China was never involved in filmmaking or the invention of cinema before 1930. This was mainly done by the Americans. Western cinema and filmmakers had turned China into a country of fetish, stereotypes, and exoticism by the 1930s. The Chinese government protested against America when Hollywood comedian director Harold Lloyd featured Chinese caricatures which were celebrated so much. The melodrama, Shanghai express (1932) by Joseph Sternberg exhibited the parachuting of Dietrich Merlene into the imagined Chinese train’s exotic atmosphere (y, 1932). In western movies, China was portrayed as a fantasy, a place to daydream, or a place to have sex and this led Chinese people themselves to start making movies. Chinese cinema started making waves from the three historical moments in modern Chinese history. These are the golden age(1912-1949), socialist revolutionaries from the people’s republic of china on the mainland (1949-1946), and post-Mao china since 1976. During these periods dating from the 1930s, there was a string of classic films which depicted Chinese society and their culture. Among them were The Street Angels, The Goddess, and the Stage sisters.
Looking back at films in China’s first Golden Age period, the striking aspect is their focus on women and their realism. For instance, Yuan Muzhi’s Street Angles (1937), was not interested in the gloss of monetary world cinema at this period but rather interested in compassion for ordinary people and dissatisfaction with imperial China. The filmmaking method used by Yuan Muzhi were understated and realistic methods which included everyday settings, relevant social themes, and naturalistic performances. These methods helped them to get closer to the truth of the reality of the lives of Chinese people. This film depicted how china was quickly growing, how common people were impoverished, and how the country was falling behind. The Street angles used symbolism to depict the dark side of slum life in Shanghai by portraying the story of two friends who met as a result of close distance. This film employed symbolism to give information criticizing the rotten society. At the beginning of the film, there was montage of pictures that varied from shiny city life and different monuments filmed at different angles which gave an impression of chaos and destruction. The main character was introduced through humor as a liquid was released as he tried to blow his trumpet with his friend Mr. Wang. At this time, they met the occupant of the palanquin who was a young lady who had crossed eyes and the eyes of the main character became crossed too. This depicted criticism of high and wealthy society which showed that members of that society did not see clearly. This film used sound to convey for the writer and the director. The Street Angel film used irony of the peaceful lane as the audience watched Ah Bing the street vendor and the newspaper salesman Wang as they satirically struggled to write the word hardship which wang found a solution by describing the challenges faced by China and this was a bright idea the effects of the war between China and Japan. Clever satire and tragedy were utilized in the film Street Angels. Sound and camera techniques were also critical as they conveyed the message which was both entertaining and informing.
The film, The Goddess (1934) was resonant, particularly in this regard. The film captured the life of Ruan Lingyu as that of modernity while off the camera her life was miserable. This signaled that China was suffering socially. It portrayed the story of a lower class struggling woman who had to submit to prostitution so as to provide for her son and make a living. The performance of the main character Ruan LingYU which depicted the fate of a lady who has to subject herself to prostitution for profits with the endless love of a mother over her child captured the emotions of the viewers. Prostitution in this film depicted social problems, victimization, and oppression of helpless people. The Goddess delivered complaints of social inequalities and the inevitable change within China by ending female suffering. This was clearly depicted by the main character Ling yu in scene where she came home from prostitution and quickly tend to her crying son then gave a deep look of sadness which showed the viewers that despite her work challenges and a loving heart, the community has left her to suffer alone. Clearly, even without the dialogue and effects, this film was crafted to leave a long-lasting impression on the viewers. This was due to the talented acting of Ling Yu and the cinematic artistry of Yonggang. This film artistically depicted the poor social situation of China in the 1930s and left a deep impression on viewers.
During the era of Republican China, the film, The Stage Sisters (1965) was a unique masterpiece. It depicted melodrama about choice and redemption. This film remained indebted to the theoretical world of modern china. The film portrayed the changes in its protestant’s lives that occurred between 1935 and 1950. The film showed how the lives of women were negatively affected by boundless social and political upheavals. This was depicted by the main character Xie Fang who was a young widow about to be sold by her in-laws and the character Yuehong who forcefully fell in love with her evil manager. The Two-Stage Sisters used a metaphorical style to depict political and social changes. This film was also a search for Chinese film aesthetics based on Hollywood realist and socialist forms. The Two Stage sisters film was portrayed as the challenging ground between two ideologies of what progressive political art should look like. The opening sequence of the film Two stage sisters depicted the difference between how the stage performance was admired and the impoverishment of both the players and the audience. The emergence of all female actors made Shaoxing the best among other Chinese regional opera forms. Due to this film, schools were opened in china with exclusively female casts.
In 1950, there was the production of a film called The Life of Sun Yu (1951) which was directed by SunYu. It was founded on the real life of a beggar who used to collect money for many years spent and saving money until in the end, he was able to fund several academic institutions for helpless children in the province of Shandong. The classical film, The Life, did not agree with the ideologies of the government and politics politics and it was banned for its ideological difference as depicted by Sun yu not relying on the government for help to start the school for beggars as the government is corrupt. The story of the actor Wu Xun is a film that depicts the courage of one man to improve the educational opportunities of poor people. It portrays a great dream about the feudal oppressors keeping peasants illiterate and disempowered. This film questions whether people are capable of change as well as if people are capable of changing other people’s impressions of the poor. This is seen as a character in the film called Ho delivers a performance that’s entirely reliable and convincing using pure poetry to criticize corruption in the government. In this melodrama, there is the depiction of the choice and redemption of the poor people. In the classic film, Sun-Yu created a working body that is a realistic depiction of China’s contemporary social problems with a romantic spirit of idealism and optimism. This film calls for an end to all forms of oppression. The director of the film captures the lost innocence of China’s culture caused by imperialism and depersonalizing industrialism and urbanism. With the belated discovery of early Chinese films, by the outside world, Sun-Yu took his place as the world’s greatest filmmaker. During the Mao era, Mao himself denounced this film when it was broadcasted claiming the filmmaker’s intentions proposed that there was no need for revolution.
There was a political stand about the three cinemas between 1966 and 19paulic69. The Chinese government polished ideological melodramas, and the philosophical approach of the three films. One of the masterminds was Mao Zedong whose private life was condemned in public by the three cinemas as immoral and this brought revolution heavily on cinemas.
A summary of the history of Chinese cinema shows how much talent and abilities it has, and the stylistic transformations there have been caused by social urges and political upheavals. The three states have revealed how split the personality has been of Chinese films almost since its inception but the art of cinema continues to register a psychic population of people who watch the biggest buildings and improved economy due to questions raised by the film content.
References
Marchetti, G. (1989). Two-Stage Sisters: The Blossoming of a Revolutionary Aesthetic. Jump Cut, 34, 95-106.
Bai, D. (1966). Feminism in the Revolutionary Model Ballets the White-Haired Girl and The Red Detachment of Women. Art in Turmoil:
The Chinese Cultural Revolution, 76, 188-202. Gellner, D. (2010). Review of ‘Living Goddess’a film by Ishbel Whitaker. HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, 28(1), 9.
Schwartzman, G. (2002). Film Note: The Dreamlife of Angels: A Review
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