Chinese Cinema Research Articles

The Role of Community Aesthetics in the External Communication Discourse System of Chinese Films Under the Background of the “Belt and Road” Initiative

As a cultural product, films bear the mission and responsibility of shaping the national image and conveying the spirit of China in international cultural exchanges. However, since the proposal of the “Belt and Road” initiative in 2013, the dissemination of Chinese films in countries along the route has remained unsatisfactory, thereby underscoring the urgency of reconstructing the discourse system for the external communication of Chinese films. To address this issue, it is of the utmost importance to establish a creative orientation that is focused on reshaping China’s image, fully exploring Chinese stories and the essence of the Chinese spirit, and developing a discourse system that is centered on Chinese narratives and supported by the theoretical framework of community aesthetics. Moreover, it is vital to engage in comprehensive collaboration in cultural exchanges with countries along the Belt and Road. This necessitates the adaptation of Chinese film promotion and distribution strategies to align with the characteristics of the new media era. Leveraging the aggregating power of new media platforms and online communities is essential for the creation of a sustainable and Chinese-style industrial model for the global dissemination of Chinese films.

The Role of Community Aesthetics in the External Communication Discourse System of Chinese Films Under the Background of the “Belt and Road” Initiative

As a cultural product, films bear the mission and responsibility of shaping the national image and conveying the spirit of China in international cultural exchanges. However, since the proposal of the “Belt and Road” initiative in 2013, the dissemination of Chinese films in countries along the route has remained unsatisfactory, thereby underscoring the urgency of reconstructing the discourse system for the external communication of Chinese films. To address this issue, it is of the utmost importance to establish a creative orientation that is focused on reshaping China’s image, fully exploring Chinese stories and the essence of the Chinese spirit, and developing a discourse system that is centered on Chinese narratives and supported by the theoretical framework of community aesthetics. Moreover, it is vital to engage in comprehensive collaboration in cultural exchanges with countries along the Belt and Road. This necessitates the adaptation of Chinese film promotion and distribution strategies to align with the characteristics of the new media era. Leveraging the aggregating power of new media platforms and online communities is essential for the creation of a sustainable and Chinese-style industrial model for the global dissemination of Chinese films.

Historical Memories in Chen Kaige’s Films and their Cultural Reflections

Chen Kaige is a leading figure of the Fifth Generation and one of the country’s most internationally influential directors. The uniqueness of his films lies in their allegorical expression of national concerns, using specific historical or contemporary settings for personal lyricism. While his films vary in theme and style, they consistently reflect on national spirit and cultural traditions, explore life and fate of the people, question trust and betrayal, and showcase a distinctive artistic perspective and profound humanistic thinking. His works have deepened the artistic exploration of Chinese cinema. The cultural and philosophical depth embodied in his films has not only elevated the quality of Chinese cinema but also promoted dialogue and exchange between Chinese cinema and the world.

Study on the Optimization Strategy of Chinese Film Ticket Price Pricing

Film, as an important cultural industry and entertainment mode, has developed over the years and formed a relatively complete industrial chain. However, in the long-term development process, movie ticket pricing has always been a hot issue that has attracted much attention. In recent years, China's film market has shown a trend of rapid development, and the box office has repeatedly reached a new high, but the level of movie ticket prices has also been rising, which has triggered widespread social concern and discussion.Research and optimization of movie ticket pricing strategy is of great significance to improve the competitiveness of the movie market and promote the sustainable development of the movie industry.This paper first reviews the current research status of the predecessors, summarizes the relevant theoretical basis needed for the study, analyzes the existing problems in movie ticket pricing, conducts an analysis of the change in domestic ticket prices and compares it with international prices, and finally concludes with an optimal strategy.

