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Nostalgia in Contemporary Chinese Cinema (1993-2008): a Reflection of China’S Socio-Cultural Postmodernity

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Nostalgia in Contemporary Chinese Cinema (1993-2008): a Reflection of China’S Socio-Cultural Postmodernity Nostalgia in Contemporary Chinese Cinema (1993-2008): A Reflection of China’s Socio-Cultural Postmodernity Shen Jiang A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Cultural Studies The University of Canterbury 2010 Abstract Since Deng Xiaoping‘s ―South Tour Speech‖ which he delivered during his inspection of special economic region in southern China in 1992, China‘s reforms and opening-up have entered a period of stable and rapid development. These undoubtedly are driving a comprehensive range of areas of social transition in Chinese society, including state affairs, social activities, mass culture, and globalization. All these factors may have a significant impact on the situation of Chinese film, but in the meantime, local cinema will inevitably present contemporary China and its social culture in a certain way. This thesis chooses a period of time from 1993 to 2008 and examines ―nostalgia‖, a unique area of contemporary Chinese cinema, as its basis for discussion. In the light of Western and postmodern cultural theories, this study aims to explore the current state of nostalgia film and its postmodern elements in China and to extend the discussion to social areas and cultural studies. The conclusion reached by the discussion includes two major aspects. First, through historical reconstruction and superficial pastiche, China‘s past (or its nostalgia) has inevitably presented certain distortions when facing the global mass cult and Chinese communist leitmotiv ideology. Second, contemporary China has reached the stage of a visually featured, postmodern consumer society. I Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Adam Lam and Professor Howard McNaughton, whose ideas, critiques, suggestions, and support have made working on this thesis a challenging, interesting and satisfying endeavour. Particularly, I wish to acknowledge Adam‘s original insights into contemporary Chinese cinema and its cultural contexts in a global perspective, and Howard‘s help in connecting the specificities of this research to a comprehensive range of cultural and theoretical concerns. I shall never forget the moment I first set foot in Christchurch and met Adam at the International Airport. It was he who led and helped me to settle down and to start a new life in New Zealand. Nor will I forget Howard‘s timely reply on Sunday, 1st February 2009 from the surgical ward: ―Thanks Ginger; good to hear from you! I was planning to start working on your chapter today, but the anaesthetics are leaving me very drowsy and I‘ve got some heavy painkillers as well. But I hope to get on to your chapter in the next few days…‖ Then I would like to thank my parents who usually encourage me through trans-oceanic phone calls. Many thanks to Jennifer for lending colour to my long-term study life. A special ―thank you‖ to Ms. Geraldine Murphy as well, who is always my first reader of the drafts in proofreading. Finally, I am particularly grateful to the academic and general staff of the University of Canterbury, not only for use of the research facilities, but for all their reminders, concern and help. My friends, flat mates and fellow students, especially Kelly, Wendy, Wenjun, Musique, You Jie, Daniel, Lydia, Peter, Watson, William, Feng, Frank, Niu, Ke, Capri and Lucia, have provided endless inspiration and new ideas for both my life and the research. Kia ora koutou. Thank you. II Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………………...I Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………...II List of Figures …………………………………………………………………….IX Part I Postmodernism and Chinese Cinema Chapter One Introduction – Nostalgia and Its Postmodernity ……………………………….1 Chapter Two Theoretical Framework and Social Background ………………………………22 2.1. Significance and Methodology 2.2. The Postmodern, Theory and Society 2.2.1. Philosophical Debates 2.2.2. Social-cultural Debates 2.2.3. Aesthetic Debates 2.3. Background 2.3.1. The Social Situation of China 2.3.2. The Postmodernity of Chinese Society 2.3.3. Postmodernism in the Local Academia 2.3.4. Feasibility Study on Postmodern Issues in China 2.3.5. The Local Film Industry III Chapter Three Postmodern Elements in Contemporary Chinese Cinema A Case Study on An Orphan Joins the Army …………………………………...46 3.1. Background and Arguments 3.2. The Postmodernism and the Film Text 3.2.1. The Theme 3.2.1.1. The Film Adaptation 3.2.1.2. Disharmonies, Repressions, and Marginalization 3.2.1.3. Questioning the Marginalized Theme 3.2.2. Incredulity towards History 3.2.2.1. A Cartoon Character in a Documentary 3.2.2.2. Historical Context and Big Shots 