese Cinema" is decently written, basic, balanced and jargon free.
Displaying 1 of 1 review