NordicConsortiumforChinaStudies
TheEvolutionofChineseCinemaand
theChineseFilmIndustry
Intensivecourse,ZhejiangUniversity
Generaloutline
TheChinesefilmmarketisbynowthesecondlargestfilmmarketafterHollywoodandits
figuresarerapidlygrowing.However,fromthe1950suntilthemid-1990stheChinesefilm
industrywasastateindustrythatwasnotgeneratingmuchprofit.Whichwerethemain
phasesoftransitionfromastateindustrytooneofthemajorplayersintheglobalbusiness?
Moreover,Chinesefilms–fromtheearlyscreeningsattheShanghaiteahousestorecent
globallysuccessfultitles–haveraisedquestionsofnationalandculturalidentity.Howhave
filmsarticulatedthenarrativeofChinaacrossthe20thand21stcenturies?HowhaveChinese
filmscirculatednationallyandabroad?
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NordicConsortiumforChinaStudies
Throughthelensofasetoffilms,thecoursewillexamineChinesefilmandthefilmindustry
atdifferentmomentsinthedevelopmentofChinesecinema(s).Withoutfollowingastrict
historiography/chronologicalperspective,thedifferenttopicswillbeapproachedfroma
multidisciplinaryperspectivesoastoincludediscussionoftransnationalChinesecinema,
earlycosmopolitanismandcontemporaryglobalfilmcirculation.
Thecourseisplannedasaone-weekintensivecourseforScandinavianMAstudentsinChina
Studies,andcountsasatotalof5ECTS(135hours).ItwilltakeplaceataChineseuniversity
campusandwillbeco-taughtbyoneteacherfromtheChineseuniversityandoneteacher
fromaScandinavianuniversity.ThelanguagesofinstructionwillbeChineseandEnglish.
Prerequisites
Itisassumedthatstudents:
•
ReadandspeakModernStandardChinese(Putonghua)atalevelcorrespondingtothe
requirementsforaBAdegreeinChinaStudiesataScandinavianuniversity
•
HavecomprehensiveknowledgeofChinesecultureandsociety
•
Haveabasicinterestandknowledgeofculturalstudyresearchmethods
Aimsofthecourse
Themainaimsofthecourseare:
•
thatstudentsachieveabasicunderstandingoftheevolutionofChinesecinemaand
theChinesefilmindustry
•
thatstudentscanproblematisevisualnarratives/filmmodes/historicalphasesin
Chinesefilmhistoryinconnectiontosocial/political/economicdynamics
•
thatstudentscandiscussmedia/filmswithappropriateterminology
•
thatstudentsgetabasicgraspofmajorfilmstudiesframeworks(i.e.film
industryframework,aestheticframework,socio-culturalframework)
•
thatstudentscanrelatefilmsandvisualculturetodifferentaspectsofChineseculture
andsociety
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NordicConsortiumforChinaStudies
Courseoutline
Time
Theme/Title
Material
DayOne
Morning
session
Afternoon
session
WelcomeandPresentation
Focusonthe
Chinesefilm
IntroductiontoChinesecinema(1):fromtheperspectiveofthefilm industryandglobal
industry
entertainment
A) WhydoesChinesecinemamatter(domesticallyandglobally)? business
B) Which are the key moments in the evolution of the (Singh2011,De
contemporaryChinesefilmindustry?
Valck2007,Chua
Discussionofthemainstakeholdersinthefilmbusiness,examplesof 2012).
domesticblockbusters,co-productionstrategiesandtransnational
films.Connectedtopics:internationalfilmfestivals,Chineseand
Excerptsfrom
globalstardom.
variousfilms.
Lunchbreak
IntroductiontoChinesecinema(2):fromtheperspectiveofthefilm
historiography
A) SomepossibleperiodisationinChinesefilmhistoryandissues
relatedtothisperspectiveofanalysis.
Groupwork/Reviewofthetopics
HowChinesemedia(blogs,informationportals,traditionalmedia)
promoteChinesefilms.Differentapproachestomarketingofthe
entertainmentbusinesswillbediscussed.Whicharethemost
effectivemarketingtoolsinChinaandwithonlinefilmservices?
Summaryoftheactivityoftheday:approachingcinemafromthe
perspectiveofthefilmindustry.
FocusonChinese
filmhistoryand
various
methodological
approaches
(Zhang).
DayTwo
Morning
session
Searchforearly
filmsonlineand
Chinese-related
academicarticles.
FuYongchun,
PoshekFu,2003.
陆弘石,2005.
Students’discussionandpresentationoftheresultsofTuesday’s
onlinesearch.
