Research reading, the definition of female films

The difference of female films between Chinese and western was growing within culture and social ideology. The fable from Milton’s <Paradise lost> explained the origin of women as a rib of man which is wild accepted in the western world. Thus it can be seen that the social status of men and women was delivered by the religious belief. French psychologist Lacan Jacaueo summarized it as the famous “Phallogocentrism”: The privileging of masculinity in the construction of meaning; phallocentrism with a view to logocentrism.” The Chinese folklore indicates that human beings were created by a goddess called ‘ nv wa’, she was kind-hearted and selfless, when there appeared a big hole in the sky, she scarified herself to fill it up. It can be regarded that the women was respected and admired in some way in ancient China. As time passed the system of enfeoffment had taken root in China, women were gradually placed in asymmetry, imparity and adverse position. Man dominated the society while women were on a passive position and be imprisoning in the structure of morality. In the 1900s the world was concussed by the feminist trend of thoughts, promote gender equality and oppose the perpetuation of gender discrimination in economic, political, legal, and social structures.

British feminist film theorist Laura mulvey came up with her analysis of female film in her thesis “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” as: “ Woman as Image, Man as Bearer of the Look ”. In her opinion, the pleasure films give us was due to the scopophilia. “There are circumstances in which looking itself is a source of pleasure, just as, in the reverse formation, there is pleasure in being looked at …Woman displayed as sexual object is the leit-motif of

erotic spectacle: from pin-ups to striptease, from Ziegfeld to Busby Berkeley, she

holds the look, plays to and signifies male desire. Mainstream film neatly combined

spectacie and narrative.” (1). Briefly speaking, female characters work as the function as a  ‘decoration’ in western films, for the gaze of male spectators.

In the history of Chinese film the definition of female film is controversial. Nowadays most think that a female film ought to signify Equality consciousness, express the evaluation and desire of women. Although many of male directors such us Xie Jin and Zhang Yimou( represent the 5^th generation director in the mainland China) has created many classic female characters such as Juer ( Red sorghum) and Judou ( Judou), some critics deemed that only female directors can transmit the “keenly-felt pain” as a woman to viewers. 

Practical work: love at the first sight

Sophie and I did this short film in the boots library.
Story by Sophie and me
Camera and editing by me

Ruan Lingyu：center stage （1992）

For more than a century film has been described as serving the function to “Catch reality on the wing”, it’s a blend of imagination which inspired from reality and the world of possibilities, reflects as a mirror of culture, society, economy and most importantly, the emotion shared by filmmakers and spectators. In China, motion picture was introduced around year 1896 but not until 1905 was the first film, a recording of a Peking opera “Dingjun mountain” was officially shown on the screen. My research topic is about female characters in contemporary Chinese films. The research is spitted into four parts: 1. the characteristics, features, development and transformation of female characters; 2. Directors of female films and their styles ; 3. The comparison of females characters from foreign culture (mainly about Hollywood and the UK film industry); 4; The difference among films from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

 

The post-1930 era is called the first "golden period" of Chinese cinema, where several talented directors, mainly leftist, worked. The period also produced the first big Chinese movie stars, namely Hu Die, Ruan Lingyu, Zhou Xuan, and Jin Yan. Among them, Ruan Linyu, as an icon of that age, left behind 29 silent films and a piece of posthumous paper with words: ‘gossip can kill’, committed suicide in Shanghai on March 8, 1935. In the year 1992, film <Ruan Linyu> was produced by Golden Way Films Ltd in memory of this legend actress after five decades; she is still popular and remembered by many, she is living in our heart. “Ruan's acting was so natural, accurate and graceful that, even after 70 years, her films still seem fresh. She was adept at conveying meaning through her whole body, thus overcoming the limitations of early silent films.” (1) From 1927—1935, she had successfully performed in 29 silent films, but only 9 copies of these left today.

                             Maggie Chuang and Ruan Lingyu

Due to the difference of social ideology, the appearance female characters in early western films were presented in an obvious distinction. As Mulvey, Laura wrote; “In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy on to the female figures which is styled accordingly. In their traditional exhibition role woman are simultaneously looked at and displayed. With their appearance coded in strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness.” (2) Traditionally, actress in Hollywood films in last 1930s served the basic two functions: 1. as erotic object for actors and spectators; 2. as a balance of the tune of a film. In Chinese philosophy male is called “Ying” and female is called “Yang”, only when “Ying” and “Yang” are in harmonious proportion can anything be composited in a right way. Actress in Hollywood in 1930s such as Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman were highlighted as features of beautiful, elegant and sexy, but few of them worked as a “leader” in a film. The hidden message was “Male honorable, female inferior”. The trend extended to the 1950s, when Marilyn Monroe’s maiden work “river of no return” (1951) was shown on the screen, it was like a blockbuster in the America and worldwide range. There were a big amount of close-ups of her legs or face as a burden of sexual objectification of male spectators. “Camera technology and movement combine with invisible editing, all tend to blur the limit of screen space. The male protagonist is free to command the stage, a space of spatial illusion which he articulates the look and creates the action.”(3) Either on the storyline or the technique wise the foundation was built up for the female characters.

