Revolutionary Cycles in Chinese Cinema, 19511979 [Paperback]

A comprehensive history of how the conflicts and balances of power in the Maoist revolutionary campaigns from 1951 to 1979 complicated and diversified the meanings of films, this book offers a discursive study of the development of early PRC cinema.Introduction: Understanding Revolutionary Culture and Cinema 1. From The Life of Wu Xun to the Career of Song Jingshi : Adapting Private Studio Filmmaking Legacy for a Nationalized Cinema, 1951-1957 2. From Revolutionary Canon to Bourgeois White Flag: Blooming Flowers and the Full Moon (1958) in the Maoist Campaigns 3. From a Hundred Flowers to a Poisonous Weed : Dangerous Opportunities for Satirical Comedies, 1955-1958 4. From Revolutionary Romanticism to Petty Bourgeois Fanaticism: The Great Leap Forward and Filmmakers' Stylistic Return to the Past, 1958-1960 5. From Disaster to Laughter: Making Comedies in a Changing Political Landscape, 1959-1963 6. From Conflicting Authorities to Diverse Masses: Early Spring in February (1964) as 'Sugarcoated Poison' Conclusion: From the Ebb of the Revolution to the End of Revolutionary Cinema, 1967-1979

Revolutionary Cycles in Chinese Cinema provides a detailed, insightful, and vivid guide to the Maoist period. Looking at the conception, production, distribution, and reception of movies from 1949 to 1976, Wang fleshes out Chinese film culture in troubled times. Examining both material circumstances and ideological debates, he shows in fine detail how filmmakers operated, what facilitated their work, and which obstacles they faced. This book is indispensable reading for those interested in the interaction between film and politics and in the power of culture in times of adversity. - Yomi Braester, University of Washington, USA

A meticulous analysis of micro-level maneuvering by bureaucrats, artists, and critics, Revolutionary Cycles in Chinese Cinema demonstrates that Chinese socialist revolution was never a unilinear teleological progression but rathel£È