The Shanghai Imagination In Chinese Film Since Reform And Opening-up

This dissertation focuses on the Shanghai imagination in Chinese mainland film（including co-product film) since Reform and opening-up. Shanghai has played animportant role in the development of Chinese film, it has also been represented inmany films. After analysis we can see, Shanghai imagination is changing in Chinesefilm as time goes by. It’s different from the films in “17Years” and “CultureRevolution” after Reform and opening-up. Furthermore, the Shanghai imagination isstill changing in the thirty plus years after Reform and opening up because of the fastdevelopment of Shanghai and Chinese economy and the reform of Chinese filmindustry. Therefore, in this dissertation, the author divides it to three parts to analyzethe Shanghai imagination in Chinese film since Reform and opening-up, and also tostudy on some of the cultural symptoms of it.This dissertation is divided to six chapters.The first chapter mainly studies on the Shanghai imagination in Chinese filmfrom1978to1986. The author argued that the Shanghai imagination in Chinese filmin this period is not totally disrupted from the film in “17Years” and “Culturerevolution”. There’re also something continued and inherited. The films in this periodalso put the propaganda of the government’s ideology to the first place. But at thesame time, some of the films began to present the urban traits of Shanghai, and also topresent the everyday life of the urbanites.The second chapter mainly studies on the Shanghai imagination in Chinese filmfrom1987to2002. The author suggests that the modern urban culture is manifestedin the films in this period. The urban space have played an important role in thenarrative of the films. The “street” became the main scenes in the Shanghai subjectfilms. And the view of the “flaneure’s” became an important point of view. And someof the typical urban narrative forms were used in many films. And also, the importantcultural phenomenon of the Shanghai imagination is the regional culture of Shanghai and transnational imagination are emphasized.The third chapter mainly studies on the Shanghai imagination in Chinese filmfrom2003up to now. The author points out that the urban imagine forms of the filmsin this period are oriented by fashion and globalization, which make Shanghai becamea “spectacle city” in the films. At the same time, in some of the independent films andauteur films, some directors depicted Shanghai in a totally different way.The fourth chapter mainly studies on the Shanghai imagination of Peng Xiao-lian,Lou Ye and Li Xin, who make Shanghai the main subject of their films. PengXiao-lian has been trying her best to represent Shanghai and it’s urban culture in herfilms since1980’s. Lou Ye inclined to represent Shanghai as a modern “ruins” withmodernism narrative forms. Li Xin likes to represent the complex mental state ofShanghai youth with the postmodernism collage of image and narrative.The fifth chapter focuses on the prevalent Shanghai nostalgia films. The authoranalyzes the socio-cultural background of Shanghai nostalgia films, and concludes theaesthetic and cultural traits of this kind of films. And also reflects on the culturalsymptoms of fetishism and globalized imagination in these films.In the sixth chapter, the author consideres how to improve the Shanghai subjectfilm by strengthen the local film product ability. And gives some suggestions for theShanghai subject genre films. And also points out that Shanghai subject films need tobreak through the old understandings of Shanghai culture before.In the conclusion, the author points out that although the Shanghai imaginationin Chinese film occurred some transformations after the Reform and Opening up, butthe influence of “modernization ideology” is always there.