A Study On The Narrative Ethics Of Campus Films In Mainland China In The 21st Century

As an important constituent of the youth movies,the Chinese campus movies have gotten a great progress in 21st Century.In term of narrative dimension,this cinematic genre,under influence of the interactions between official culture and youth sub-culture,has been divided into 3 sub-genres—the main tunes,the avant-gardes and the entertainments—which correspond to 3 modalities of narrative value—the collective narrative of family ethics,the individual narrative of free ethics and the mass narrative of consumption ethics.The article elucidates the "author,text,reader"relationship mainly from 3 aspects—story ethics,narrative ethics and ethical communication,and analysis the form,content and causes of different narrative ethics in campus film,in order to explore the ethic dimensions of these films.The main tune campus movies based on "the collective narrative of family ethics"show some complex relationships neither friendly nor aloof between the official culture and the youth sub-culture.After having preferred some serious stories,like the hardship of education in remote area and the faith of teachers,the narration of this sub-genre can be divided into the sublime narration and the urban-rural narration.The former,by telling stories of teachers' insistence in hard condition,reveals some hero-biographies in a wide-opened space and time,but lacking in reflection of the educative idea and system.The latter,reflecting the conflict and adaptation in progress of modernization between city and country,modernity and tradition,civilization and ignorance,has created some ideal figures who always wandered in a fate that means country-city-country,and whose real emotions was limitedly expressed.The pioneering campus movies based on "the individual narrative of free ethics"focus on some growing issues,such as young restlessness,irrational violence,extreme rebel against the parents,incomplete familial relation,etc.,in order to manifest the radicalization,hurt and cruelty in puberty.Its narrative form can be divided into the marginal narration and the rebellious narration.The former,focusing on the marginal and lower-class campus pictures,revealing the gloomy and extreme aspect of youth growing,has told lots of different school-life stories with some image elements of sex,death,violence and with some rebellious,decadent figures.However,the marginal narrative films,on account of extreme youth preferences,in some ways,have lost their stories' authenticity.The latter,in which the young figures resist the patriarchal culture,the dogmatic education and the traditional ethic,thought deeply about the youth metamorphosis in physiology,emotion and cognition.This kind of films explained the growth of young people with some diversified narrative methods.However,with to much adult ideology,it limited in some ways the expression of self-cognition and self-transformation.The entertainment campus movies based on "the mass narration of consumption ethics" show some remembrance and fancy of lost school lives,whose narrative form can be divided into retro narration and utopian narration.The former,with stong fashion,entertaining and bacchanal features,by showing some images of adults and teenagers,past and present,in a alternately appeared space and time,has finished up with achieving the fusion between official culture and youth sub-culture.But,on account of emphasizing the individual consciousness,the narration of these movies is destined to separate the individual from the time feature.In term of utopian narration,the latter agreed with the imagination of growth and the romantic artistic style,has become a important sign of entertainment campus movies.On its preference of young ambience,the narration of this kind of movies seeks to show the situations and spirits of young lives in our days,with some fresh cinema descriptions.But some narrative elements,such as lovesick and abortion,have been also abused in these movies.The 3 narrative models above have reflected the narrative ethics progress of campus movies in mainland of China.They were divers in the artistic style,but lacking in the depth of thought and the creativity of fiction.