Research On Chinese Metropolis Film Since The New Era

In the long evolving history of the motion picture, metropolis film hasundoubtedly become an indispensable part. However, as compared to its westerncounterparts which have witnessed prosperous development, Chinese metropolis filmhad faced the barriers of social system and ideological limitations; it was not untilChina saw its new era ushered in by the reform and open-door policy that Chinesemetropolis film started to regain its momentum and was re-invigorated in the pastthree decades.With the reform deepening in every aspect of the society, China has seen adramatic process of urbanization. In the dual context of high-speed modernization andcross-cultural communication, Chinese metropolis society has manifestedunprecedented complexity and presented pluralistic landscape. The residue of the pastplanned economy clashes with waves of consumer culture; the unshakable traditionalChinese culture flows constantly in the blood, while contemporary western thoughtsof civilization comes with irresistible temptation. Therefore, Chinese metropolissociety struggles in the contestation between modernity and counter-modernity,modern consciousness and counter-consciousness.In the transition from the urbanization mode guided by industrial culture to themetropolisation mode characterized by all-round development, global openness andhigh heterogeneity have become the major characteristics of the present metropolitansociety. Accordingly, the metropolitan cultural ecology is represented by polyphonicdiscourses and hybridity of the cultural landscape. It is exactly under the influence ofthe ever-changing social ethos that the metropolitans resort to film, as a particularartistic form in the modern civilization, to vent the pressure from their intense andoppressive metropolitan life, and subsequently, arousing their cultural reflections.Among numerous genres, metropolis film is the form that is closely linked to themetropolitan life, and that can spark strong identification among the audiences.Chinese metropolis film represents the Chinese experience in the world-widemetropolisation process, and carries with it the film-makers’ cultural imagination ofcontemporary Chinese metropolitan society as well as the audiences’ culturalexpectation and inspiration. Based on the aforementioned reasons, research onmetropolis film has become an indispensable part of the contemporary film studies. Metropolis film should not be a simple and snapshot reflection of themetropolitan society, because embedded in it is the film-maker’s unique cultural andartistic understanding. Meanwhile, interpretations of texts by receptive subjects andcritique subjects open up infinite possibilities to understand metropolis film. Thisresearch seeks to integrate the perspectives of Roland Barthes’ deconstructionism andFredric Jameson’s historical grounded view, in an attempt to reach a consensus ofunderstanding.In addition, following the academic traditions in literary criticism and culturalstudies, this research digs deeply into the texts of Chinese metropolis films since thenew era, taking into consideration the unique characteristics of film in image writing.Setting out from art texts, the research explores the hidden, second levelmeaning-making texts behind the first level expressive texts, and analyze them in thehistorical and cultural contexts of present Chinese metropolitan society. The analysiscomes back to the first level expressive text from the insight gain in the second leveltexts in order to avoid exaggeration and blindness of interpretation.The discussions on the Chinese metropolis films since the new era focus on thefollowing aspects. First, metropolis film is different from urban film. Similar to thenotion that metropolis is the upgraded version of city, metropolis film is the upgradedand contemporary version of urban film. Based on this clarification of the intensionsand extensions of these concepts, the author analyses Chinese metropolis films inthree time periods, namely the1980s,1990s, and the new millennium, exploring therelationship between the forms, the courses and the ideas specific to different times.Second, taking the research perspective of the newly emerged metropolis culturalstudies, this research sees metropolis film as part of metropolis culture. It delves intovarious aspects of metropolis film, encompassing the aesthetic characteristics, theportrayal of characters and its reference, the influences on the image writing of youthculture and so forth. In doing so, the research aims to seek the meaning space specificto metropolis film in the interactions between the film-maker, the film, the socialcontext, and the audience.Third, taking into consideration of the commercial nature of metropolis film, thisresearch analyses the culture of the film industry, pointing out, in the seeminglyspectacular prosperity, the risks and possible opportunities faced by the industry.More importantly, based on a systematic analysis of the industry’s developmentpatterns, the author proposes necessary strategies for future creative development. At present, metropolis film-making presents a prosperous and promisinglandscape, in which more low-cost films become box-office legend, harvestingenormous income. On the one hand, the phenomenon reflects the need of audiencesand further consolidates the confidence of film-makers; on the other hand, itaccentuates the value of metropolis film study, urging scholars to push the academicboundaries of this research field.