A Study On The Image Women Appeared In 1930s’ Cinema Of China And Korea

China and Korea in the 1930s shared many similarities in terms of their historical background, political and social environment. This paper focuses on analyzing films of the two countries during the period, and analyzing feminist consciousnessand feminist issues expressed in such films through representative female images.Due to intervention of the Japanese Imperialism in the filmdom of China and Korea in the 1930s, modernization ideas were penetrated in films of the two countries, evolving silent films to sound films. Films were also used to serve political purposes. All the above phenomena constituted shared characteristics of the filmdom of China and Korea. This paper adopts female images appearing in Chinese films:The Boatman’s Daughter, Daybreak, New Women, Children of Trouble Time and Korean films:Sweet Dream, Military Train, Fisherman’s Fire as research objects, Using various research methods, comparative culture, social and historical criticism research methods, feminist research methods, and divides different female images into anti-traditional female images, independent career female images and traditional female images for comparative analysis.Female images appearing in Korean and Chinese films of the 1930s shared many similarities, but also differed from each other in some way. In Chinese films, female images were mostly positive and females fought against the traditional marriage system, advocated freedom of love and marriage, had advanced ideas, and were longing for freedom self-actualization. The heroic females devoted to the revolutionary cause were sung high praises so as to arouse the national awareness of passive and conservative Chinese females.On the contrary, females fighting against the patriarchy appeared in Korean films of the period as degraded images. This showed the prejudice and criticism of the Korean society against new females at that time. By depicting the tragic end of protagonists, these Korean films appealed to females to seek their maternity. This suggested that patriarchal social order still dominated at that time. Rights and interests of females were put assign. The nature of females was simplified as maternity. It was advocated only maternity could revive their nation and society. Similar to Chinese films, Korean films of the period showed females as national representatives on the screen. However, the latter excluded the material design and hedonism of new females based on the traditional image of good wives and kind mothers, thus forming a brand-new positive female image seeking personal independence and personality.All in all, females appearing in Chinese and Korean films of the 1930s both transformed from the traditional image to the new image in the new era, and emphasized on transformation of maternity. Among them, the shaping of female images in Chinese films was a political tool and a creation against the social background. Besides, the image shaping helped advocate certain political philosophy. However, Korean films emphasized on traditional ethics through various setbacks and hardships which female protagonists went through. Their advocacy of maternity-centered image of good wives and kind mothers was also of vital significance.