IDEOLOGY and UTOPIA in CHINA's NEW WAVE CINEMA

CHINESE LITERATURE and CULTURE in the WORLD IDEOLOGY and UTOPIA in CHINA’S NEW WAVE CINEMA Globalization and Its Chinese Discontents Xiaoping Wang Chinese Literature and Culture in the World Series Editor Ban Wang Stanford University Stanford, CA, USA As China is becoming an important player on the world stage, Chinese literature is poised to change and reshape the overlapping, shared cultural landscapes in the world. This series publishes books that reconsider Chinese literature, culture, criticism, and aesthetics in national and international contexts. While seeking studies that place China in geopolitical tensions and historical barriers among nations, we encourage projects that engage in empathetic and learning dialogue with other national tra- ditions. Imbued with a desire for mutual relevance and sympathy, this dialogue aspires to a modest prospect of world culture. We seek theoreti- cally informed studies of Chinese literature, classical and modern—works capable of rendering China’s classical heritage and modern accomplish- ments into a signifcant part of world culture. We promote works that cut across the modern and tradition divide and challenge the inequality and unevenness of the modern world by critiquing modernity. We look for projects that bring classical aesthetic notions to new interpretations of modern critical theory and its practice. We welcome works that register and analyze the vibrant contemporary scenes in the online forum, public sphere, and media. We encourage comparative studies that account for mutual parallels, contacts, infuences, and inspirations. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14891 Xiaoping Wang Ideology and Utopia in China’s New Wave Cinema Globalization and Its Chinese Discontents Xiaoping Wang College of Chinese Language and Culture Huaqiao University, Xiamen Campus Xiamen, Fujian, China Chinese Literature and Culture in the World ISBN 978-3-319-91139-7 ISBN 978-3-319-91140-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91140-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943647 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover credit: Alexander Ipfelkofer/Getty Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of Springer Nature The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland CONTENTS 1 Introduction: China’s “New Wave Cinema” in the Era of Globalization 1 2 The Arrival of Chinese Post-socialism: Silence, Sound and Fury 27 3 The Fate and Fantasy of China’s “New Poor” 79 4 The Taste and Tragedy of China’s “Middle Class” 107 5 Memoire of Socialism and the Chinese Enlightenment 139 6 Elitism or Populism? The Problematic of Imagining the Other 177 7 Conclusion: The Politics of Dignity and the Destiny of China’s New Wave Cinema 243 Filmography 259 Index 261 v LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 2.1 A medium shot showing a street scene in Beijing Bastards 30 Fig. 2.2 A scene in the restaurant in Beijing Bastards 34 Fig. 2.3 A rock ‘n’ roll scene featuring Cui Jian singing blasphemous lyrics 42 Fig. 2.4 A closeup shows A Xi enviously observing what is happening to his lover 45 Fig. 2.5 Lala performs in the concert 51 Fig. 2.6 The opening shot of Summer Palace 54 Fig. 2.7 A medium-long shot shows Yu Hong’s and Zhou Wei’s youthful idealism 58 Fig. 2.8 A medium shot portraying the idealistic college students Yu Hong and Zhou Wei in Summer Palace 60 Fig. 2.9 The closing scene of Summer Palace 65 Fig. 3.1 A medium shot of the protagonists Song and Tang captures the lamentable living conditions of Chinese mineworkers 83 Fig. 3.2 Song and Tang sing the “red song” in the bar 87 Fig. 3.3 A close-up scene shows College teacher Mei harboring an irresistible desire for Shen 98 Fig. 3.4 The police offcer is interrogating a female peddler in the background when the male peddler is questioned in the foreground 100 Fig. 3.5 The impoverished laid-off couple considers robbing a bank 104 Fig. 4.1 A screen shot showing Chen Mingliang pursuing Wu Fang 113 Fig. 4.2 Chen Mingliang is sympathetic with Langlang 120 Fig. 4.3 Guo Jiaju entertaining Lily in the bar 123 Fig. 4.4 The lady dresses like the reincarnation of a “ROC Girl” 132 vii viii LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 5.1 The teacher reprimands the unruly students in the class 147 Fig. 5.2 The father dressed in his military form caresses Ma Xiaojun 149 Fig. 5.3 The scene of a physical fght delivered in a long shot 161 Fig. 5.4 The father “enlightens” Wang Han with the knowledge of Western art, shown in a closeup 166 Fig. 6.1 A wide-angle, medium shot showing Xiaotao seduced by a nouveau riche 182 Fig. 6.2 Again, a wide-angle, medium shot reveals Anna and Xiaotao are sympathetic with each other in the troupe 189 Fig. 6.3 The opening scene of The World 192 Fig. 6.4 A long shot deliberately presents Gu Minghua returning home after the performance with her makeup on 197 Fig. 6.5 Nana appears to be melancholic when watching the fast-changing cityscape 202 Fig. 6.6 Old worker He Xikun tells his story in a decrepit, spacious room without decoration 205 Fig. 6.7 A low-angle shot highlighting San’er’s supercilious noncha- lance showing his fring like setting off freworks 223 Fig. 6.8 Displayed in a medium shot, Ladies in opera dress perform pornographic shows to entertain the nouveau riche 227 Fig. 6.9 The closeup shows Xiaoyu turning chivalrous 231 Fig. 6.10 Presented in a long shot, Dahai kills the head of the village in front of the magnifcent, ancient temple 232 Fig. 6.11 A wide-angle, medium shot displays a pornographic show in an entertainment bar 233 CHAPTER 1 Introduction: China’s “New Wave Cinema” in the Era of Globalization For several days in October 2015, many readers in China were enticed by an image on the cover of the new issue of a popular Chinese jour- nal, China Newsweek (中国新闻周刊), which appeared on a multitude of newsstands. The picture shows the famed Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke 贾樟柯 (1970–) being hugged by his wife (also his favorite actress) Zhao Tao 赵涛 (1978–), looking self-assuredly at the camera and, implicitly, the readers. His face is the focal point of the image, highlighting the appeal of this national celebrity (but not that of his wife as a flm starlet). In itself, this shows the fact that this former “underground” director has become a well-known member of the social elite of the country’s cultural world. However, the more intriguing aspect lies in the contents of this special edition, which is not only dedicated to the director, but also to the group to which he once belonged and through which he honed his skills. The caption under this cover picture reads “[Where there is] Jia Zhangke, there are old friends in the world” (贾樟柯/山河有故人), which has two levels of connotation. First, it refers to his most recent movie Shanhe Guren (Mountains May Depart, 山河故人) (2015), which literally means “the mountains, the rivers, and the old friends.” Yet, its second level of meaning, “old friends in the world are vanishing,” may be more signifcant, as it echoes the key feature article of the special edition of China Newsweek. Entitled “Jia Zhangke and the Disappearing Sixth-Generation,” the last two paragraphs of this essay encapsulate the gist of its signifcance: © The Author(s) 2018 1 X. Wang, Ideology and Utopia in China’s New Wave Cinema, Chinese Literature and Culture in the World, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91140-3_1 2 X. WANG Jia Zhangke believes that the so-called “sixth generation” has disappeared. After the commercialization of Chinese flm industry around 2004–2005, the mission of this generation has accomplished. In general, the populace’s individualist concept has been awakened. “Their (the sixth-generation directors’) efforts were to transform themselves to be individuals, but not a ‘generation’ or a group,” he says. The dispersal of the sixth-generation is not the disappearance of the spirit of a certain type of movie; but the directors who by chance had been included into that genealogy begin to seek the direction most ft for them. The collective group vanishes, and changes to be individuals experimenting [by] themselves.

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