Evaluating the Evolution and Impact of Film Talent Support Programs in Chinese Film Policy (2000-2022)

Evaluating the Evolution and Impact of Film Talent Support Programs in Chinese Film Policy (2000-2022)

Cultural Characteristics of Female Hero Images in Intangible Cultural Heritage Films

In Chinese films with intangible cultural heritage themes, female images are an indispensable presence. Particularly, several renowned female hero figures derived from folklore literature, such as Liu Sanjie, Ashima, and Hua Mulan, stand out as symbols of both traditional Chinese heroines and the cultural zeitgeist. This paper utilizes Roland Barthes' semiotic theory to analyze the characteristics of these three representative intangible cultural heritage-themed folk literature films. By employing text analysis methods, it examines the elements of costume, dialogue, setting, and plot in these films. These symbolic elements elucidate the development of female characters and cultural transformations, revealing how traditional culture is represented and transmitted in modern media. The paper also explores the crucial role and value of women in the preservation and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, offering suggestions for better shaping the images of female heroes in intangible cultural heritage-themed films.

From China to Malaysia: Understanding The Cultural and Economic Dynamics of Imported Chinese Films

The connection between China’s diplomatic engagements abroad and its trans-border film trade holds considerable importance. Inherent in this dynamic is cross-cultural interaction and inter-cultural communication. Malaysia’s support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative has fostering a growing cultural exchange, particularly through the trade of Chinese films, some of which have aschieved significant box office earning success in Malaysia. Despite occasional media attention, there is a notable lack of scholarly literature addressing the impact of these films on Malaysian audiences. This study examines the cinematic consumption of the films imported from China by Malaysian distributors for exhibition to its cinemagoers, using Song Hwee Lim’s framework of conceptualization of transnational cinema. It seeks to better understand the phenomenon of the imported Chinese films for audience appeal, cultural influence and impact on box-office earnings. By collecting and analyzing relevant data from distributors through in-depth interviews with their representatives, this study identifies the approaches of film promotion and marketing activities that are reshaping the cultural experience of filmic storytelling in the Malaysian context. The implications of this study extend beyond film distribution, offering insights into how transnational cinema can shape cultural narratives and influence the cultural landscape in a globalized context. By examining the interplay between Chinese films and Malaysian audiences, the research highlights the role of transnational cinema in fostering cultural exchange and understanding, as well as its potential to impact the future direction of filmic storytelling within a multicultural society. Keywords: Transnational cinema, Chinese film, Malaysian cinema, film distribution, cultural trade.

The Female Body and the Body Politic in Sex Scenes of Lou Ye’s Film: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of <i>Summer Palace</i>

This article discusses the body politic of Yu Hong in the postsocialist Chinese film–Summer Palace (2006). Director Lou Ye places Yu Hong’s body in the sex scenes that metaphorically expresses a traumatic and sensitive political event, the “June Fourth Incident.” The portrayal of sexual intercourse, nudity, and this historical event is the unspeakable “secret” in mainland Chinese media. Therefore, the authors raise the question that, when sexual intercourse and the female body enter political discourse, how do we deal with the complex and dynamic power structures behind bodily attributes and the “anachronistic” historical objects that do not fit into the mainstream narrative and epistemological spaces? Drawing on body politic theory, feminist film theory, and a semiotic framework, we adopt multimodal critical discourse analysis to assess power relations and ideologies behind Yu’s body attributes in the sex scenes. The findings indicate that Lou constructs a complex communication system, using her body as a carrier of communication to express self-consciousness, constructing female subjectivity through the writing of feminine discourse, with the political purpose of seeking the freedom of the written word. Sexual liberation is sought by establishing a transgressive body that is not accepted by the mainstream and opposes the inherent power of government. Yu’s bodily pleasure is set up as an expression of narcissistic individualism through love, producing a vision of political ecstasy. Her melancholy body metaphor for the discomfort and confusion that preceded the student movement and the post-traumatic ambivalence. Using the female body as a site of political discourse and sexual liberation offers a new reading strategy for analysing the representation of the female body in film and other forms of media. In making the argument, the study contributes valuable scholarship to the film studies focused on sexual, gender, and political marginalised discourse.

