Research On Chinese Entertainment Films In The 1980s

This thesis mainly studies the entertainment films of the 1980 s from the perspective of conceptual history,in order to realize the historical investigation of the Chinese commercial film movement in the new era.The reason why the research method of conceptual history is selected is mainly based on the importance and particularity of the concept of entertainment films,and the characteristics of the social transformation period in the 1980s: the start and development of China’s commercial film movement in the new era is based on entertainment films.The concept has become a complex “concept” that is difficult to define and can only be explained because of its epoch,ambiguity,and variability.This particularity that is difficult to define precisely determines that it becomes a“basic concept”in conceptual history research;The significance of the transition period of the decade is not only embodied in the reform of the political and economic system and the emancipation of ideology and culture,but more importantly,the posture of "farewell to the revolution" and the form of socialist self-transformation,becoming the "end" of the 20 th century with the social revolution as the dominant paradigm..Therefore,to study the history of entertainment films in the 1980 s from the perspective of conceptual history,on the one hand,through the concept of entertainment films and the research on the concept pedigree of entertainment films composed of "superior concepts" such as themes,styles,and plots,and the main melody films etc.The commercial film movement’s theoretical evolution,production practice,and management policies are historically investigated,differentiated,and demonstrated;on the other hand,through the contextual study of the transition period in the 1980 s,the evolutionary laws and underlying reasons of the commercial film movement in the new era with entertainment films as the main body are revealed and clarified.The research model of this thesis mainly draws on the concept history research method of the German“model”of conceptual history based on the study of Reinhart Koselleck.First,the horizontal path of conceptual history research:Determine the superordinate concepts that are closely related to the concept of entertainment films,namely the concepts of theme,style and plot,and then the comparison and examination of the opposite concept of entertainment films,namely the concept of the main theme,to construct a complete genealogical study of the concept of entertainment films;the second is the contextual research to explores the laws and deep-seated reasons of the historical evolution of entertainment films.Secondly,the vertical path of conceptual history research:according to the "representation" and "factor" theories of the concepts mentioned by Reinhart Koselleck,from the concept Semantics to the theory about concepts,and then to the practical impact of concepts and related theories,etc.The introduction of this article mainly focuses on the combination of conceptual history and the study of entertainment films in the 1980 s.The turning point that appeared in 1985 was divided into two stages,namely,the spontaneous production stage of entertainment films from1980 to 1984 and the conscious production stage of 1985-1989.The first chapter explores the history of the concept of entertainment films from three dimensions: the tracing of the naming of "entertainment films",the naming process in the1980 s and the process of semantic change.In the 1980 s,the naming process of "entertainment films" went through three stages: Before 1984,the naming of "entertainment films" continued the previous tradition,mainly referring to the naming of foreign commercial films,especially European and American commercial films,and merely used for domestic popular films.Names such as "entertainment films" or "highly entertaining films",which marked the transition of the name of "entertainment films";from 1984 to 1986,domestic entertainment films began to be referred to as "entertainment films";in the late 1980 s,"entertainment films" were adopted.This leads to a basic theoretical proof: the successful naming of "entertainment films" is rooted in the economic system reform and cultural reform in the 1980 s.process.From the perspective of semantic changes,the concept of entertainment films had underwent a process of controversy from traditional semantics to new semantics,which reflects the contemporary characteristics of the concept of entertainment films.The traditional semantics:the entertainment film is a traditional commercial film style that is purely for entertainment in terms of film efficacy.It has little political education and propaganda.The subject matter mainly involves male and female affairs,slapstick,horror,thrills,etc.By 1989,marked by Jia Leilei’s definition,the new semantics of "entertainment films" were fully refined and summarized,and entertainment films were defined as genre films with the pleasure of art as the dominant function and the commercial value of art as the ultimate goal.The second chapter mainly analyzes the theory of entertainment films from three aspects: the background,evolution process and influence of the theoretical evolution.The specific process is divided into two stages based on the entertainment film discussion around 1987: The first stage is the entertainment film tool theory formed between 1980 and 1986,which is mainly to find the theoretical basis for the production and existence of entertainment films.the second stage was the entertainment film discussion boom when the comprehensive construction of the ontology of entertainment films.At the same time,the evolution of entertainment film theory has also had an