The Disappearance of“Chinese” Cinema?

Wu JingSchool of Journalism and Communication, Peking Universityjwu@pku.edu.cn

The Conditions of “National Cinemas” inthe Age of Globalization

What does “national cinema” mean, and what have theybecome?

★ A term in film studies to identify the close relationshipbetween cinema industry, content and audience with nationalfeatures

★ Before the 1990s, it was still possible to name nationalcinemas all over the world (maybe with the exception ofHollywood), as film was mostly an industry and art form shapedby national policy, market and culture.

★ With the globalization of cultural industries toward the 21 century, it is increasingly difficult to recognize the “nation” infilm capital, production, content and market.

Hollywood’s Measures of Globalization

Direct export (This is happening in many countries butcountries can respond by putting a cap on import to protectdomestic film industries)

Using directors, actors and artists from all over the world(Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Lee, An Lee, etc.)

Making films based on other countries’ culture in order toexpand overseas market (Mulan, Kunfu Panda, etc.)

Direct investment in other countries’ film production

All these trends contribute to the globalization anduniversalization of film culture

The Film Trajectory of Zhang Yimou, the mostInternationally Known Filmmaker in China

Zhang’s Benchmark: Old Rural and SexuallyRepressive China

Urban Stories: Depicting An urban and ModernChina

Documentary Realism and Social Issues

Spectacular, Mythological China

Globalizing Chinese Stories: Universal Humanity

When “China” Becomes A Picture

And Object of Pure Gaze…

What is “National” in Chinese Cinema?

Chinese language: in film studies, “Chinese cinema” means“Chinese speaking cinemas” and therefore covers three majorareas of China: mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, that havevisible film industry and film tradition.

Chinese culture and history in film content: Hong Kongmartial art movies, mainland and Taiwan’s historical drama,China’s socialist realism and worker-peasant-soldier movies,Taiwan’s melodrama, etc.

Cinema’s response to local concerns: Hong Kong’s identitypolitics in post-colonial era, Taiwan’s exploration of a newnational identity after democratization, the mainland’s criticalreflection on the Cultural Revolution and traditional Chineseculture in the worship of modernization (new wave in allthree areas of China)

The Global “Look” and the Disappearance of “Chinese” Cinema Today

But the Passion to Narrate ChinaContinues…