ComparativeanalysisofthefilmindustryinChinaandabroad.
EarlyShanghaicosmopolitanismandthefilmscene
Chineseearlycinemaanditsinternationalconnections,early
stardomandculturaldebates.
Lunchbreak
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NordicConsortiumforChinaStudies
Afternoon
session
Screening
ScreeningofanearlyChinesefilm(titletobeconfirmed)
Workgroup:Discussionandelementsoffilmanalysis
Inaworkshopform,studentswillbeguidedinhowtodiscussafilm
intermsofitscinematicelementsandinrelationtothesocial
context.
Summaryoftheactivityoftheday:approachingcinemafromthe
perspectiveoffilmstudies.
DayThree
Morning
session
Afternoon
session
DiscussionoftheanalysisofoneearlyChinesefilm(students’choice)
-analysis
-approach
-references(howtousevisualandtextualreferences)
Chinesecinemabetweenartandmarket(1)
LinesofdevelopmentoftheChinesefilmsceneafterthe1990s:
analysisofdifferentexamplesoffilm“auteurs”,commercial
directors,filmgenresandChineseblock-busters.
Bringtoclassadraft(2-3pages)ofafilmanalysisof
anearlyChinesefilmandrelatedreferences(Chinese
articles,onlinematerials,visualreferences,etc).
Lunchbreak
Workshop:developthetopicsandmethodologyoftermpapers
Ingroups,studentswillselecttwoChinesefilmsthattheythink
exemplifycontrastingapproachestocinema(i.e.moreoriented
towardsfilmartormoreorientedtothemarket),anddeveloptheir
ownanalysisanddiscussionoftheselectedworksintermsofthe
filmindustryperspectiveand/orfilmstudiesperspectives.
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ZhouXuelin,2007.
ElenaPollacchi,
2008.
NordicConsortiumforChinaStudies
DayFour
Morning
session
Afternoon
session
Chinesecinemabetweenartandmarket(1):expansionoffilm
activities-Strategiesofglobalvisibility:thecaseoftheBeijing
InternationalFilmFestival
HowChinahasimportedthemodeloftheglobalfilmevent.
Chinesecinemabetweenartandmarket(2):expansionoffilm
activities
ThecaseofChineseauthors(JiaZhangke,DiaoYinan,etc).
Studentswillfurtherdeveloptheirtermpapers:-
-Questions
-Problems
Lunchbreak
Filmactivityand/orguestvisit(tbc)–thisactivitymightchange
time/dateaccordingtotheavailabilityofguestsduringtheweek.
Pickowicz&
Zhang,2006.
DayFive
Morning
session
Discussion:ThechallengesoftheChinesefilmindustryandits
expansion
Onthebasisofthevariousapproachesadoptedduringthecourse,
thisfinallecturewilllookatthemostrecentdebates/studiesin
relationtotheChinesefilmindustry.Whicharethechallenges
thatthesectorisfacinginviewofthechangesrelatedtotheWTO
agreement?HowistheChinesefilm(andentertainment)sector
expandingthroughothervisualsupports(mobilephones,tablets,
etc.)?Whatistheimpactontraditionalfilmproductionandhow
willitaffecttheChineseaudiencevis-à-vistheinternational
audience?
-Examinationrequirements
Lunchbreak
Afternoon Studentpresentationsofthedraftsinviewofthetermpapers.
session
Thecoursewillbeconcludedwithabriefoverviewoftheinterrelatedfieldswhichhavenotbeendiscussedindetailsuchas
animation,documentaryfilms,TVseries,etc.
Wrapupandevaluationofthecourse.
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Allarticlesandfilms
onthereadinglist
shouldbe
completed.
NordicConsortiumforChinaStudies
Learningactivities
Thecoursecombineslectures,screeningsandgroupdiscussionsheldinEnglishandChinese
withafieldtrip.Studentswillbegivenassignmentstopreparebeforeeachrespectiveclass
session.Basedonthecourseandthefieldtrip,thestudentsarerequiredtopresentideasfor
afinalpaperonthelastdayofthecourseandtohandinafinalessayatalaterdateviaemail.
AttendanceiscompulsoryaccordingtotheregulationsoftheChineseuniversityandstudents
areexpectedtocometoclasseswellprepared.Studentswillreceivethelistofreadingsabout
onemonthbeforethecoursestartsandareexpectedtohavereadatleastthemandatory
textsbeforethebeginningofthecourse.