impact on entertainment film policy.The third chapter mainly focus on the relationship between the theme and the entertainment films in the 1980 s,through the analysis of the subject semantics,the theme concept and the theme management,to demonstrate the important influence of the theme concept on the entertainment film.In 1980 s,the movie theme were equivalent to the content and the performance objects of the movie themes were directly equal to the audience objects of the movie.The concept of themes in the 1980 s was essentially a concept of the attributes of planned economy,representing the cognition of movies in the era of planned economy.In the 1980 s,the concept of the theme was the combination of "theory of theme diversification" and "theory of theme difference".The theme management system in the 1980 s was the basic method of film management by the film authorities and the main form of entertainment film management.The theme management system is based on the theory of theme difference and theme diversification.The relationship between theme management and entertainment film production is based on the antagonistic relationship,and the basic content is to restrict entertainment films and guarantee key themes.The fourth chapter mainly discusses the relationship between the movie style and plot concept and the entertainment film in the 1980 s.Among them,the influence of the concept of movie style on "entertainment films" is mainly reflected in the mixed use and "mistranslation" of styles and types of "entertainment films" caused by the similarity of the concept of style and genre.The influence of the concept of movie plots on entertainment films mainly shows that modern film theories characterized by "dilute plots" have contempt for the aesthetics of entertainment films.The fifth chapter is mainly from the perspective of the opposing concepts of entertainment films,to investigate the conceptual history of the main melody film,and to further deepen the study of the concept pedigree of entertainment films.Its semantics mainly point to the subject of reform and opening-up,and it quickly achieved two semantic expansions afterwards.The opposition between the main melody film and the entertainment film determines that the protection of the main melody film means the restriction on the entertainment film.For the survival and development of entertainment films,it provides space for the fusion of main melody and entertainment films,and the fusion of the two also creates the "impure state" of entertainment films.The sixth chapter is mainly through the diachronic investigation of the literary policy,economic system and the relationship between the film system and entertainment films,in-depth research on the context based on clarifying the conceptual pedigree of entertainment films,thus realizing in-depth exploration from conceptual history to social history.The relatively loose literature and art policy in the new era has created space for the production of entertainment films.To a certain extent,entertainment films have become the product of the literature and art policy of "movies no longer subordinate to politics" in the new era.However,the literature and art policy had also underwent fine-tuning and changes,so the literature and art policy have also caused the twists and turns in the production of entertainment films.The economic system reform in the 1980 s,especially the establishment of a "planned commodity economy" and the reform of state-owned enterprises,had a particularly important impact on the film system.The reform of the production system includes the autonomy of production and operation,the contracting of small economic accounting units,the responsibility of the factory manager,the production of co-productions,and the corporate restructuring of the studio,which provides a way for the production of entertainment films.However,the lag in the reform of the production system had a negative impact on entertainment films,caused entertainment films to maintain spontaneous and inefficient operation under the closed conditions of state-run studios.In the 1980 s,the monopoly and underwriting distribution mechanism had a negative impact on "entertainment films".It artificially caused the disconnection between the studio and the distribution market,which in turn blocked the direct connection between the studio and the audience.The concluding part mainly clarifies and analyzes the evolutionary laws and deep-seated reasons of the commercial film movement with entertainment films as the main body in the1980 s.It is believed that the rise of entertainment films to the evolution to genre films constituted the main process of China’s commercial film movement in the 1980 s.The entertainment films are the initial form of commercial films.The process of commercial film exploration during the transition period of economic,political and cultural systems is generally constrained by the transformation of the political and economic system.At the same time,from the perspective of the typical contextual characteristics of the "saddle-shaped period"-"simultaneity at different times",it appears that the historical evolution of entertainment film production,entertainment film theory,and entertainment film management system are "time dislocation".The "different simultaneity" is rooted in the "simultaneity at different times" caused by the literature and art policy lagging behind the ideological and cultural liberation movement in the 1980 s,and the film system reform lagging behind the overall economic system reform.Its successful experience and existing problems can provide a meaningful reference for the continued innovation and development of entertainment/commercial films in China in the future.