When look back over a distance of 80 years, 1930 was the year of state awareness, political awareness and nation awareness for Chinese people, especially for women. More and more women were educated, commenced to fight with the feudalism and strive for the social states they deserved. The film ‘Ruan Lingyu’ is a biopic which combined drama and documentary in order to restore her 25 years legendary life, includes her splendent career and tragic personal life experience. As an actress, someone used to comment: "This is an actress who shows excitement down to the curl of her fingers, and whose face reveals every kind of mercurial change." She can be a seductive prostitute, a cordial mother or desperate nun, in the film ‘three modern ladies’, Lingyu concurred controversial voices and denials and volunteered to perform an Impoverished female factory worker who is seeking happiness and freedom in the cruel world, set a role model for female spectators. 

Ruan Played a prostitute in film 'Goddess' who can sacrifices herself for her child. This impressive scene of film is when she envisages the bully and tries to protect her little boy. The camera was set between the bully's legs, highlighted the brave of her and the pathetic fate of women lived in low-class.  

Compared to the life attitude of women in 30s and 90s, the difference is obvious. The film includes short interviews of Maggie Chuang and Jialing Liu, the main actress in this film. When the director Kuan asked Maggie if you were Ruan will you make the same decision to finish your own life, Maggie answered: “ As a actress, a celebrity, I totally understand the pain and pressure she was taking at that time, but I am a girl who never give up fighting, I am afraid I will let them disappoint.”

Bibliography

1.       http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/film/165476.htm (25/03/13)

2.       Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Film Theory and Criticism （1999）Mulvey, Laura

3.       Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Film Theory and Criticism （1999）Mulvey, Laura

Reference

1.       http://brightlightsfilm.com/64/64ruan.php (25/03/13)

Song of the exile (1990)

With the development of Chinese film industry, there was a surge of outstanding female directors appeared gradually since ‘70s in the Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Compare to the coetaneous male directors, they gave exquisite and implicit descriptions to female characters, placed them in each particular historical and political environment, focused on their subtle inner world. On the other hand, the female characters they created were considered as symbols and epitomes to stand in for suffering of their nation, role models for those positive and inspirating women who share the same situation with them.

The best director winner of the Asia film award Ann Hui is the one of representatives of the contemporary Chinese film industry. Most of her works are feminist topics since her first film <CID> in the year 1977. When we looked back to her personal life path: bored in the Mainland China, moved to Macaw when she was 2 months old and then moved to Hong Kong at 5. Her mother was Japanese and she didn’t know about it until around 15 years old because of the sensitivity after world war 2. These are appearing in her semi-autobiographical film <Song of the exile> in the year 1990.

The story is linked by two clues: 25-year-old Ann and her mother. “After the Sino-Japanese War, Kwei Dz, one of the family members of Japanese soldiers accepted a Chinese officer's proposal and remained in China. Later they had a daughter named Ann. The officer went to Hong Kong to work, leaving Kwei Dz and Ann in Macao. Kwei Dz, unable to communicate with her in-laws, much less accept their ways, became remorseful. Yet the worst problem she had was that Ann did not accept her as a mother. After Ann got a Master Degree in UK she went back to Hong Kong. Kwei Dz had been feeling very homesick for her mother country and decided to take Ann and return to Japan. In Japan, Ann began to understand her mother's pain because she did not understand Japan or the Japanese. Later a telegram from Canton arrived saying that Ann's grandfather had had a stroke. Upon seeing her to grandfather, Ann realized that, in spite of his now frail body, a body once tortured by Red Guards, he was so hopeful for China's future. Ann saw that China was now trying to find its own ...” (1.)

