The Construction of Tang Wei As a Star in Contemporary China: Performance, Context, Reception and Politics
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THE CONSTRUCTION OF TANG WEI AS A STAR IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA: PERFORMANCE, CONTEXT, RECEPTION AND POLITICS ZHU XINCHEN (B.A., FUJIAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2014 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the thesis is my original work and it has been written by me in its entirety. I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have been used in the thesis. This thesis has also not been submitted for any degree in any university previously. _____________ _ Zhu Xinchen 21 January 2014 i Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Robin Loon for his one-year patient and meticulous instruction, advices and encouragement which make this academic work possible. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Paul Rae for his kind-hearted suggestions and assistant when I started with my study in NUS. In addition, I would like to thank some open-minded PhD candidates in our department and others who have spent their time in chatting with me about film theories and Chinese culture, for example, Li-Chun, Jiahui and Yixin. It served to inspire my critical thinking to some degree. Finally, I am grateful to my family members for their financial and emotional supports, in particular my mother. ii Table of Contents Abstract v List of Illustrations vi Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Key Points and Crucial Theoretical Considerations for Approaching Tang Wei’s Stardom 3 Literature Review 8 Chapter 2 Tang Wei’s Star Image Before Lust, Caution: The Qingchun Girl Without Seductive Aura 17 Introduction: The Importance of Studying Tang Wei’s Star Image before the Release of Lust, Caution 17 Who Can Play Wang Jiazhi: Ang Lee’s Criteria and Tang Wei’s Qizhi 18 A Paradox: Qingchun Qizhi and Seductive Aura 23 Conclusion 29 Chapter 3 An Embodiment of the Idealized Traditional Chinese Girl 31 Introduction 31 Intertextuality between Wang Jiazhi and Tang Wei 34 Ang Lee’s Manipulation of Tang Wei 35 Three Male Characters’ Manipulation of Wang Jiazhi 41 Conclusion 49 Chapter 4 Under a Ban: A Reconstructed Tang Wei-as-victim 51 Introduction 51 Official Censorship’s Role in Tang’s Stardom 52 Interpretation of Official Discourses in Media Texts 55 Conclusion 64 iii Chapter 5 Tang’s On- and Off-screen Performance and Her Stardom 65 Introduction 65 From Oi Lin to Anna: Renewal of Tang Wei 66 Hovering between Ordinariness and Extraordinariness: Off-screen Public Performance 77 Conclusion 85 Chapter 6 Conclusion 87 Tang Wei and Ideal Femininity in Chinese Patriarchal Culture 87 Tang Wei’s Acting Skills and Performance 90 Tang Wei and National Discourses 94 Bibliography 100 iv Abstract This dissertation attempts to explore the complex interaction between transnational Chinese female stardom and the current post-socialist Chinese ideological milieu through a case study of Tang Wei’s stardom. While this study is informed by Western theoretical discourses about star studies, it hopes to contribute to the growing scholarly terrain of celebrity studies and Chinese culture studies. Based on Richard Dyer’s (1979) “sociological-semiotic” approach , I will also draw on the relevant theoretical discourses in the field of performance studies. The thesis employs Erving Goffman’s notion of “social performance” (1959) and Richard Schechner’s concept of “in-between identities” (1985) to position Tang’s on- and off-screen persona and performance within and without the Chinese ideological context. By examining the vicissitudes of Tang’s stardom (2006-2012), this dissertation reveals that there still exists the persistent influence of patriarchal values, national discourses, Party-state’s power and Chinese female star’s ‘performance’ in the (re)constructing transnational Chinese female stardom. v List of Illustrations Fig. 3.1 Wang Jiazhi portrayed by Tang Wei in Lust, Caution (2007) 40 Fig. 3.2 Wang Jiazhi portrayed by Tang Wei in Lust, Caution (2007) 40 Fig. 3.3 Wang Jiazhi portrayed by Tang Wei in Lust, Caution (2007) 40 Fig. 3.4 Wang Jiazhi portrayed by Tang Wei in Lust, Caution (2007) 40 Fig. 3.5 Wang Jiazhi portrayed by Tang Wei in Lust, Caution (2007) 40 Fig. 3.6 Wang Jiazhi’s acting in Kuang Yumin’s patriotic drama in Lust, Caution (2007) 43 Fig. 3.7 Wang Jiazhi’s acting in Kuang Yumin’s patriotic drama in Lust, Caution (2007) 43 Fig. 3.8 Ingrid Bergman’s acting in Intermezzo (1939) 43 Fig. 3.9 Ingrid Bergman’s acting in Casablanca (1942) 43 Fig. 3.10 Zhou Xuan’s acting in Street Angle (1937) 43 Fig. 3.11 Ruan Lingyu’s acting in The New Women (1935) 43 Fig. 5.1--5.10 Change of Oi Lin’s/Tang Wei’s facial expressions in Crossing Hennessy (2010) 68 Fig. 5.11--5.13 Tang Wei remains a situation of peacefulness and silence in Speed Angels (2011) 71 Fig. 5.14--5.17 Tang’s close-up shots which show Hong Xiaoyi’s emotion in Speed Angels (2011) 71 Fig. 5. 