Transformation of Contemporary Film Genre : The Aesthetics of Chinese Mainland Mainstream Cinema

This book is the first one focusing on Chinese mainstream films from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Based on case studies, it discusses three subgenres of mainland Chinese commercial mainstream films and offers an approach to studying the transformation of Chinese mainstream film within the theoretical frameworks of "genre theory" and "screenwriting method". It helps professionals understand the genres and narratives of Chinese mainstream films, and also serves as a must-read for non-professionals interested in Chinese cinema. Fangyi Xu is film writer/director, and Lecturer at Communication University of China. She has a PhD from Peking University and a master's degree from University of Southern California. She has also worked as a Postdoctor at Tsinghua University. She has international vision and inter-disciplinary background (art, humanities, communication, etc.), as well as a wide variety of practical experience in creation, research and teaching in the film and television industry at home and abroad Prologue Contents 1 Introduction Chinese Film Market: New Landscape New Cultural Imagination: Films as Vectors of the Dominant Ideology Modern Expressions of Main-Melody Commercial Films New Perspective: The Aesthetics of Genre Narration Main-Melody Commercial Film: New Genre Aesthetics 2 “Genres” and Mainstream Ideological Films The Changing Genre Aesthetics Film Genres vs. Literature and Drama Industrialized Arts: A Normative System Interactive Cultural Imagination Development of Local Genres Upgrading of Derived Local Genres The Convergence of Mainstream Ideology and Commerciality in Modern Times Thoughts on “Post-Genre” Chinese Cinema Genre Formulas and Conundrums Upgrading and “Leapfrog” Aesthetic Significance of the “Spectral Model” “Spectral Scale Genre Classification Model” Convergence of Main-Melody Film and Commercial Film 3 Aesthetic Construction of Genre Narration Evolution of Aesthetics in Film Narration Modernism and the Classical Tradition Chinese Cinema: The “Dramatic” Art The Art of Cinematic Narration Cinematic Thinking in Narration The Vehicle for Cinematic Narration Screenplays: Sheet Music for the Symphony of Film Narration Narrative Elements of Cinematic Arts Aesthetic Composition of Genre Narration The Normative Framework for Cinematic Aesthetics Aesthetic Narration in Main-Melody Commercial Films Genre-Specific Characterization and Active Protagonists Closed-Ended Three-Act Structure 4 Action: Contemporary Narratives The Evolution of Heroism A Probe into the Rise of National Heroes Identity of Reshaped Heroes Cultural Imagination of the Legitimacy of China’s Global Standing “Wolf Warrior 2”: The Narrative Aesthetics of Heroic Legends Summary: The Hero’s Revenge, Violence and Boundaries 5 Historical Films: Beyond National Imagination New Narrative Aesthetics in Historical Films Narrative of National Ideology Aesthetics of National Imagination The Founding of a Republic: Narrative Aesthetics in Reshaping National History Conclusion: The Legitimacy of a Nation is Forged in the Hearts of the People 6 Biographical Films: Aesthetic Reconstruction of Political Ethics The Art of Ethical Storytelling Cultural Imagery of Artistic Authenticity The Popular Aesthetic of Genre Narratives “Yang Shanzhou”: Narrative Aesthetics of Individual Morality Conclusion: Transcend Ethics and Achieve Self-Worth Epilogue References Index