A Study Of Model Opera In Cultural Revolution

The birth of Model Opera has an epoch-making meaning and inevitable factors.From the Cultural Revolution to the present, the study of Modern Opera involveshistorical data, text, art and many other fields. Therefore it is not only academicneeds but also an important part of the process of social history and culture.Admittedly, the political nature of the Model Opera is the focus of attention of earlyresearchers, while its historical, artistic and literary value are still worthy of in-depthanalysis. Based on these values and people’s changing ideas, a new review of ModelOpera has become very necessary.Specifically, this thesis can be divided into four chapters. The first chapter is thegeneral overview of Model Opera. The production and dissemination of ModelOpera obviously shows the influence of political privileges on people’s productionand life during Cultural Revolution from the creation of concept to the determinationof repertoire, from the large-scale theater performances, local art propaganda, radio,film, the two newspapers and one journal to the comic strip. As for the content ofscripts, the eight Model Operas describe the misery of proletarian revolution anddisplay the leading contradiction in different time and different regions. Theseconflicts and regional culture have exposed the historical value of Model Opera.Chapter Two discussed in detail how Model Opera used its red complex to cater forthe typical political overtones in those days. As the production of the totalitarianpolitics, Model Opera was created tightly around the political and historicalbackground, which was showed not only by the unity of creative theme and subjectmatter, but also by the use of props, music, color, three types of imagery groups andthe combination of epic and folk. As a result, it created a unique form of therevolutionary discourse and made a special contribution to promote the unifieddevelopment of the whole social environment. The third chapter analyzes the bodylanguage of the Model Opera. Model Opera was the stylized teaching material inbody language training during Cultural Revolution period. In Model Opera, it is easyto see a character’s psychology, to judge a person’s character and to identify theauthenticity of the discourse according to the performer’s facial expression and bodymovement. Actually, this performance expression means is the most directconsequence of political intervention in the arts. Moreover, it is used to intensifyclass contradiction and to highlight the characteristics of the times intentionally. It plays an important role in the strengthening the ornamental meaning of the work,stimulating the audience’s emotional response and increasing its artistic beauty.Chapter Four reflects on the controversy about Model Opera triggered by the currentsociety. The complete affirmation or negation of Model Opera is untenable.Although its development in the new situation is limited by deficiency, the real valueof Model Opera should not be cut off. In the new situation, we should select theessence and discard the dross so as to re-examine these integration of numerousworks of art of the artists’ effort objectively and justly.