Courserequirements/examination
The students’ performance during the course, including active class attendance, written
assignments,andthefinalpaper,counttowardsthefinalgradeforthecourse.Exampapers
mustbe8-10pagesincludingreferencesandnotes(2300characterswithspacesperpage).
Thepaperhastoinclude:a)anintroductionpresentingthetopicandtheoreticalapproaches;
b)abriefsectionpresentingtheselectionoffilmsorwrittentextsrelevantforthetopic;c)2-3
sectionspresentinganddiscussingthedataandthetopic;d)asectiontitled“conclusion”with
the1-3mainresults(conclusions)ofthepaper;e)a“listofreferences”thatincludeatleast5
academicsourcesthatareusedinthepaper.Onlypapersincludingallofthesepointswillbe
abletopass,andpaperswillbegradedpassed/notpassed.
CourseMaterial
Bordwell,DavidandThompson,Kristin,FilmArt:Anintroduction(9thed)(McGrawHill
Education,2010)
Cook,Pam(ed.)TheCinemaBook(3rded.)(BFI,2007)
Dix,Andrew,BeginningFilmStudies(ManchesterUniversityPress,2008).
FuYongchun,“From‘parrot’to‘butterfly’:China'shybridizationofHollywoodindistribution
systemsinthe1920sand1930s”,JournalofChineseCinemas,8:1,1-16.
Gibbs,John,Mise-en-scène:FilmStyleandInterpretation(WallflowerPress,2002)
Hill,JohnandChurchGibson,Pamela,(eds.)OxfordGuidetoFilmStudies(Oxford
UniversityPress,1998)
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NordicConsortiumforChinaStudies
陆弘石,中国电影史㸦1905-1049㸧，中国早期电影的叙述与记忆，文艺术出版社，
2005 年，附录部分的影人访谈.
Monaco,James,HowtoReadaFilm(OxfordUniversityPress,2009)
Nelmes,Jill,(ed.)AnIntroductiontoFilmStudies(Routledge,2007)
Perkins,V.F.,FilmasFilm:UnderstandingandJudgingMovies(DaCapoPress,
1993)
Pickowicz,PaulandYinjingZhang,FromUndergroundtoIndependent,Oxford:Rowman&
Littlefield,2006,pp.1-41.
Pollacchi,Elena,‘TheSoundoftheCity:ChineseFilmsofthe1990sandUrbanNoise’,inE.
WilsonandA.Webber(eds),CitiesinTransition.TheMovingImageandtheModern
Metropolis,London:WallflowerPress,2008,pp.193-204.
PoshekFu,BetweenShanghaiandHongKong,Stanford:StanfordUniversityPress,
2003,pp.1-50.[Chinesetext]，京大学出版社，双城故事傅葆石，25-96 页。Linkto
downloadtheChinesetext:http://pan.baidu.com/s/1dDdPNO1
Stam,Robert,FilmTheory:AnIntroduction(Blackwell,2000)
White,PatriciaandCorrigan,Timothy,TheFilmExperience(2Nded)(Palgrave
Macmillan,2009)
ZhangYinjing,XiaoZhiwei(eds.),EncyclopediaofChineseFilm,LondonandNew
York,Routledge,1998.[Historicalintroduction,pp.3-30
ZhouXuelin,YoungRebelsinContemporaryChineseCinema,HongKong:HongKong
UniversityPress,2007,ch.4pp.105-134.
Selectedessaysfromthevolume:SongHweeLim,JulianWard(acuradi),TheChineseCinema
Book,London:BFI2011;
PART1THEORIES
Introduction(pp.1-5);
C.Berry,“TransnationalChineseCinemaStudies”(pp.9-16);
Y.Zhang,“NationalCinemaasTranslocalPractice:ReflectionsonChineseFilm
Historiography”(pp.17-25);
PART2TOPICS
W.Larson,“TheFifthGeneration”(pp.113-121);
JasonMcGrath,“UndergroundandIndependentFilmsfromthePRC”(pp.167-175);
YomiBraester,“ContemporaryMainstreamPRCCinema”(pp.176-184);
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NordicConsortiumforChinaStudies
Selectedessaysfromthevolume:ZhangZhen(ed.)TheUrbanGeneration.ChineseCinemaat
theTurnoftheTwenty-firstCentury,DurhamandLondon:DukeUniversityPress,2007:
ZhangZhen,“BearingWitness.ChineseUrbanCinemaintheEraof‘Transformation’
(Zhuanxing)”(pp.1-45);
JasonMcGrath,“TheIndependentCinemaofJiaZhangke:FromPostsocialistRealismtoa
TransnationalAesthetic”(pp.81-114).
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