The contributors analyze the historical and social conditions that gave rise to the Urban Generation, its aesthetic innovation, and its ambivalent relationship to China's mainstream film industry and the international film market. Focusing attention on the Urban Generation's sense of social urgency, its documentary impulses, and its representations of gender and sexuality, the contributors highlight the characters who populate this new urban cinema--ordinary and marginalized city dwellers including aimless bohemians, petty thieves, prostitutes, postal workers, taxi drivers, migrant workers--and the fact that these "floating urban subjects" are often portrayed by non-professional actors. Some essays concentrate on specific films (such as "Shower "and "Suzhou River") or filmmakers (including Jia Zhangke and Zhang Yuan), while others survey broader concerns. Together the thirteen essays in this collection give a multifaceted account of a significant, ongoing cinematic and cultural phenomenon.
"Contributors." Chris Berry, Yomi Braester, Shuqin Cui, Linda Chiu-han Lai, Charles Leary, Sheldon H. Lu, Jason McGrath, Augusta Palmer, Berenice Reynaud, Yaohua Shi, Yingjin Zhang, Zhang Zhen, Xueping Zhong
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The contributors analyze the historical and social conditions that gave rise to the Urban Generation, its aesthetic innovation, and its ambivalent relationship to China's mainstream film industry and the international film market. Focusing attention on the Urban Generation's sense of social urgency, its documentary impulses, and its representations of gender and sexuality, the contributors highlight the characters who populate this new urban cinema--ordinary and marginalized city dwellers including aimless bohemians, petty thieves, prostitutes, postal workers, taxi drivers, migrant workers--and the fact that these "floating urban subjects" are often portrayed by non-professional actors. Some essays concentrate on specific films (such as "Shower "and "Suzhou River") or filmmakers (including Jia Zhangke and Zhang Yuan), while others survey broader concerns. Together the thirteen essays in this collection give a multifaceted account of a significant, ongoing cinematic and cultural phenomenon.
"Contributors." Chris Berry, Yomi Braester, Shuqin Cui, Linda Chiu-han Lai, Charles Leary, Sheldon H. Lu, Jason McGrath, Augusta Palmer, Berenice Reynaud, Yaohua Shi, Yingjin Zhang, Zhang Zhen, Xueping Zhong
Imprint | Duke University Press |
Country of origin | United States |
Release date | March 2007 |
Availability | Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days |
First published | March 2007 |
Editors | Zhen Zhang |
Dimensions | 235 x 165 x 36mm (L x W x T) |
Format | Hardcover - Cloth over boards |
Pages | 464 |
Edition | New |
ISBN-13 | 978-0-8223-4053-9 |
Barcode | 9780822340539 |
Categories | |
LSN | 0-8223-4053-4 |