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A New Definition for Today's Chinese Independent Cinema

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A New Definition for Today's Chinese Independent Cinema QUT Digital Repository: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/ This is the published version of this article. Published as: Song, Tingting (2009) A new definition for today’s Chinese independent cinema. Ejournalist, 9(1). pp. 157-170. © Copyright 2009 Please consult the author A new definition for today’s Chinese … Tingting Song A new definition for today’s Introduction Chinese independent cinema in the 1990s meant films “not approved by Chinese independent government”. However that definition may not be appropriate in the new situation. This article analyzes the film industry reforms which have occurred, aimed at marketization and globalization, and the dramatic changes cinema the reforms have brought about since the 1990s. Then it addresses the tension between the former definition of Chinese independent cinema and new identities belonging to the new economic situation, arguing that the dominant system against which Chinese independent filmmakers define themselves, Abstract has changed. The article proposes a new definition of Chinese independent cinema in light of American independent experience whose focus is on a Different terminologies have been used to characterize the Chinese film’s industrial orientation, and then explains the definition in terms of independent cinema in the 1990s. These definitions focused on experimental “majors and indies”. practices outside the official production system and independent of official ideology. The film industry has had distinctive development since China’s Chinese independent cinema emerged in the early 1990s. Different entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001. Now, private terminologies have been used to characterize this alternative film culture. investors play an essential role in the cinematic economy; strict censorship There are principally the concepts of “underground”, “the sixth generation”, has been obviously relaxed; the film industry is being divided into two and “independent cinema” —mostly western terms but with distinctive opposing parts at opposite extremes: major production companies which are Chinese applications. both government and privately owned, and a collection of new and old independent producers often operating commercially. Thus, it is necessary to Overseas critics preferred the term “underground”. They regarded the give a new definition of the Chinese independent cinema. I suggest here a filmmaking activities as rebellious behavior (Chen and Xiao 2006). State- definition of independent cinema for China, based on American independent owned studios were the only legal entities to produce films by the late 1990s. film-making practice, which recognises as independent, any film that has not Film censorship was very tough. Financial crisis prevailed in the film been financed, produced and distributed by “majors”. At least four industry. The young directors who could not get opportunities within the corporations are majors in the Chinese film industry. They are China Film monopoly of state-owned system had to embark on a unique, out-of-system Group Corporation, Huayi Brothers Corporation, PolyBona Film Distribution journey to fulfill their dreams. They produced low budget films without Corporation and Shanghai Film Group Corporation. Except the four majors, official permissions and shipped them overseas to get exhibition. Their all the other film production or distribution companies are independents. illegal activities are named “underground” filmmaking. Some film scholars and critics preferred such terms as “the sixth generation” Tingting Song or “the new-born generation” to describe these young brave directors. Their argument is that their films present many common characteristics in Faculty of Creative Industries comparison with films produced by other generations. The sixth generation Queensland University of Technology directors explore the social realities of their daily urban surroundings. “Underground” seems to suggest subversive positioning to the Party’s political dominance. However, in fact, political criticism is not a major characteristic of most underground filmmaking (Pickowicz 2006). Directors also would deny describing their films as dissent work (Berry 2006). A majority of young directors prefer a relatively universal term “independent”. Ejournalist.com.au 157 A new definition for today’s Chinese … Tingting Song A new definition for today’s Chinese … Tingting Song The emphasis of most literature on what is Chinese independent productions of view, whether they be expressed in experimental approaches or through and how they are independent has still been placed on the out-of-system crowd-pleasing comedies” (cited by Holmlund 2004, 3). industrial and ideological locations. Pickowicz (Zhang, c2006) claims an independent Chinese film was traditionally to be considered the one produced outside the system and thus inevitably with a dissident stance. Cui (2005, 175) notes that independent filmmaking is an “experimental practices Other statements about independence combine industrial and formal outside the official production system and its ideological censorship”. Zhang components together. Maltby (2003) (Maltby, 2003)states any film financed (2006, 26) states the term independent “best describes the alternative modes not by majors is independent; while a film with an innovative perspective of production and circulation of their works: if not entirely independent of and personal style is independent. In a similar vein, Hillier (Hillier, 2001) state institutions (for nominal affiliation was required in some cases), at least notes that “independent is a concept opposite to ´studio´”, “independent” independent of official ideology”. suggests work that is different from the mainstream, both in economic or aesthetic terms. In his book American independent cinema, King (2005) No matter which term critics selected for this alternative Chinese discusses indies in three orientations: film’s financing, form and the social filmmaking, “underground”, “the sixth generation” or “independent”, their issues they concern. attention were mainly paid to films’ ideological status, in detail, the facts that the films were not approved by the Communist Party and that they In short, financing or aesthetics opposite to the dominance is the common represented alternative culture opposite to the mainstream propaganda. The ground for the definition of independent cinema. However, Tzioumakis definition has strong Chinese uniqueness with political color. This draws our (Tzioumakis & Ebooks Corporation., 2006) confesses that American attention to the question: what is the common definition for independent independent cinema is a very difficult concept to define. In his book cinema? American independent cinema: an introduction, Tzioumakis examines American independent cinema in different historical trajectories. For him, The literature about the definition of independent cinema is rich. As different economic environments generated different majors and mentioned before, unofficial actions and even taking of politically subversive correspondingly different indies appeared. In a similar vein, Kleinhans positions was for many years the key feature of Chinese independent cinema; (1998, 308) cites that “independent” is a “relational term”, in relation to “the while the state system had relational dominance in the cinema world. dominant system”, rather than being understood as totally “free-standing and However, in West, some understandings of “independent” focus on autonomous.” According to this viewpoint, before we can propose the financing. Merritt (2000, 4) proposes that independent is “any motion picture definition of Chinese indies, first of all, we need to discuss what the financed and produced completely autonomous of all studios”. Merritt (2000) dominant system is that Chinese independent cinema is relational with. In the raises a difference between independent and semi-independent film. For him, United States, the dominant system has always been large corporations an independent film is financed and produced thoroughly independently known Hollywood. Historically, the monopoly of state-owned system was while “a semi-indie” is not produced by a major but does have a major’s the dominance in the People’s Republic of China. As already noted, the distribution. More clearly, Holmlund (2005) points out that independent previous definition of Chinese independent cinema focused on its opposition films are the films that are not released by the Big-Eight majors (Warner to the state-owned system, at both industrial and ideological level. However a Brothers, Paramount, MGM, Twentieth Century-Fox, PKO, Columbia, series of reforms since the 1990s, especially since China’ WTO entry, have Universal, and United Artists). caused groundbreaking changes in the film industry and have resulted in the emergence of new major dominance. Some points of view on what is independent highlight its experimental aesthetics. Definition of “independent film” in Thesaurus is “art film” and “avant-garde film”. Economic reform in the Chinese film industry Many directors affirm independent is a maverick activity rather than a commercial commodity (Levy 1999). For Filmmaker Magazine (2003) Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the film editors, independent movies “are broadly associated with alternative points industry of monopoly state control had been restrictedly managed within planned economy mechanism. The state subsidized production, and the state- Ejournalist.com.au 158 Ejournalist.com.au
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