Chinese Film Studies

Discuss how Fifth Generation films are reinventing China . If Fifth Generation films are reinventing China , how would you describe Sixth Generation films ? Choose at least 4 films by different directors

Introduction

When Deng Xiaoping took control and implemented a series of economic reforms in the late 1970s , China entered a new era . The country slowly changed from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented economy Foreign investments were encouraged , and new technologies eagerly sought . The new interest in advanced Western `know how ' soon spilled over to the realms of culture and

ideology as well . More and more students were sent abroad to study in foreign universities , and an increasing number of foreign books , music and movies began to circulate By no means democratic by Western standards , the CCP government under Deng 's leadership became more liberal than it had ever been . It was against this backdrop that Chinese film made its quantum leap

In the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution , the events of the recent past continued to overshadow film production . During the revolution 's period (1966 - 1976 ) art was a political instrument of propaganda . Films were tools of the communist party . Their leaders used film in to influence , or as they called it , educate the masses . The ideological use of films was very strict . Nearly all film activities and genres were suppressed , except for adaptations of the Peking Opera which were Jing Qing 's (Mao 's wife ) favorite art form . However , many films produced in the late 1970s were hardly distinguishable from the propaganda films of the Cultural Revolution period . Nevertheless , one of the most significant changes of the new era was that as --- contends filmmakers began to explore the trauma caused by political radicalism from diverse perspectives . These films criticized the party 's cultural policies and placed the Cultural Revolution in a broader historical perspective . By the early 1980s , the cinematic focus on the wounds of the Cultural Revolution was gradually being replaced by an interest in a variety of new subjects and issues . Intellectuals , scientists urban youth , overseas Chinese , and the aristocrats of the Qing dynasty all made their appearance on film screenings , some for the first time in the PRC period . As ___ argued , the depoliticization of the film industry in the early 1980s was now allowed for a more realistic approach to contemporary life . As economic reform gained momentum in the mid-1980s , people 's lives were profoundly affected by the resulting drastic changes . The filmmakers directed their attention to the new problems now confronting China . Stories and characters are found in contemporary films focused on the subject of reform . The frustrations and problems experienced by many people in the reform period led to a cultural reflection movement . After all , as ___ puts it , resistance to social progress does not emanate from political authorities alone There should be efforts on searching for the roots of social practices not compatible with the modern world (p . Thus , Chinese leading intellectuals came to regard traditional Chinese values...