Floating In The Spy Sea

This dissertation examines PRC spy-themed film from1949until the new century. Being the only Chinese film type that synchronized with the world in the cold war era, PRC spy-themed film is quite special, which forms PRC narrative of cold war and established as "narrative model for literature and art for workers, peasants and soldiers in PRC". As one of the most popular film type, PRC spy-themed film has different characteristics in different periods. However, as certain successful collaboration of mass culture and mainstream ideology, it always keeps up with the times, conveys the ideological concept through its characterization and plot, and brought to the audience with both entertainment and education. Focusing on the dynamics between entertainment and politics of PRC spy-themed film, this paper intends to examine the film and the historical context that created it through close analysis of relevant texts and the intertextuality among them.PRC spy-themed film has evolved through three stages:Seventeen Years Period, the New Period, and the21th Century. On the basis of the historical documents and specific context, this paper intends to conduct a systematic discussion on PRC spy-themed film. With detailed analysis of the mainstream denomination, narrative structure, character configuration, and characterization of PRC spy-themed film in specific period, this discussion aims to depict the creation scene and the general evolution of this film type, reveal the symptom and texture of the corresponding era implied in those films, and contribute to a better understanding of history.Chapter One makes a careful examination of the origin and use of four typical names of PRC spy-themed film, which are anti-spy film, thriller-mode film, spy war film, and spy film. Through an overview of the denomination and the historical development of PRC spy-themed film, this part intends to reveal the interaction between this type of film and the era that created it. Chapter Two discusses the initial period of PRC spy-themed film (1949-1954), outlines an overview of the early anti-spy films. Through a close analysis of the very first anti-spy film Invisible Front, it attempts to demonstrate its role as the archetype. Chapter Three concentrates on an important extension of PRC spy-themed film from the middle of1950s to the middle of1960s. Focusing on thriller-mode anti-spy film and detective-mode anti-spy film, this part analyzes the new elements and new characteristics contained in the spy-themed films of that era. Chapter Four examines the transformation experienced by PRC spy-themed film in the New Period. The spy-themed films produced in this era are quite different from the early ones, especially in their emphasis on the rise of science and technology, the decompostion of revolutionary logic and the emergence of documentary style. The final section depicts another transformation of PRC spy-themed film experienced in the context of globalization. The spy-themed films produced in the21th century tend to deconstruct the revolutionary heritage while partially remain insistent on it, which could be viewed as a complex site where standardization and anti-standardization coexist.