Construction of New Female Image in Early Modern China - Review of <i>Performing China: Female Stars, Performance Culture, Visual Politics, 1910-1945 </i>by Huiling Zhou

The author of the book <i>Performing China: Female Stars, Performance Culture, Visual Politics, 1910-1945</i>, Huiling Zhou, through the method of careful cross-text reading of cultural and video data and the theory of performance cultural studies, studies the tortuous course of constructing new female images of Chinses women represented by female film stars in the early 1920s and 1930s. They are not only “theater actresses” on the screen, but also “social actresses” in social practice. In face of various social opinions, gossip and party comments at that time, early Chinese female stars found ways to release themselves in their screen roles and real lives in the real society. Their performances in the process of China’s modernization revealed the society’s conception of the country, urban scene and female image at that time. Hollywood’s influence on Chinese films in the 1930s was profound and extensive, from the portrayal of urban women in China to the demonstration of film marketing strategies. From the perspective of film performance, the author analyzes the process of cross-cultural communication and interaction between China and the United States in the 1930s, involving various aspects of film, literature, politics, painting and industry. The difficulty of reading this book lies in its strong theoretical nature. Then, the film documents and image data selected by the author in the early 1920s and 1930s are relatively unknown to many people today. The author’s cultural research method with visual as core of cross-cultural interaction research can make us have some new thinking about many popular cultural forms at present, and broaden our vision and thinking.

The Lord Is Kind-Hearted And Cannot See The Poor: Social Reflections On The Film”Return To Dust”

Chinese cinema has always played an important role in spreading culture and transmitting values. As a kind of audio-visual media, it needs to be able to reflect social reality, moral concepts as well as cultural values in a profound way. However, in China, which has a strict film censorship system, the production and dissemination of films are strictly controlled and restricted by the government censorship system. There is a film Return to Dust, which created heat through many self-media, such as XiaoHongShu and DOUYIN, before its release, in which the previews showed real rural literary scenes that attracted wide attention. After its release, the social aspect of the film explored the deep-seated human emotions and regional issues, and a month later, the film was taken off the shelves, instantly triggering a wide-ranging discussion on censorship standards and artistic freedom [1]. Return to Dust, as a literary film, is sufficiently rich in cultural connotation and social significance for the audience. The film uses linear storytelling to show the current situation of the rural underclass in Northwest China during the four seasons of the year, the social ills and the complexity of human nature, which triggers the audience to think about "suffering". However, it is worth noting that although the film shows the "suffering", it also shows the warmth of the two underclass people, i.e. the goodness and beauty of human nature. However, such films with sensitive social issues are often restricted by the Chinese government's censorship. Exploring the reasons why Return to Dust has not been accepted by the modern Chinese government is not only a critical reflection on the censorship results of the film, but also a profound analysis of the censorship standards, value orientations, and the ideology of the censors behind the censorship system of Chinese cinema

Book Review: Translation Studies on Chinese Films and TV Shows, by Feng Yue

Book Review: <i>Translation Studies on Chinese Films and TV Shows</i>, by Feng Yue

Study on Cyberpunk Style in Movies

Cyberpunk is a fusion of cybernetics and punk, also known as digital punk. It originates from science fiction and primarily explores the future development of humanity in relation to artificial intelligence. The purpose of this thesis is to study the influence of cyberpunk style on film-making's theme, graphics, and post-effects. The movies theme mainly centers around anti-Utopian ideas, exploring the future fate of mankind and artificial intelligence with a pessimistic prediction. It explores the potential threat that artificial intelligence poses to the future society under the civilization of high mechanical development so as to criticize the contemporary society and cause self-reflection of human beings. Cinematography mainly utilizes colorful sci-fi elements such as skyscrapers and neon lights to create a futuristic world. In terms of color matching, dark scenes use low saturated dark colors to create a gloomy rainy day feeling while bright scenes employ reds, purples, and other highly saturated hues for a magical atmosphere that increases contrast between light and dark colors for visual impact. The post-film picture effects and background sound effects are very important for cyberpunk movies. Picture effects adjust the hue, saturation and lightness of the bright parts and enhance 3D buildings and cars to create a futuristic intoxicating atmosphere. Meanwhile, the music combines industrial, rock and other music styles to collide with special effects and sound effects, creating a virtual future space. Analyzing the western movie The Matrix and the Chinese movie Heaven Sent confirms our viewpoints and put forward expectations for human society. Ultimately, it comes to the conclusion that cyberpunk is not only a style, but also a way to convey new ideas.

