Reform And Reconstruction-Study On The Film Making Personnel Of Shanghai(1949-1966)

Studying and analyzing the history of Shanghai Films with theories and laws,this thesis selected a period of "seventeen-years"(1949-1966)as the closed research scope to summarize historical changes in Shanghai films,unite changes in direction of Shanghai film makers in the early days of the P.R.C and elaborate some classical individual cases of old Shanghai film makers.The logical way of thinking includes examining the overall position of Shanghai films during the "seventeen-years" period,observing changes in the pattern of Shanghai films after the foundation of the P.R.C and studying three types of old Shanghai film makers,that represent the changes in Chinese film tradition through their films after the foundation of the P.R.C.This thesis puts emphasis on showing the concepts of “renovation”,“transformation” and “implicit writing” that are evident in the visual content of the Shanghai films produced during this period.This overall spirit of the films of this era “rewrote” the landscape of Chinese film history.During the early days of the P.R.C,old Shanghai film makers dealt with a brand new film system and an ideological remolding of the authoritative discourse in three major ways,which could be classified as three diverging trends:The first type adjusted to the new environment positively and found its position in New China.They sought for identity,looked out for a discourse strategy and reshaped the main body of film creation both on and off the screen.This trend of film creation was attributed as “group creation” by Tang Xiaodan.The second type failed to adjust to the new environment and were stuck in the old times.They could not find their position in the new cultural context and felt anxious about the identity brought upon them as “original sin”.Their films were regarded as “poisonous weeds”.This was a group whose personalities were suppressed and discourses shadowed.This trend of film creation was attributed as “creation of character” by Shi Hui.The third type included those who were looking to breakout in the intermediate zone,such as producing films based on some diverse themes that lay in the gaps of historical development after the foundation of the P.R.C,films produced by the private film industry in the early days of the P.R.C and films based on a selection of special themes by old Shanghai filmmakers who met setbacks in films based on realistic themes,including operas,folktales,themes about minorities and so on.Under the shelter of such safe themes,they integrated revolutionary ideas,national discourse,traditional literature and art into their works.This trend in film creation was represented as “implicit writing” by Zheng Junli.The main body of my thesis consists of the three chapters mentioned above.It discusses the changing ways and countermeasures of old Shanghai filmmakers in changing times,analyzes how they wrote implicitly in the gap between the public and private discourses and explores changes in Chinese film traditions after the foundation of the P.R.C.