Rebellion And Puzzlement

The Chinese film directors born in the 1960s and 1970s climbed onto the movie circles with rebellious postures. The films directed by them are completely different from the traditional Chinese films. Mainly influenced by Italian neo-realist films, French new -tide films, new-Hollywood films, and Irrational modern films, the directors' concept on movies are quite different from those of the mainstream-films and commercial films in China. The films show characteristics of modern western films in theme and of postmodern films in form. Among which the films on puzzled human life, rebellious human life and poor human life and so on have gained special honors during the foreign movie festivals. But they are treated coldly in China, due to the examination of the authorities concerned and the misunderstanding of the audiences. The directors went back to tradition and were converted to mainstream in the late 1990s and were extensively received by the audiences for their films on noble and glorious human life.This dissertation is divided into six parts. The introduction firstly sorts out and comments on the recent development of the study of the films by directors born in the 1960s and 1970s, then discusses the feasibility of establishing comparative film studies, and finally decides the object of comparative film studies. Chapter 1 introduces the reception of films produced by directors born in the 1960s and 1970s to the western films, expounds the original relationship between the directors and the western films, and surveys the development of the films produced by directors born in the 1960s and 1970s. Chapter 2 discusses the three features of the films produced by directors born in the 1960s and 1970s under the influence of western films: the black film style to express marginalized human life; reflection and criticism of social life and highlighting the perplexity of human life; advocate of the on-the-spot aesthetic expressive mode. In the end, Chapter 2 discusses the thematic similarities between the films and the Hollywoodfamily ethical films. Chapter 3 analyzes the reasons of the films' reception to the western films and concludes that similar political and economic background, the influence of the western modernist ideological trend, and the development of films, lead to the reception of the films of the western artistic films. Chapter 4 discusses the three differences between the films produced by directors born in the 1960s and 1970s and the western films: the films express the special epochal features of the 1990s of China; show the conversion to national roots; maintain the difference that the Chinese films end with a "harmonious" comic ending and the western film with a "separate" tragic ending. Chapter 5 expounds the historical significance of the films produced by directors born in the 1960s and 1970s, and believes that those films have deviated from the themes of the fifth-generation films and have therefore made pioneering contribution in film history.The conclusions of the dissertation are the following: Firstly, The films produced by the directors born in the 1960s and 1970s maintain strong realistic criticism by showing concern for the existence state of the weak groups, and boldly expressing the dark-side of the society in the transformative period. The humane care for the underdogs is rare in Chinese film history. Secondly, The films produced by directors born in the 1960s and 1970s show deep reflections on the aesthetic modernity, pour more philosophical considerations into the development of national films, and make Chinese films begin to reflect on human civilization instead of caring about national liberation and rejuvenation, individual liberation and cultural transformation, which obtains an ultimate-caring significance. Thirdly, Comparatively speaking, the films produced by directors born in the 1960s and 1970s almost contain most of the themes of western films with its short fifteen-year creative history, successfully refer to and make use of the forms of western films, and have therefore made Chinese films possess actual features of word films.