THE POLITICS OF IMAGES: CHINESE CINEMA IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION by HONGMEIYU A DISSERTATION Presented to the Comparative Literature Program and the Graduate School ofthe University of Oregon in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy June 2008 11 University of Oregon Graduate School Confirmation of Approval and Acceptance of Dissertation prepared by: Hongmei Yu Title: "Politics ofImages: Chinese Cinema in the Context of Globalization" This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the Doctor ofPhilosophy degree in the Department of Comparative Literature by: Tze-lan Sang, Chairperson, East Asian Languages & Literature David Leiwei Li, Member, English Janet Wasko, Member, Journalism and Communication Daisuke Miyao, Outside Member, East Asian Languages & Literature and Richard Linton, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies/Dean ofthe Graduate School for the University of Oregon. June 14, 2008 Original approval signatures are on file with the Graduate School and the University of Oregon Libraries. iii © 2008 Hongmei Yu IV An Abstract ofthe Dissertation of Hongmei Yu for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy in the Comparative Literature Program to be taken June 2008 Title: THE POLITICS OF IMAGES: CHINESE CINEMA IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION Approved: _ Dr. Tze-Ian Sang This dissertation explores the interaction between filmmaking and the changing exigencies ofleftist political ideologies in China at different stages ofmodernity: semi­ colonial modernity, socialist modernity, and global modernity. Besides a historical examination ofthe left-wing cinema movement in the 1930s and socialist cinema in the Mao era, it focuses on the so-called "main melody" films that are either produced with financial backing by the state or sanctioned by governmental film awards in 1990s China. As products of globalization, Chinese "main melody" films are growing in complexity and maturity with the deepening ofglobalization, especially in competition with Hollywood cinema. Inspired by Louis Althusser, this dissertation attempts to address the lacunae of existing scholarship on Chinese "main melody" films by analyzing the role of the film medium as a significant ideological state apparatus (ISA) in serving ideological transitions occurring in 1990s China. Meanwhile, it also examines how the operation of v the ideological mechanism in Chinese "main melody" films is different from the Althusserian definition. An examination ofthe polyphonic narration ofhistory shows how the revolutionary history has been retold in "main melody" films in different ways to create a rich discursive space in post-socialist China. Special attention has also been paid to the cinematic representation ofChinese nationalism, contending that the instigation of nationalism in non-EuroAmerican societies--despite the fact that nationalism can be easily appropriated by the state as an effective ideological discourse to conceal domestic social conflicts--calls attention to the often ignored historical linkages between colonialism and the expanding global capitalism. In addition, it also examines the role of Chinese intellectuals in the discursive construction ofnationalism. An analysis of Chinese masculinity shows that recent changes in gender discourse are closely related to China's socio-economic development in the era of globalization. Based on Stuart Hall's "encoding/decoding" model, the last part ofthis dissertation explores how the Chinese spectator as a subject can negotiate the ideological interpellation by the "main melody" film text in his/her own way. VI CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Hongmei Yu PLACE OF BIRTH: Tianjin, P.R. China GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University ofOregon, Eugene Peking University, Beijing Renmin University ofChina, Beijing DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor ofPhilosophy in Comparative Literature, 2008, University ofOregon Master ofArts in Comparative Literature, 2001, Peking University Bachelor ofArts in Journalism, 1994, Renmin University ofChina AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Modern Chinese Literature and Culture Film Studies, Cultural Studies PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Graduate Teaching Fellowship, East Asian Languages and Literatures, University ofOregon, 2001-2008. Chinese Language, Literature and Cinema. Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Center for Applied Second Language Studies, University ofOregon, 2007-2008. Chinese Flagship Program. Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Department ofHistory, University ofOregon, 2006. Modern China in Film. VB ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express sincere appreciation to Professor Tze-lan Sang for her valuable assistance in the writing ofthis dissertation for the last 3 years. I also wish to thank Professor David Li and Professor Janet Wasko for their wonderful courses that I took at the University of Oregon, and their immense help in serving as my committee members. I wish to extend my gratitude to Professor Wendy Larson and Professor Daisuke Miyao for their help in the early and the final stage ofthis project. In addition to my committee, special thanks are due to Professor ArifDirlik. His direction in all aspects ofthis project from big to small has been a chieffactor in its completion. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to Professor Dai Jinhua, my advisor at the Peking University, who has inspired and mentored my intellectual development over years. V111 To my seven years in Eugene, and all friends who shared my frustration and happiness. IX TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. WHEN CINEMA MET POLITICS: THE LEFT-WING FILM MOVEMENT IN CHINA.................................................................................................. 16 III. POLITICS AND AESTHETICS IN SOCIALIST CINEMA: FROM THE WHITE-HAIRED GIRL TO FIVE GLODEN FLOWERS 52 IV. CHINESE CINEMA IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION 90 Case Study: Disney in China 127 V. THE POLYPHONIC NARRATION OF HISTORY IN "MAIN MELODY" FILMS 152 VI. CHINESE NATIONALISM AND ITS CINEMATIC REPRESENTATION 190 VII. ORIENTALISM, OCCIDENTALISM AND CHINESE MASCULINITY IN CINEMA 228 VIII. ENCODINGIDECODING: "MAIN MELODY" FILMS AND THE SUBJECTIVY OF THE SPECTATOR 266 APPENDIX: THE CHINESE CThTEMA HUABIAO AWARDS 300 BIBLIOGRAPHY 306 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION As a socially significant mass medium ofeducation, propaganda, and entertainment, Chinese cinema did not receive the international attention it deserved until the mid-1980s, partly because ofthe inaccessibility ofChinese cinema in the international market, and partly because ofa deep-rooted political hostility against Communism during the Cold War era, which viewed Chinese cinema produced under the socialist regime as a tool ofpropaganda and brainwash. Since the mid-1980s, with the appearance ofsome Chinese films, especially those made by the so-called Fifth Generation filmmakers, at major international film festivals, Chinese cinema has become the focus ofintense interest amongst some Western film critics. Chinese film studies has become one ofthe fastest growing and most vibrant academic fields in the West, which, in return, created an echo in China, thanks to the increasing cultural communication between China and the West. Since the late 1980s, Chinese filmmakers and critics have begun to reexamine the history ofChinese cinema and map its future in a global perspective. The flourishing ofChinese film studies, internationally as well as domestically, is the very product ofthe tides of globalization. During the Cold War era, although cultural exchanges between China and the West were not completely shut down due to the political confrontation, they were very limited. In terms ofcinema, just as most Western 2 films could not be released in the Chinese film market, so was Chinese cinema not exhibited and distributed in the West. It was the end ofthe Cold War that brought about a global marketwhere some Chinese films were introduced to the world and became transnational cultural productions. The appearance ofChinese cinema at the international film festivals, however, could not be regarded simply as a cultural matter, just as the end ofthe Cold War was not merely a political matter. Both foretold the powerfulness ofthe oncoming global capitalism at an unprecedented pace. Has the end ofthe Cold War > melted away all the ideological messages that had been heavily encoded in Chinese cinema during the socialist years? Will ideological confrontations no longer be the fundamental source of conflict in the global era? Is global politics entering a new phase that is dominated by the clash ofcivilizations, as claimed by Samuel Huntington? At least in China, the last socialist country, or post-socialist country, in the world, there are no quick answers for these questions. As an indispensable part ofthe visual culture, cinema has played an important role in the process ofnation-building and globalization. This dissertation explores the interaction between filmmaking and the changing exigencies ofleftist political ideologies in China at different stages ofmodernity: semi-colonial modernity, socialist modernity and global modernity, with the main body ofthe dissertation focusing on the so-called zhuxuanlii or "main melody" films ofthe global era. For those who are not familiar with this term, I would like to give a briefdefinition here. Film industry in the People's Republic of China (PRC) was under direct control ofthe Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Socialist cinema was first of all an important tool ofpropaganda. In comparison,