A Study on Subtitling Translation from a Multimodal Pragmatic Perspective: A Case Study of the English Subtitles of Return to Dust

Return to Dust is an outstanding mainland Chinese film that was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. This paper, using the theories of conversational implicature and the relevance principle, explores the implicit meanings in the film's subtitles from a multimodal perspective. It also examines whether the subtitling translation of the film is reasonable and appropriate. The paper argues that the subtitling translation should pay more attention to the cultural context of the dialogues and the pragmatic ambiguities within the film. By doing so, it can better convey the plot and adopt more suitable translation techniques and methods.

Comparative Study and Analysis of Social Structure and Cultural Values in Chinese and Korean Movies

A comparative study of social structure and cultural values in Chinese and Korean films reveals the unique perspectives and profound differences between the two countries in reflecting social reality and conveying cultural values in their films. Chinese movies tend to depict harmonious and intimate family relationships when showcasing family structure, emphasizing the importance of the family as an individual's emotional support and spiritual sustenance. Korean movies, on the other hand, focus more on showcasing the complexity and conflicts within families, reflecting social reality and the depth of human nature through the entanglements among family members. This difference reflects the different emphasis on family values and social values between China and South Korea. In terms of social class, Chinese movies often focus on the survival status and struggle process of the lower class society, showcasing social injustice and contradictions by telling stories of ordinary people. This kind of attention reflects the humanistic care of Chinese films towards vulnerable groups and their profound reflection on social issues. Korean movies, on the other hand, tend to reveal and criticize the power and corruption of the upper class, reflecting the dark side of society by depicting social phenomena such as collusion between politics and business, and power and money transactions. This difference reflects the different orientations of social class concepts and social responsibility between China and South Korea.

Research on the Creative Principles of Chinese Thriller Films

The Chinese thriller film, as a specific genre, exhibits unique principles and characteristics in its creation, which is also significant in terms of cultural heritage and creative expression. Nevertheless, the current systematic investigation of the research principles and creative connotations of the sample remains inadequate. The objective of this paper is to analyze the research principles of Chinese thriller-horror films and identify the sources and evolution of the narrative materials underlying them. The analysis employs both the literature analysis method and the case study method. The former is used to examine the expression of the combination of thriller imagery and traditional Chinese cultural symbols in the film, while the latter is employed to explore the cultural elements belonging to the Chinese nation's tradition. Additionally, the analysis considers the distinctive characteristics of the film in terms of artistic scene layout, sound, and color, as well as the significance and role of such films. By examining the fundamental principles of Chinese thriller film-making, it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of the distinctive appeal and artistic nuances of Chinese thrillers, offering insights that can inform and inspire the creation of Chinese films.

