On The Image Of Shanghai In Early Chinese Cinema

In China, there is no other city like Shanghai that is paid attention so frequently. In Shanghai, there is no other period like the first half of 20^th century that is so favored and valued by cinema. In this period, Shanghai, as a cinema space, is narrated, explained and configured over and over during the one hundred years Chinese cinemas.The purpose of this writing is significant to the following: reflecting Shanghai cinema history, enriching current creative writing of Shanghai imagination, and investigating the development trend of modern China, modern city and modern Shanghai.This dissertation takes the early Chinese cinema that Shanghai is the story space as its reviewed object. It discusses the history flow, emerging mechanism, narrative pattern and cultural connotation of Shanghai image in early Chinese cinema. So, the content of this dissertation is classified to 3 stratifications. The first stratification is image stratification, emphasizing on the scene, history, memories and space and such substantial image characteristics. The second stratification is the viewpoint stratification, stressing on the "stories" behind image, and the values standpoints behind the "stories". The third stratification is narrative stratification, highlighting how Shanghai become a cultural growing space and what it will be like, engaging in discovering the course and style which Shanghai is imagined in cinemas through the internal story narration.Through the above 3 stratifications, this dissertation has an comprehensive explanation and reflection, using an open and presenting -like angle of view, demonstrates the whole scene of Shanghai image.This dissertation has 6 parts:The introduction conceptualizes the topic, discusses the background and its significance, introduces research methodology, and clarifies the meaningfulness of this dissertation and the fundamental writing manner.Chapterâ… , this part combs the history course of Shanghai image in early Chinese cinema. According to the status and function of Shanghai in cinema narration, early Chinese Shanghai image has 4 history stages. It explores the situation and cultural connotation of various history stages, indicates the era factor and discourse power behind it, and outlines the history general picture and cultural vicissitude of early Chinese Shanghai image.Chapterâ…¡, this part analyzes the Shanghai image history language context emerging during the first half of 20^th century. It discusses from 4 aspects: the formation of modern Shanghai scene, the middle and low status resident's livelihood demands, the influence of Hollywood cinema, and cinema technique and modern media development. These four aspects determine the whole style and trend of Shanghai in early Chinese cinema.Chapterâ…¢, this part focuses on the narrative model of Shanghai image. According to "see" and "listen" these 2 narrative ways, it illustrates the various narrative construction of architecture space, feminine body, cinema music and songs in Shanghai image, tries to find their different functions when they demonstrate Shanghai image. Type analysis is an effective method to research Shanghai image narrative model. This dissertation analyzes the cultural concept of Shanghai, which is seen as a cinema space, through a dual structure: advanced vs. backwardness, the proletarian vs. has the producing.Chapterâ…£, this part illustrates the cultural connotation of Shanghai image. This chapter probes from metropolitan civilization and feminine aspects. Metropolitan civilization is the main color of Shanghai image. The pursuing of material life and the new order, which caused by time, enriches Shanghai cultural experiences from different stratifications. Woman is the gender identity of Shanghai image. Professional and family women add era factor and gender cultural characteristics to Shanghai image construction.The conclusion part pondered on Shanghai image again. Shanghai image has complexity and poly tropism in early Chinese cinema. However, afterwards, there is a tendency of simplification and unification. This tendency results from the confrontation of various values, within different history language context during Chinese modernization course.