“Diaspora” is one of the key words in this film, as well as the society at that time. Ann’s mother is a foreigner; she sacrificed everything she had in Japan for a plea from a Chinese soldier, but the result is not what she expected. Because of the cultural difference and miscommunication, she’s not accepted by the in-laws, not mention to be respected and loved by others. The indifferent environment unconsciously influent her personality on the foreign land, she turns to be anxious and insecure, not shows her emotions even to her own daughter (she used to put herself in danger for saving her brother’s kid). After her husband died and the younger daughter gets marred and moves to Canada with her husband, the loneliness and insecure feeling expends and she is so scary that no one will be there for her any more, so she decides to go back to Japan. The situation also happens on Ann and her sister; Ann got her master certificate of film in London but couldn’t get an opportunity to work for the BBC only because she is “not local”, Ann’s sister has to move to Canada for her husband. Although the situation was not like ‘40s and ‘50s any more, the invisible oppression from the patriachical society didn’t alleviate since the time changed. Due to the unstable political situation and the subtle relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland China, women on both sides were struggling to seek for a better environment for living. The demands for women were enhanced but the society was fail to give them corresponding treatment they deserved. Despite of “ Ann” in this film, Maggie Zhang also gave an excellent performance of a girl who goes to Hong Kong from Mainland China for a chance to live a better life in the film “Almost a love story”. Although the two characters have nothing in common in regards to backgrounds, educational level and attitudes to life, they do share the same social ideology：Fighting with the male ascendance as well as looking for the value of themselves as “the essential” and “ the obsolete” rather than “ the other” . “Reunion” runs through the whole film, after be exiled for decades Ann’s mum finally goes back to Japan, rebuilds the relationship with Ann while this journey, women of the two generation finally starts to understand each other, the connection is getting closer. 

Bibliography

1.     Storyline from IMDB website http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099927/

Reference

1.     http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2010-09-10/122018095249s.shtml (20/03/13)

2.     http://sensesofcinema.com/2010/cteq/song-of-the-exile/( 20/03/13)

3.     “ Imagining a woman’s world: roles for women in Chinese film” Carolynn Rafman  

Malak directing excise with Debrorah Tuck

Directing is a all around skill which requires us to give accurate instruction to all departments, a well known of composition and the all preocess of pruducing a film. This session with Debrorah was about when we were given a short script, how can we direct it and shoot via a mobile phone.
The script:

 MALac

Fade in from black: white text on black background:
Courage is the belief that there is
something more important than personal safety
Fade to black
Int.Day.Room
HE is sweating. Hard.
SHE stands impassive. Unconcerned.
HE rubs his wrist and we see HE is chained to the chair.
SHE
(Bright. Breezy)
Are you sure you wouldn’t like a drink?
(smiles)
Never too late to change your mind.
HE
(Afraid)
I swear, I swear. Please. Stop. Please?
SHE
(placing a briefcase in front of the chair)
Shush. Be quite quiet. It will no longer be necessary to
lie.
HE
I swear…
HER
Shush, shush.
(popping open the case)
I have here a malac. God it’s beautiful.
Could you hold him please?
MAN steps out of the shadows and forces HE’s hand
horizontal.
HE
Don’t. Don’t.

We worked in a group of 4 and tried different versions ( everyone had different apponion on this)

 

Final cut pro editing session

Practical work with Shenlin and Wendi Xu

The spirit of '45

Every nation has its own spirit and personality, something people may complain all the time but acutally be pround of deep inside. As a foerign film student, I am glad Ken Loach presents us a unique perspective about this country, a era-changing period of time from the year 1945.
One of the greatest director in this century Tim Burton once said:“Certain things leave you in your life and certain things stay with you. And that's why we're all interested in movies- those ones that make you feel, you still think about. Because it gave you such an emotional response, it's actually part of your emotional make-up, in a way.” This is all this documentry gave me, full of emotion which is enough to affect one who doesn't know about the history and politics well.
Director Ken Loach has used film from Britain’s regional and national archives, alongside sound recordings and contemporary interviews to create a rich political and social narrative. Ken casts his eye on a 1945, when all the suffers ended after the war and people started topersue a better society and environment.

A&Q by director Ken Loach

Reference: Can China's film industry ever rival Hollywood? (BBC News)

The harbourfront promenade modelled on Hollywood's walk of fame pays tribute to Chinese movie celebrities.

But none of the dozen or so Western visitors checking out the statue of kung fu star Bruce Lee and the hand prints of Jacky Chan could name a Chinese film they had seen or enjoyed.

Swiss flight attendant Susanne Zehnder, enjoying a walk during a stopover in Hong Kong, said she found the Chinese films shown on her flights confusing.

"It's not just the language. The plot, the mentality is different to the films I know," she said.

China's film industry is the world's third largest, both in terms of the number of films produced and box office takings.

