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Documentary- Making and Citizenship in Contemporary China

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Documentary- Making and Citizenship in Contemporary China The Digital Revolution: Documentary- Making and Citizenship in Contemporary China Margherita Viviani Student number 20333142 BA, MA Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia 2002 This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Western Australia School of Social and Cultural Studies Discipline of Asian Studies 2012 ii Abstract This thesis examines the development of social-issue independent documentary films produced in China between 2004 and 2010. The analysis draws upon ethnographic research conducted in different Chinese cities during independent documentary film festivals and film workshops, through personal communication and interviews, and on material collected in libraries, bookstores, and, especially, online. I argue that documentary-making contributes to the creation of public spheres in which networks of production, distribution and consumption are integrated, and where different social and technological actors interact towards a common end. Independent documentary films in China are shot mainly by non-professionals. They generally depict normal people’s everyday lives, but with special attention to the ‘others’, that is, those who can be described as the ‘weaker’ or ‘disadvantaged’ social groups (ruoshi qunti) suffering more from the consequences rather than the benefits of China’s rapid industrialization and urbanization. In the last few years, independent documentaries in China began dealing with challenging topics such as governance in rural communities, the economic and social impacts of reform, and ‘social scandals’ detailing the underbelly of Chinese officialdom. This is all part and parcel of a more general growing sense of civil rights awareness and activity in many quarters. The social world of the documentaries is therefore an opportunity to examine, warts and all, a microcosm of ‘civil society’. The themes the documentaries explore are generally ignored or marginalized in the official media in present-day China. Or, at the very least, the filmmakers are able to take greater risks and have a stronger vested interest in the content of the documentary. This is also not to suggest that the party-state and the network of the documentary-making process are always in a state of opposition. On the contrary, different institutions and departments within the state apparatus may even promote the production and distribution of community-based documentaries. iii These films thus reflect and capture the rapid social, political and cultural changes happening in China right now. They represent in themselves a record of a society undergoing unprecedented change, and this record provides fascinating insights into the emerging plurality of voices within society. Yet, further to that, through the creation of socially active networks, people of different backgrounds are linked physically and digitally in hubs of socially engaged discussion and civil participation. These documentaries can be viewed as the products of a greater social space that could be known as emergent ‘public spheres’, albeit with distinctly Chinese characteristics. The theoretical framework is primarily based on specific conceptualizations of actor- networks, alternative media and social change. I consider documentary films not only as a grassroots visual representations of contemporary Chinese society, but as a vibrant alternative media capable of ‘social impact’, that is, creating networks of actors united towards a common purpose. These documentary projects play a vital role in empowering ‘citizens’ and effecting social change. The varied processes that constitute the social world of the documentary project unite filmmakers, the party-state (‘officialdom’), the ‘mainstream’ media, the film audience, and activist networks. Hence this research goes far beyond a purely textual analysis of the content, and instead seeks to explore how through the processes of production, distribution and consumption such documentary film projects can shed insights into how Chinese civil society might develop. This dissertation also highlights the significance of the notion of the citizen (gongmin) in contemporary China. Through documentary shooting, distribution and consumption, Chinese citizens implicitly claim their right to access information freely, demand transparency and accountability from the authorities, and create spaces of social discussion and action. Citizens, when they become mobilized for some social issue, invariably recognize their rights to participate in their own government. Many communities across China have realised that documentary-making is a tool they can use to defend their rights and effect change in this age of the ‘digital