3.2.2.3. Counter-cinema Narratives 3.2.2.4. Parody, Fake Documentary, and an Absent Past 3.2.3. The Downfall of Heroes 3.2.3.1. To Be a Hero 3.2.3.2. Chiang‘s Temptation 3.2.3.3. Incredulity towards Metanarratives 3.2.3.4. Trivialization, Desire and Their Repression 3.2.4. War, Game, and Their Intertextuality 3.2.4.1. War or Game 3.2.4.2. The Authors, The Works, and The Readers 3.3. The Film Reflected As A Culture 3.3.1. Cultural Exhaustion and Desublimation 3.3.1.1. The Embarrassing Situation 3.3.1.2. Postmodernism and Cultural Exhaustion 3.3.1.3. Mass Culture and Desublimation 3.3.2. Conservative Refutation 3.3.2.1. Social and Political Background, China 1990s 3.3.2.2. Neo-conservatism of China IV 3.3.2.3 Mutual Tolerance 3.3.2.4. Criticism and Subversion 3.3.2.5. Successful Distribution and Marginalized Genre 3.3.3. A Reflection on Mass Culture Part II The First Nostalgic Wave Chapter Four Parody, Pastiche and Nostalgia – Definitions and Contexts …………………..92 4.1. Parody 4.1.1. Definition 4.1.2. ―Styles‖ and the ―Norm‖ 4.1.3. Double-coding Strategies 4.1.4. Criticism of Parody in China 4.2. Pastiche 4.2.1. Pastiche – Exhausted Styles 4.2.2. The Exhausted Condition in Contemporary Chinese Cinema 4.2.3. A Comparison of Parody and Pastiche 4.2.4. Jameson‘s Misgiving and the Linguistic Norm 4.3. Nostalgia 4.3.1. Nostalgia in the Postmodern 4.3.2. Nostalgic Waves in Chinese Cinema, a Brief Introduction Chapter Five Postmodern Essentials of Nostalgia ……………………………………………126 5.1. Glossy Technology – History or Image 5.2. The Appearance 5.2.1. Flatness – The Fate of History V 5.2.2. The Signifier without the Signified 5.2.3. ―Dusty Spectacles‖ – A New Spatial Logic Instead of Time 5.3. The Rupture of Time 5.3.1. The Slippery Appearance 5.3.2. Farewell My Concubine 5.3.2.1. An Historical Legend 5.3.2.2. Film Text and Intertextuality 5.3.2.3. The Floating Appearance and the Confused Time Span 5.3.2.4. The Makeup and the Confusing Identity 5.3.2.5. The Bricolage from Diverse Appearances of Time 5.4. What Does Nostalgia Imitate 5.4.1. The Mass Consciousness 5.4.2. Different Targets of Parody and Pastiche 5.4.3. Trivialized Experiences – To Live and The Blue Kite 5.4.4. Postmodern Nostalgia, as Distinct from Personal Homesickness 5.5. The Suspecting Effect 5.5.1. Excessive Simulation 5.5.2. The ―Past‖ in Our Mind 5.6. An Idealizing Nostalgia Chapter Six To Be Nostalgic Overseas ……………………………………………………….181 6.1. Going Abroad, Distribution and Censorship 6.1.1. International Reputation and Distribution 6.1.2. The Silent Treatment 6.1.3. Censorship or Promotion 6.1.4. The Target Audience of the First Nostalgic Wave 6.1.4.1. Cultural Revolution, a Political Content and a Forbidden Cultural Region 6.1.4.2. Becoming Involved with External Investment VI 6.2. Chinese Nostalgia, A Global Illusion 6.2.1. The Chinese Cultural Revolution and the Sixties of the World 6.2.2. Maoism or Orientalism? – China, the Supposed Eastern ―Empire‖ 6.2.3. Fawning or Seduction? 6.3. A National Scar and Domestic Nostalgia 6.3.1. Distortion and Trauma 6.3.2. A Nostalgic Sense of China Part III The Second Nostalgic Wave Chapter Seven Silence and Revival ……………………………………………………………..240 7.1. The Darkest Time Is Near the Dawn – Silence of the Fifth Generation Directors 7.2. The Nostalgic Concern and Political Silence of the Post-fifth Generation Directors 7.3. The Nineties, Social Background with Its Nostalgic Sense Faded Out 7.4. An Accumulation of Power 7.5. Cultural Replacement and the Production of (Postmodern) Nostalgia Chapter Eight A Real Nostalgia for China ……………………………………………………..286 8.1. The Families That Are Broken 8.2. Reflections on the Transitional Society 8.2.1. Political Transitions in the First Nostalgic Wave 8.2.2. Cultural Transitions through the Second Nostalgic Wave 8.3. Evasive Strategies and Marginalization 8.3.1. The Marginalized Narrative 8.3.2. The Space-Time Marginalization VII 8.3.3. Nostalgia, A Dynamic Fusion of Horizons 8.4. An Invisible Hand, the Nostalgic Reinvention by Governmental Leitmotiv Consciousness – Control and Resistance 8.4.1. The Everyday Normalization of Nostalgia 8.4.2. Xie Jin Model 8.4.3. The ―Peaceable‖ Right 8.4.4. Nostalgic Films by Way of Counter-culture Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….355 Filmography ……………………………………………………………………..358 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………..363 VIII Figures Figure 1. An Orphan Joins the Army (Manhua) (Chapter 3) Figure 2. The ―Documentary‖ in An Orphan Joins the Army (Chapter 3) Figure 3. Bawang and Lady Yu on Stage in Film (Chapter 5) Figure 4. The Opening Sequence in Farewell My Concubine (Chapter 5) Figure 5. The Film Title and the Traditional Painting, Farewell My Concubine (Chapter 5) Figure 6. The Confusion of Identity between the Stage and Reality (Chapter 5) Figure 7. ―Lady Yu‖ at a Struggle Meeting (Chapter 5) Figure 8.
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