“性感野貓”之革命造型：創作、行銷、電影女演員與中國現代性的想像(1933~1935)

Abstract

This paper employs the method and theories of ”cultural performance” to investigate the arts and lives of two film actresses, Ai Xia (1912~1934) and Ruan Lingyu (1910~l935), mapping the historical process of the configuration of Chinese modern womanhood of the early 1930s. I do not only treat these actresses as the ”artistic actors”, the viewing ”object” of the mass audience, but also examine their role as ”social actors,” who use their arts as means of self-expression and social campaign. Also, I consider together the historical narratives, contemporary criticism, and even fans' reaction toward these modern women's (artistic and social) performances as form of ”cultural performance.” My goal is to explore how such kind of cultural performance once embodied the Chinese coginition of ”realism” as a form of acting style, and how it constituted the overall ”performance culture” in the early 20th century. The ultimate purpose is to provide a method of study to the cultural process of negotiation of Chinese women's performance in the public domain.