The Expression Of Homosexuality In Chinese Language Movies

Homosexuality is a social phenomenon with a long history, which has been following an ambiguous, covert, and devious course. The ancient people tolerated, even esteemed and extolled homosexuality, which, however, has been strictly prohibited by religions and punished by the law since modern times. In the contemporary era, society's attitude toward homosexuality is leaning toward scientificity and humaneness. All of the above constitutes the context of homosexual literature and art.As a mode of artistic expression and writing, homosexuality has not only evolved into rich and varied literature and art but also into an aesthetic taste. The discourse of homosexuality has existed in western movies for nearly 100 years and an avalanche of homosexual texts have been produced. Moreover, since the 1990s an"uproar"of homosexual voices has been heard, breaking the taboos and commandments of mainstream heterosexual culture and advocating heterogeneity and multiculturalism through a postmodern queer expression.The 1990s saw a turning point in the expression of homosexual discourse in Chinese-language movies. Previously, political and cultural factors had allowed a very limited room for the expression of homosexual discourse. But the dawn of the 1990s triggered off a sudden increase in numbers of homosexual Chinese-language movies, in which, to be sure, homosexual factors mostly served as commercial stunts or minor plots. The new century, moreover, has witnessed the multiplication and diversification of movies dealing with homosexual subjects. Thus homosexuality has been established as a mode of discourse in Chinese-language movies.The homosexual discourse in Chinese-language movies is suffused with rich and profound cultural significances. On the surface, it depicts the characteristics of homosexual subculture, but deep down, it discusses the conflict between homosexual subculture and mainstream heterosexual culture. Thus it closely examines traditional Chinese culture and contemporary social issues and at the same time, does full justice to the cultural differences between China and the western world. Chinese-language homosexual movies have revealed their aesthetic implications to a certain extent. Their aesthetic taste has been influenced by western homosexual aesthetics, but it is more imbued with traditional Chinese aesthetics. It subjects itself and inclines to heterosexual aesthetics to a certain degree, but more importantly, it makes a challenge to the latter.