Transnational Chinese Cinema

Catalog description

How was cinema perceived when it was first introduced into China, and what discussions did the film audience and critics have in common with their counterparts in the West? Did you know that fashion designers and “it girls” in 1930s China would immediately copy and disseminate the latest looks and clothing after watching a Hollywood film? This course offers a survey of Chinese cinemas since the early 20th century, situating them in a global context of border-crossing movements of media technologies, cinematic forms, and artistic styles. We will watch and learn to critique significant works produced in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and beyond; contribute to the ongoing intellectual conversations on the transnational cultural, political, and technological interactions; and study how they shape and are shaped by the body of films that were referred to as “Chinese cinema.”