revolution’. In examining the social world of independent documentary production, this thesis sheds light on the emergence of grassroots networks seeking empowerment and social change. My findings will be useful to researchers investigating contemporary China, but also in particular for those researching grassroots-made media and independent documentary iv cinema worldwide. Since Chinese documentaries are part of a growing body of global documentary films produced under the banners of social activism and empowerment, the dissertation also performs a comparative duty by highlighting an important field of inquiry that has been relatively overlooked. v vi Table of Contents Abstract iii Table of Contents vii Acknowledgements ix Glossary xi Chapter 1: Introduction: Independent Documentary Film and Social Change in Contemporary China 1 1.1 Aims and Background of the Research 1 1.2 Thesis Chapter Breakdown 3 1.3 Researching independent documentary-making in China 9 Chapter 2: The Documentary-making Network: Public Spheres and Social Change 13 2.1 The concept of public sphere in China 14 2.1.1 Public sphere: a definition 14 2.1.2 The Chinese public sphere debate 15 2.1.3 Independent documentary films and the public realm in China 19 2.2 The Actor-Network of Chinese independent documentary-making 21 2.2.1 Documentary films network and alternative media 23 2.3 The significance of Chinese Citizens in the documentary network 26 2.3.1 Documentary films and the party-state: the ‘hidden transcript’ 26 2.3.2 Citizens filmmakers: using alternative media as an empowerment tool 27 2.3.3 Chinese citizens: filmmakers to active audiences 28 2.4 The ‘coalition model’ approach to researching Chinese documentary impact on society 31 Chapter 3: Independent Documentary Cinema: From Representation to Truth-Seeking 35 3.1 The development of independent documentary cinema 36 3.1.1 From representation to advocacy 38 3.2 The documentary genre in China 40 3.2.1 A transition period for Chinese media (1978–1992) 42 3.2.2 ‘Telling common people’s stories’: the new TV documentaries of the 1990s 44 3.3 The rise of the ‘New Documentary Movement’ 47 3.3.1 Citizens making media: the digital revolution 51 3.3.2 Studies on Chinese independent documentary cinema and new research perspectives 55 Chapter 4: Alternative Perspectives: Chinese Independent Documentaries Themes, Styles and Social Commitment 61 4.1 The rise of the social issue documentary (2004–2010) 62 4.1.1 Documentaries exploring contemporary social happening: uncovering China’s ‘hidden realities’ 63 4.1.2 Historical documentaries 68 4.1.3 Rural documentaries 72 4.2 Content, styles and themes: from documentary to alternative media 77 Chapter 5: The Documentary Conscience: Citizen-Filmmakers 83 5.1 The citizen-filmmakers 84 vii 5.2 Independent filmmakers: from self-expression to social commitment 85 5.3 ‘We are making counter-propaganda’: Chinese video activists 89 5.3.1 Public intellectuals making alternative media 91 5.4 The documentary’s ‘weaker social groups’: from laobaixing to gongmin 96 5.4.1 Community filmmakers and social empowerment 100 5.5 Filmmakers, citizenship and civic participation 104 Chapter 6: The Networked Production, Distribution and Exhibition of Independent Documentary Films 109 6.1 Documentary cinema as a rhizome: a network approach 109 6.2 Independent documentary films and the market 110 6.2.1 The Li Xianting Film Fund and the Ai Weiwei Studio 113 6.3 Authority, mainstream media and political impact 115 6.3.1 Documentary and the party-state: limitations and opportunities 116 6.3.2 Documentary, mainstream media and civil society inside and outside China 121 6.3.3 Ford Foundation 124 6.4 Independent film festivals: negotiation and networking 126 6.4.1 China Independent Documentary Festival (ChinaDoc) 126 6.4.2 Yunnan Multicultural Festival (Yunfest) 130 Chapter 7: The Active Audiences of Chinese Independent Documentary Films 133 7.1 The ‘activity’ of independent documentary film audiences 134 7.2 Researching Chinese documentary audiences 134 7.3 Tears and epistephilia: the documentary audience response 137 7.4 Documentary as an arena of debates 140 7.4.1 Debates in sheltered spaces: the case of Petition and Laoma Tihua 142 7.4.2 Debates on the web: Fanhall.com 146 7.5 Documentary audience and civic engagement 148 7.6 Documentary audience and community screenings 150 7.5.1 Documentary as a ‘fireplace’ facilitating discussions in remote communities 151 Chapter 8: Conclusion: Beyond the Chinese Documentary-Making Network 155 8.1 The significance of independent documentary-making in contemporary China 155 8.2 Research outcomes 159 8.3 Future perspectives of documentary research 161 Appendix 165 Bibliography 169 viii Acknowledgements This PhD project was conducted under the auspices of the Australian Government Endeavour International Postgraduate Research
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