this week, our chinese film professor is in america (first stop: stanford university for a speaking event!) so our class had a field trip in place of our usual lecture and screening. we went to beijing's chinese film museum, which is very cool but awkwardly large and in the middle of nowhere. anyway, i will take this opportunity to share some of the stuff i have learned about chinese film.
the picture below is from the imax theater inside the museum, which most recently showed "avatar." interesting backstory: the film industry in china has been historically controlled by the party because of its precious propaganda function. the government used to be the sole financier of films, and today it still finances the majority made in china. although blatant propaganda has gone out of style, patriotic films are still encouraged. "confucius," an epic about the sage which propagates education, traditional values, etc. was released this february. unfortunately, this was right alongside "avatar," whose hype was unbeatable and attracted the largest box office sum in chinese history. china only allows 20 foreign films to be screened here a year, so for one to steal the spotlight this way was a huge issue. at first, the government reacted by canceling "avatar" showings and increasing "confucius" showings, but the backlash was intense so they let off.
here are jimmy and i with a familiar face... jackie chan in "rumble in the bronx" attire. from talking with my language partner, i understand that chinese actors/actresses that "go international" like chan are judged by their countrymen on the level of "chineseness" that they maintain through it all. gong li for instance... traitor. she starred in many of china's most important films thanks to her working relationship with china's golden director, zhang yimou. but after a falling out with him, she became famous abroad and married a singaporean businessman/attained singaporean citizenship. not cool. chan, on the other hand, is famous abroad but stays true to a chinese art (kungfu) and plays distinctly "chinese" characters.
bruce lee, emma, ollie and jimmy in the last scene of "fists of fury." i am ashamed to say i still haven't watched a bruce lee movie. aiya!
below, an exhibit about the film "地道战“ or "tunnel warfare." did you know... "tunnel warfare" is the most watched film in history? i had never heard of it until forced to watch in class! but this film (1965) is like, i don't know, the "lion king" of china. everyone has to see it and kids especially love it. it's about clever villagers who overcome their lack of arms and experience by building a network of tunnels to fight the japanese in the 1937 war of resistance. it's militant but also comedic, most of the film is (1) rallying around mao zedong's writings (2) outwitting dumb japanese brutes who chase the villagers around, fall into booby traps, etc. my language partner confirmed, along with many others, that this was her childhood favorite, which inspired my final research project topic: media influence on chinese perception of the japanese.
overall, my impression of chinese film so far is: awesome. in reality, that is probably because i am immersed and therefore interested in all-things-china, and because my expectations were really low to begin with (i couldn't sit through "the last emperor" back in the day. could you?!) this is all coming from someone who barely watches movies in the first place and could hardly be considered an enthusiast. but our professor provides a great framework for us to look through. he says, china had a clear-cut, long standing identity for hundreds of generations. then, the 20th (and 21st) centuries brought movements that pulled and pushed china in all kinda of directions, but all were different from what china really was. because film is an art of those centuries, chinese film is simply a great debate. "who were we?" "who are we?" "how did we become this way?" and "who do we actually want to be?"
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