But, with a few high-profile exceptions, its films have not made an impact on the world stage and are struggling to take on the challenges of Hollywood productions at home.

Continue reading the main story

Top grossing movies in China in 2011

• Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon $169m
• Kung Fu Panda 2: $95m
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: $73m
• Beginning of the Great Revival: $67m
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2: $65m

Source: Artisan Gateway

It is a matter of concern for China, which is becoming more assertive in its attempts to export its own view of the world, having seen the "soft power" prowess of US films and television shows.

"Chinese filmmakers and the Chinese governmental groups that oversee the film industry recognise that film and story-telling can be a powerful tool to introduce Chinese people and culture to the outside world," says Rance Pow, founder of Artisan Gateway, a Shanghai-based film and cinema consultancy.

"And that's something they'd like to encourage," he adds.

Once better known for long-winded propaganda films and poorly-produced historical epics, many Chinese filmmakers are improving their craft and adopting Hollywood-style production values.

After more than a decade of break-neck economic growth, there is also more money to be spent on film production.

Chinese actors like Fan Bing Bing are beginning to build profiles outside China

Last year's martial-arts movie, Let the Bullets Fly, and Aftershock, the story of a family separated in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, were commercial and critical hits in China.

There are also a growing number of art-house dramas and documentaries made without state backing, but these are sometimes banned in China and only feature on the international festival circuit.

Tough sell

Many of China's biggest movie hits owe at least some of their success to acting and directing talent from Taiwan and Hong Kong, which has a long film-making tradition, particularly of action movies.

It is a trend that started with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the 2000 martial-arts movie and the most internationally commercially successful Chinese film to date.

"Chinese filmmakers are coming into their own but the learning curve has been accelerated by partnerships and co-investment with outside groups that are already expert in their field," says Mr Pow.

Despite their increased sophistication, Chinese films are a hard sell outside their home market, says Tim Kwok of Cinema Asia Releasing, which distributes Asian-language films in North America.

Chinese tourists flock to Hong Kong's Avenue of Stars, which pays tribute to Chinese movie stars

A lack of appetite for local-language films among young audiences, poor marketing and a shortage of bankable Chinese actors are just some of the challenges facing Chinese films, he says.

"There's a lack of younger Chinese stars that travel internationally. People like Jacky Chan and Jet Li, Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh are now in their fifties."

"Also, Chinese movies are in some ways being held back because Chinese censorship rules mean that edgy subjects such as sex… just aren't kosher," Mr Kwok adds.

In 2010, 47 domestic Chinese films were released overseas but that number could increase following a new venture by two of China's largest film production companies.

Last month, Huayi Brothers Media and Bona Film Group acquired a stake in start-up China Lion Film Distribution, with a view to increasing the movies it releases in North America.

Growth potential

Domestically, Chinese movies face tough competition from Hollywood, which now regards China as a major market.

China's box office takings totalled $1.6bn (£1bn) last year, up 62% from 2009. And with only 6,300 cinema screens compared with 40,000 in the US, potential for future growth is huge.

Andy Lau starred in this year's top-grossing Chinese-language film

Foreign movies like Avatar made up 55% of ticket sales and dominated the top 10 even though the Chinese government limits the release of wholly foreign-made films to 20 a year and gives preferential treatment to high-profile domestic releases.

So far in 2011, four of the top five draws have been Hollywood productions.

This year's top-grossing Chinese-language film, the state-backed extravaganza Beginning of the Great Revival, which details the period between 1911, when China's last dynasty ended, and the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921, boasted a $12m budget and a cast of 178 Chinese-language speaking actors such as Andy Lau and Chow Yun-Fat.

Reports said that state companies compelled their employees to see the film and cinemas pushed back competing titles to make way for the movie.

However, Kung Fu Panda 2, released around the same time, ultimately proved the more popular film, irking some Chinese artists and scholars, who called for a boycott, saying the animation "twisted Chinese culture and serves as a tool to 'kidnap' the mind of the Chinese people'".

Back on Hong Kong's Avenue Of Stars, Chinese tourists pose for pictures and scout out familiar names with the same glee and fervour as any fan on Hollywood Boulevard.

But some industry watchers remain sceptical that the country's moviegoers will be able to resist Hollywood's tried and tested marketing machine.

"I don't think the Chinese movie industry is producing enough variety of films to fend off the Hollywood invasion," says Mr Kwok, at Cinema Asia Releasing.

"In China, there is a lack of commercial directors and a lack of movie stars."

"Without the quota system, I just think the industry would be taken over by Hollywood films."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15691218