Chinese revolutionary cinema : propaganda, aesthetics and internationalism 1949-1966 / Jessica Ka Yee Chan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chan, Jessica Ka Yee, author.

Series:

International library of the moving image ; 48.

International library of the moving image ; 48

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion pictures in propaganda--China.

Motion pictures in propaganda.

Motion pictures--Political aspects--China.

Motion pictures.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (293 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : I.B. Tauris, 2019.

Summary:

"Engaging with fiction films devoted to heroic tales from the decade and a half between 1949 and 1966, this book reconceives state propaganda as aesthetic experiments that not only radically transformed acting, cinematography and screenwriting in socialist China, but also articulated a new socialist film theory and criticism. Rooted in the interwar avant-garde and commercial cinema, Chinese revolutionary cinema, as a state cinema for the newly established People's Republic, adapted Chinese literature for the screen, incorporated Hollywood narration, appropriated Soviet montage theory and orchestrated a new, glamorous, socialist star culture. In the wake of decolonisation, Chinese film journals were quick to project and disseminate the country's redefined self-image to Asia, Africa and Latin America as they helped to create an alternative vision of modernity and internationalism. Revealing the historical contingency of the term 'propaganda', Chan uncovers the visual, aural, kinaesthetic, sexual and ideological dynamics that gave rise to a new aesthetic of revolutionary heroism in world cinema. Based on extensive archival research, this book's focus on the distinctive rhetoric of post-war socialist China will be of value to East Asian Cinema scholars, Chinese Studies academics and those interested in the history of twentieth-century socialist culture."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

Introduction 1

1 Propaganda and Film Aesthetics 23 2 Literature on Screen: Recasting Classical Hollywood Narration in Family Melodrama 54 3 Translating Soviet Montage 87 4 Socialist Glamour: The Socialist Star Craze, Stanislavski's System and Cinematic Iconography of the Gaze 119 5 Visions of Internationalism in Chinese Film Journals 147

Conclusion 173

Notes 180 Glossary 215 Filmography 222 Bibliography 225 Index 237.

Notes:

Compliant with Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Content is displayed as HTML full text which can easily be resized or read with assistive technology, with mark-up that allows screen readers and keyboard-only users to navigate easily.

Includes bibliographical references (225-236) and index.

ISBN:

9781788318914

1788318919

9781786724342

1786724340

9781786734341

1786734346

OCLC:

1139971465