Research on the Application Maturity of Enterprises’ Artificial Intelligence Technology Based on the Fuzzy Evaluation Method and Analytic Network Process

The aim of this study was to study the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on enterprises in terms of strategy, technology, business operations, and organizational management. This study used grounded theory analysis to identify the influencing factors of AI technology application maturity in Chinese enterprises. Taking Chinese film and television enterprises as an example, this study constructed an AI technology application maturity evaluation index system for enterprises based on the analytic network process (ANP) and evaluated the application maturity of AI technology in enterprises in terms of enterprise strategy, technology, business operations, and organizational management. To comprehensively evaluate and empirically analyze the application maturity of enterprise AI technology, this study calculated the index weight based on the ANP, and combined it with the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to construct a comprehensive evaluation model. The research results showed that intelligence strategy was the element that was believed to be most affected by the maturity of enterprise AI technology. For technology, intelligence technology and equipment were the elements that were believed to be affected the most. For business operations, smart shooting was the element that was believed to be affected the most. With respect to organizational management, corporate culture was the element that was believed to be most affected. The results showed that the proposed methods for evaluating the application maturity of enterprise AI technology are scientific and effective. The results of this study provide a reference for promoting the application of AI, implementing the intelligence transformation, and enhancing the core competitiveness of enterprises.

Contemporary Chinese Cinema and Visual Culture: Envisioning the Nation

Contemporary Chinese Cinema and Visual Culture: Envisioning the Nation

Optimization of Chinese film and television communication technology in Portuguese-speaking areas under the application of digital Internet of Things

With the continuous change and progress of the world system, cultural communication has become a vital topic in today's society. This study aims to optimize the communication effect of Chinese film in Portuguese-speaking countries and promote the development of cultural communication in China through deep learning (DL) technology. First, this study utilizes DL technology to design film feature recognition and classification models to provide technical support for Chinese film communication. Second, by exploring the principle, development, and function of the digital Internet of Things, the study analyzes the evolution and spread of Chinese film in Portuguese-speaking countries and uses the Bayes algorithm to optimize the model. The results show that the calculation time of the designed model is shorter and the accuracy is higher, which offers an important reference for the effective communication of Chinese films in Portuguese-speaking countries. Hence, this study not only provides technical support for the improvement of the international communication effect of Chinese film but also contributes to the development of cultural communication in China.

Research on the Influence of Firm Digital Intelligence Transformation and Management Innovation on Performance and Sustainable Development: Empirical Evidence from China

From the perspective of firm capability, this study explores the impact of digital intelligence transformation and management innovation on the performance and sustainable development of Chinese firms. On the basis of constructing an evaluation index system of firm digital intelligence transformation and management innovation, a comprehensive evaluation model of firm digital intelligence transformation and management innovation is constructed via the analytic network process (ANP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. Taking Chinese film and television firms as an example, this study selects 160 data samples from 85 firms and constructs a structural equation model to empirically analyze the impact of digital intelligence transformation and management innovation on the performance of firms. The study results show that, in the context of digitalization and intelligence, firm digital intelligence capability and dynamic capability have a significant positive effect on firm performance. Firm digital intelligence transformation and management innovation directly impact performance and can play a role through firm digital intelligence capability and dynamic capability as intermediaries, and the chain intermediary effect of digital intelligence capability and dynamic capability is significant. The research results show that firm digital intelligence and dynamic capabilities provide a functional path for firm digital intelligence transformation and management innovation to improve performance. Moreover, the innovative application of digital intelligence technology has an important impact on the sustainable development of firms. Digital transformation and management innovation can help firms enhance their ability to manage environmental uncertainties, improve firm performance and foster the achievement of sustainable development goals.

Alcohol imagery in popular films in China, 2001-2020.

This study aims to identify the level and trend of alcohol imagery in popular films in China from 2001 to 2020. We divided the running time of the annual 20 top-grossing films in China into 5-min intervals and coded those containing alcohol imagery, the presence of warnings, whether the imagery was related to minors and alcohol brands. Results showed that alcohol imagery occurred in 90.75% (363/400) of the films and 25.26% (2380/9423) of the intervals; these proportions remained stable over time. No film containing alcohol imagery had warnings, alcohol imagery related to minors appeared each year, and 103 alcohol brands were present in 185 intervals across 93 of the 400 films. Chinese films contained more alcohol imagery than international films. National policies are required to restrict alcohol imagery in films and to reduce the availability of such films for viewing by young people.