China under western gaze : representing China in the British television documentaries, 1980-2000 / Qing Cao.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cao, Qing, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Documentary television programs--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Documentary television programs.

Public opinion--Great Britain.

Public opinion.

China--Relations--Great Britain.

China.

Great Britain--Relations--China.

Great Britain.

China--Foreign public opinion, British--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (263 p.)

Place of Publication:

Singapore : World Scientific, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book presents a critical analysis of the images of China portrayed in British television documentaries between 1980 and 2000. The examination is contextualized within the profound transformations of the post-reform China and global political structures in the last two decades of the 20th century. Using an innovative analytical framework based on Vladimir Propp, the book focuses on how different images of China are constructed through an effective use of TV narrative strategies. In particular it details how various strands of (Western) modernity underpin major discourses about China. The b

Contents:

Preface; Acknowledgements; Contents; Chapter 1 China as an Image: History, Structure and Perspectives; 1.1 China and the West: Relations vs. Images; 1.2 Representing China: Key Perspectives; 1.2.1 Essentialism vs. Non-essentialism; 1.2.2 Objectivism vs. Constructivism; 1.3 Modernity as a Grand Narrative; 1.3.1 Two Versions of Modernity; References; Chapter 2 Television Narrative as Discourse: Poetics of Representation; 2.1 Narrative and Representation; 2.1.1 Narrative Functions: Dramatis Personae; 2.1.2 Narrative Functions: Binary Opposition; 2.1.3 The Mythic and the Mimetic

2.1.4 Causality in Media Narrative2.2 Documentary Text: Expository Mode of Representation; 2.2.1 Production Constraints; 2.2.2 Mode of Interview: Relations of Power; 2.2.3 Western Authorities and Chinese Informants; 2.3 AWorking Model for Narrative Analysis; 2.3.1 Single-dimension vs. Multi-dimension; 2.3.2 Dislocation,Ambiguity, Fragmentation and Ambivalence; References; Chapter 3 Legitimate Controversy: China as a Civilisation; 3.1 Representing Confucianism; 3.1.1 Confucianism as a One-directional Relationship; 3.1.2 Women as Victim of Traditional Culture

3.1.3 Confucianism as a Code of Mutual Relationships3.1.4 Local Narrative and Global Intention; 3.2 Representing the Opium War; 3.2.1 The Chronological Narrative; 3.2.2 The Logic Narrative; 3.2.3 Ethicising vs. De-ethicising: Trade as Progress; 3.2.4 China as Backward and Closed; 3.2.5 Opium War as a Colonial Infamy; References; Chapter 4 A Struggle Without Heroes: Representing Republic of China, 1911-1949; 4.1 The Case Study TV Series; 4.2 Two Narrative Themes: KMT vs. CCP and Nationalism vs. Imperialism; 4.2.1 Initial Situation: Characterisation of Early 20th Century China

4.3 Villain and Hero: Neutralisation and Marginalisation4.4 Transfiguration: Dispersion of Meaning; 4.5 Signification of 1949; 4.5.1 Two Narratives: Communism and Nationalism; 4.5.2 Communism as Feudalism; 4.6 Conclusions; References; Chapter 5 Consensus and Deviance: China as the Communist 'Other', 1949-1989; 5.1 Socio-political Background of Documentary Production in the 1990s; 5.2 Signification of the Chinese Revolution: Mao,s Years; 5.2.1 Chronologic Narrative: Villain-dominated Sphere of Actions; 5.2.2 Logic Narrative; 5.3 Signification of the Chinese Reform: Deng,s Era

5.3.1 Chronologic Narrative: Hero-dominated Sphere of Actions5.3.2 Logic Narrative: A Binary Representation of the Reform; 5.4 Conclusions; References; Chapter 6 Roads to Xanadu: A Case Study; 6.1 Narrative Analysis: The Mythic and the Mimetic; 6.1.1 The Mythic: The Chronologic and Logic; 6.1.2 The Mimetic: The Structure of Argument; 6.2 Discursive Analysis: The Construction of 'Technology'; 6.2.1 Technology-as-Absolute-Value; 6.2.2 Technology-as-Relative-Value; 6.2.3 The Rhetoric of Image: Defining a Position; 6.2.4 Semiotic Analysis of Roads to Xanadu

6.2.5 The Fusion of the Technological and the Social

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

981-4578-30-4