The Scene That Is Gone: Rereading "the Sixth Generation"

As the youngest generation of the Chinese cinema’s periodization, "the Sixth Generation" and their works had become one of the hottest topic among both theoretical circle and mass discourse ever since the mid-90s. These discussions involved various aspects such as the artistic style, aesthetics principle, cultural connotation and ideology of the "the Sixth Generation", however, as "the Sixth Generation" and their works were always in a constantly changing progress, which divided into several stages, these discussions were also at a condition of dynamic viewing. Among these discussions, some of the ideas and concepts about "the Sixth Generation" already seemed obsolete, and need to be re-examined.This paper will examine and conclude some of the hot topics of the "the Sixth Generation" researching thoroughly, and try to make new analysis and interpretation through a contemporary perspective. Hoping to offer new perspective and inspiration to the researching of "the Sixth Generation" and the cultural connotation behind it.The paper is divided into four parts:the part of "the Image that is gone" combed the signifier and signified of "the Sixth Generation". In this part, based on the reflections of both the works themselves and research history of "the Sixth Generation", I tried to identify the true connotation and possible scope of "the Sixth Generation", which would help to establish the research object and logic base of the paper. The other three parts of the paper, which are "the Voice that is gone", "the Truth that is gone" and "the Identity that is gone", discussed the main features and gain and loss of "the Sixth Generation" from the dimensions of the "Rock’n’Roll" image, the persistence of "Realistic" and the "Orientalism plight" in "the Sixth Generation" cinema. Hoping all these works could help the research of "the Sixth Generation" move to a deeper level.