Focusing on recent TV drama serials in China, this book offers an in-depth textual analysis of their plots, scenes, and characters to reveal insights into contemporary Chinese society. It explores political inclinations, social trends, and cultural dynamics while examining how these narratives address sensitive civic issues. By engaging with modern cultural phenomena, the book highlights the potential for broader social imagination and change within the context of popular media.
The book explores the evolution of official propaganda within China's entertainment industry, highlighting how mainstream propaganda has adapted through collaboration and compromise across various media platforms. Case studies illustrate the intricate relationship between traditional forms and modern entertainment, revealing the complexities of how propaganda is integrated into popular culture.
This new text examines recent popular Chinese films and derivative cultural phenomena, with a focus on films directed by celebrity directors such as Han Han, Guo Jingming, Xu Jinglei and Zhao Wei. In opposition to Fifth and Sixth Generation Chinese filmmakers who explored the grand-narratives of history, the oppression of the pre-socialist and socialist eras, and those marginalized by socio-economic changes, the celebrity directors at the heart of this book center on the new trends of living and emotional challenges faced by contemporary Chinese people, in particular the younger generations. This book sheds light on newly emerging social and cultural fashions in contemporary China, such as the social stigma of being ‘left-over’ (reflected in Xu Jinglei’s films), the issue of wealth ‘flaunting’ (represented in Guo Jingming’s films) or nostalgia for the long lost innocence of adolescence (demonstrated in Zhao Wei’s film). Considering present-day consumer capitalism through the lens of cinema, this text analyses in detail the significance of films chosen for their relevance, providing a reflection of social reality and cultural changes in 21st century China.