18--5.21 Tang’s minimalist acting in Late Autumn (2010) 72 Fig. 5. 22--5.25 Tang’s emotional eruption in Late Autumn (2010) 72 Fig. 5. 26--5.29 Tang’s emotional eruption in Late Autumn (2010) 73 Fig. 5.30--5.35 Tang’s acting shows Ayu’s inner tension and anxiety in Dragon (2011) 74 Fig. 5.36--5.39 Tang’s acting shows that Ayu has been hurt by the male lead role in Dragon (2011) 75 Fig. 5.40--5.43 Seductive images of Tang Wei in some fashion magazine 80 Fig. 5.44 & 5.45 The two pictures show that Tang stooped to pick up the light camp for the paparazzo. 83 Fig. 6.1 Tang Wei wearing qipao in Lust, Caution (2007) 95 Fig. 6.2 Gong Li in qipao 95 Fig. 6.3 Zhang Ziyi in qipao 95 Fig. 6.4 Fan Bingbing in qipao 95 vi Chapter 1 Introduction This dissertation examines the complex relationship between transnational female stardom and the operation of power in the recent Chinese context through a case study of film actress, Tang Wei’s stardom. In the early twenty-first century, numerous mainland Chinese actresses have risen to transnational stardom with the increased internationalization of film production. Among these actresses, Tang Wei is a typical female star whose rapid fame has frequently become entangled with sensitive issues involving the official ideology, sexuality, and patriarchal values of contemporary mainland China. As a renowned mainland Chinese female star, Tang’s career is worthy of study. In 2006, she attracted public attention because she was cast in the lead role as Wang Jiazhi in Ang Lee’s international film, Lust, Caution. After its release in 2007, Tang’s performance in three sexually explicit scenes engendered heated debate regarding nationalism, sexuality, and morality in the contemporary Chinese context. The controversy involving the filmic representation of Tang’s body seems to exceed that of other Chinese female stars. Amidst the controversy, Tang’s body was sexualized as an object of male desire. This consequently became a contentious subject between conservative and liberalist ideology in the public sphere. In 2008, China’s State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) officially banned Tang’s public appearance, triggering another wave of debates concerning state power and censorship, actors’ rights, sexual ethics, and feminism in the public sphere. Consequently, Tang’s career was subject to substantial setbacks until she acted in the Hong Kong movie, Crossing Hennessy, which was released in mainland China in 2010. Tang’s stardom was revived through three coproductions (i.e., Late Autumn, Wu Xia, and Speed Angles) in 2011, which was therefore called a “Tang Wei Year.” The vicissitudes of Tang’s stardom epitomizes the complexity of recent transnational Chinese female stardom. Regardless of the controversies surrounding her rise to fam,e, Tang’s stardom has always been linked closely with crucial issues such as the ideological power of the state, 1 male-dominated values, femininity, sexuality, nationalism, and transnationalism. This places Tang’s stardom as an ideal case study to observe the intricate relationship and interaction between transnational Chinese female stars and the current post-socialist Chinese ideological milieu. Tang Wei sets herself apart from other mainland Chinese female stars, such as Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Fan Bingbing in four aspects, according to differences between their career trajectories. First, Tang’s fame stemmed from a transnational film, Lust, Caution, and prior to this movie, Tang had little prestige among the public, nationwide and overseas. However, other female stars, such as Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li, had portrayed critical roles in national Chinese films and gained some popularity nationwide before they acted in transnational films. Second, Tang is the only transnational Chinese performer who was banned by the SARFT because of her explicit sex scenes. Although other actresses such as Zhang Ziyi and Fan Bingbing have acted in sex scenes and subsequently incurred public censure, they were never subjected to punishment and a ban order by the SARFT, and their careers had never been undermined in mainland China. Third, Tang Wei has received awards and recognition for her achievements mainly from regions outside mainland China, especially Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea. Her impressive characters are Wang Jiazhi in Lust, Caution and Anna in Late Autumn, both female protagonists in transnational films. Prior to 2012, she has worked exclusively with non-mainland Chinese directors, a feat that is unique to her. Finally, after she was banned, the statements of the mainland Chinese audience, film reviews, and mass media reports focused chiefly on Tang Wei’s career, her public image, and her social performance, rather than on gossip regarding her love affairs.