Have a Nice Day
When I first heard about this Chinese animation, it was in the context of bankable dissent, so I was pre-disposed to dismissing this work, but when I actually had a chance to see some of the footage, I was thoroughly impressed, and subsequently, very happy to hear it was being screened at the Genesis.
Posted in Events and tagged animation, china, Chinese, culture, Dong Hua, film, indie, pop culture, synth pop
The March of China’s Female Filmmakers
Today is International Women’s Day, or more precisely International Working Women’s Day or The United Nations Women’s Rights and International Peace Day. In China, this has been major celebration of women in all fields since 1924, when the working women of Guangzhou, influenced by the international movement, started one in China, where women united and stood up for their rights across the National and Communist divide. Feminism, however has been problematic in China, after the fall of the thousand-year-old imperial patriarchy, it has taken up as the mantra of male-dominated for most of the twentieth centuries. This year, I’m going to discuss women in the driving seat in cinema, a vital medium because it’s one of the faces of China that within everyone is familiar, to a lesser or greater extent, and a very influential art form that is flourishing and evolving rapidly within China.
Posted in Articles and tagged china, Chinese, cinema, culture, feminism, film, International Women's Day, women's rights
Contemporary Chinese Cinema Lecture, QMUL, 5th December 2017
Like its turbulent history, Chinese cinema has undergone many upheavals throughout the twentieth century, from an art form that was virtually non-existent at the beginning of the century, to a tradition that developed its own aesthetic, studio systems and language. It was employed by the state to further war efforts and revolution, after which it became a medium of response and rebellion. Privatization of the industry towards the end of the century eventually led to a new interdependence between the state and filmmakers that propelled Chinese cinema into the twenty-first century, with an explosion of genres, production and distribution methods.
Posted in Events and tagged china, Chinese, contemporary cinema, culture, film, lecture, QMUL
Raiding China’s Tomb Adventures
Our penultimate post is about popular Chinese fiction of the ghostly, grave-robbing kind. We are thrilled to post this piece by writer and translator Xueting Christine Ni, who is currently working with the fantasy and science fiction author Tang Fei, and writing a book on Chinese deities. Having studied English literature in London, and Chinese literature in Beijing, she is now based mainly in the UK.
As a writer on Chinese culture, specialising in pop culture, I’m often asked about genre fiction. “Do the Chinese do science fiction?” or “Does China have Horror?” Over the last two decades or so, Chinese pop culture has grown exponentially. Economic growth and relative political stability have allowed writers and artists the space to let their imagination run free and to create in readers a taste for such entertainment and variety.
Posted in Articles and tagged books, china, Chinese, comic, culture, film, ghost story, horror, literature, novel, tomb raiding, translation
Star Wars and China
“To rebel is justified”. Mao Ze Dong
Almost every geek in the Western hemisphere, and many on the other side, have anticipated the release of the Star Wars spin off film “Rogue One”. I managed to see it last week, and was impressed with it. I loved how it filled the narrative between Episodes 3 and 4 of the saga, without making itself a necessity, how it tied in very snuggly with animated series “Star Wars Rebels”, which I have also been following, and how, despite its gritty tone, was ultimately uplifting. There is something eternally gratifying about seeing a small, unlikely band of outlaws with more guts than ammo railing against the dread powers that be. What I most loved though, was seeing actors from my home country, Donnie Yen and Jiang Wu, in a movie that is part of a new, sprawling global mythology.
Posted in Articles and tagged china, Chinese, culture, Donnie Yen, film, Geek, Jiang Wu, Rebels, review, Rogue One, Star Wars
Introducing the QMUL Confucius Institute Movie Night
I have the pleasure of presenting the first QMUL Confucius Institute Movie Night. Here’s a little from my introduction.
Posted in Curated & Translated and tagged china, Chinese, Confucius Institute, culture, film, QMUL
Curse of the Chopsticks and Chinese Social Horror
“Kuai Xian”, given the English title of “The Curse of the Chopsticks” is directed by Ji Yu. It begins with an attack on a patient who has just received a transplant at a private eye hospital, their new eyes mangled and a pair of bloody chopsticks left at the scene.
Posted in Articles and tagged china, Chinese, culture, film, horror, review
Midnight Bookstore II: an Indie Chinese Jiangshi Film
Directed by Du Jingfeng, “Midnight Bookstore II” is an anthology film, linked by the tale of Daoist monk Lu Shiyi (Peng Yusi) on a mission to recover a lost book of secret techniques. During his search Lu senses the auras of those possessed by bad spirits and offers his help along the way. The possessed characters are all drawn to a 24-hour bookshop and the shopkeeper Wu Xiubo (Zhao Jiaqi), a demon slayer whom Lu finds in possession the lost book. During their battle for this book. Wu and Lu end up saving the lives of these people by either restraining the bad spirits with their powers or converting them to good with benevolence.
Posted in Articles and tagged china, Chinese, culture, film, horror, review
30 Years of Big Trouble
Last weekend I went to watch John Carpenter’s “Big Trouble in Little China” on the big screen, on the film’s 30th anniversary. The film, packed with great soundtrack composed by the director himself, punchy script and adventurous plot, has aged well with time. As an academic writer who focuses on Chinese pop culture, I often find myself dealing with subject matter my peers wouldn’t touch with a ten foot barge pole. John Carpenter’s “Big Trouble in Little China” is one such piece. Having just had a chance to see the 1986 film from a 70mm print, for its anniversary, I thought it was worth talking about, considering the impact this film has had on a whole generation of Western cinema goers, many of whom may have never seen the action adventures of the Chinese film industry which inspired this movie.
Posted in Events and tagged anniversary, Big Trouble in Little China, china, Chinese culture, cinema, Daoism, film, John Carpenter, Lo Pan, mysticism
On the Representation of Chinese Arts in Western Media
Recently numerous friends on social media have pointed out to me the shockingly underinformed or dubious ways in which the Chinese arts have been represented in the Western media. I have been impressed by your astuteness and I thank you for your kindness.
Posted in Articles and tagged animation, arts, china, Chinese culture, comics, commentary, film, literature, novel, representation, science fiction