Image Of Japanese In Film And Television Works In China

Nowadays when referring to the impression of Japanese in China, Chinese peoples usually think of Japanese as brutal devils or foolish and vulnerable clown-like as shown in the movies of the War of Resistance against Japan. It could be probable that image media including mostly movies has taken an important role in the formation of this kind of impression in China, which can greatly influence audiences’attitudes and behavior by directly providing a number symbolic information. Since the beginning of1930s, countless movies and series with the War of Resistance against Japan as a theme has sprung out. Especially, cruel but stupid cartoon impression of Japanese soldiers has deeply rooted in China during a period between the foundation of R. P. China and the normalization of Sino-Japanese relation. Through its unique narrative style, movies can embody the positive features of our great heroes, while describe the Japanese soldiers as clown-like. So this extreme comparison can contribute to a collective memory in audience toward Japanese peoples, no matter whether the audience themselves has participated in the war or not. To watch movies or series has become a kind of ritual which combines time and space. Meanwhile, this kind of collective memory can influence people’s preference which would satisfy their needs, further it simulates the continuous production of the same movies or series. That is no doubt that Chinese peoples consider Japanese peoples as brutal but stupid just as show in the movies or series.The producing of movies can be affected by political, economic or cultural factors, so does movies concerning War of Resistance against Japan. With the normalization of Sino-Japanese relationship and the prosperity of popular culture, the specific creation and interpretation of Japanese images has undergone changes. In particularly, the creation of the mage of the Japanese soldiers presents a trend of diversity and difference since this year, and an increasing number of market-orientated factors begin to take part in this process. Although those novel and diversified set Japanese role will not fundamentally change the inherent memory of the Chinese peoples’the impression of the Japanese, but it can help the Chinese people become more objective when reflect on the war and Japanese soldiers, and then become more objective, accurate and comprehensive to understand of the Japanese people. In this dissertation, the media and collective memory theory were implied to explain the formation of collective memory of Chinese peoples’impression toward Japanese in the Sino-Japanese War. Concrete historical examples were provided and discussed. The main part of this dissertation consists of four chapters The first chapter introduced the theoretical knowledge applied in this dissertation, mainly including the important impact of the media’s information dissemination on the audiences, and its use and satisfaction the theory also stressed that the reaction of the audiences’information selection and development.The second chapter the two period were involved to introduce the evil shape of Japanese:one is form the1930s to the founding of P. R. China, describing a devil image of Japanese, and another is from the foundation to the period of normalization of Sino-Japanese relationship, describing clown image of Japanese. Based on this, the mechanism and process underlying the formation of collective memory toward the image of Japanese were explored.The third chapter examined the set of the normal role of Japanese of works produced under the friendly atmosphere during normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic, also discussed some director’s own thinking and exploration, their effort to the breakthrough concerning the set of Japanese image.The fourth chapter, the more diversified Japanese image in recent years was introduced, mainly enumerated the application of four multi-factors by providing examples, including roles that caught in the entanglements of conscience and love, the image of modern soldiers’image in the war, and idols or using Japanese actor to take the role of the Japanese soldiers.Finally, it was stressed that the memory of Japanese image is a cultural heritage which should not affect our objective awareness of Japanese people, and active role of image and other media which can contribute to the friendly exchanges in the present and future.