The Ideological Struggle in China Mainland Mainstream Film from the End of the Second World War to the Beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1945 - 1966)
Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Beattie, Debra
Other Supervisors
Van Eyken, Herman
Year published
2018-11
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This research was inspired by Slavoj Žižek’s approach to ideology which
views it as an unconscious fantasy that shapes reality, and has its philosophical
roots in dialectic materialism. The structure of the ideological analyses of
ideological construction and struggle in the films throughout the entire
mainland China during the period from the end of the Second World War to
the beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is the key question
of our doctoral research. In order to answer the question of what is the
nature of the ideological struggle exhibited in film production between
political forces during the ...
View more >This research was inspired by Slavoj Žižek’s approach to ideology which views it as an unconscious fantasy that shapes reality, and has its philosophical roots in dialectic materialism. The structure of the ideological analyses of ideological construction and struggle in the films throughout the entire mainland China during the period from the end of the Second World War to the beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is the key question of our doctoral research. In order to answer the question of what is the nature of the ideological struggle exhibited in film production between political forces during the period from 1945 to 1966, the research resulted in two outcomes, one major and one minor. Taking this approach to the nature of ideological construction and struggle, provides for an innovative perspective from which to analyze and understand China through specific case-studies of key films in the period of 1945 to 1966. The research into these case-studies is trying to unveil what scholars of Chinese culture have overlooked, and seeks to provide an understanding not only of Chinese film, but also of the history of China and the cultural ethnicity of Chinese people. Simultaneously, the research is also trying to make a "documentary-style study", that is, a text-based analysis in which the text is the the cinema footage. So through the analysis of the films, the research opened a painting scroll of a period of twenty years, throughout the entire mainland China. This included the magnificent vision of the top-class to the bottom-level society which makes our readers have a rational and perceptual understanding of China in that era, as the latter is often lacking. The audio-visual component provides a version of that vision.
View less >
View more >This research was inspired by Slavoj Žižek’s approach to ideology which views it as an unconscious fantasy that shapes reality, and has its philosophical roots in dialectic materialism. The structure of the ideological analyses of ideological construction and struggle in the films throughout the entire mainland China during the period from the end of the Second World War to the beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is the key question of our doctoral research. In order to answer the question of what is the nature of the ideological struggle exhibited in film production between political forces during the period from 1945 to 1966, the research resulted in two outcomes, one major and one minor. Taking this approach to the nature of ideological construction and struggle, provides for an innovative perspective from which to analyze and understand China through specific case-studies of key films in the period of 1945 to 1966. The research into these case-studies is trying to unveil what scholars of Chinese culture have overlooked, and seeks to provide an understanding not only of Chinese film, but also of the history of China and the cultural ethnicity of Chinese people. Simultaneously, the research is also trying to make a "documentary-style study", that is, a text-based analysis in which the text is the the cinema footage. So through the analysis of the films, the research opened a painting scroll of a period of twenty years, throughout the entire mainland China. This included the magnificent vision of the top-class to the bottom-level society which makes our readers have a rational and perceptual understanding of China in that era, as the latter is often lacking. The audio-visual component provides a version of that vision.
View less >
Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Griffith Film School
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Subject
Ideology
Cinema
China
Second World War
Cultural Revolution