Women’s Trajectories in Chinese Cinema

Description

From the late 1980s to today, Chinese cinema and Chinese women have been two important areas of academic studies, but a systematic study of women’s trajectories in Chinese film history remains a blank that needs to be filled. The proposed research aims to present: 1) the women’s trajectory in Chinese film history with five generations of female directors included; 2) a study of three waves of women’s cinema that have taken place in Shanghai (1923 to 1934), PRC (1984-1992) and Hong Kong (after 2000); 3) a repertoire of women’s works that contribute to women’s history writing and cinematic art in general; and 4) case studies of Chinese films showing strong female authorship and subjectivity in comparison to western films often credited as feminist films. The research will make use of concepts from western feminist and film theories, but will build its arguments along the development of (transnational) Chinese cinema and China’s socio-cultural transformation.