Lee depicted the urban milieu of Shanghai in the 1930s. I am particularly interested in the relationship between the film text and the urban culture, and how film-viewing habits have affected their lifestyle. Lee mentioned the unique aesthetic of the feminine in Chinese film, which is different from“rampant body fetishism” in the photos of Hollywood stars. The film shapes the self-identification of modern China women, they learn how to act, how to dress and how to think like new-era women through film.
In Chinese films, the female has a much more important role compared to Hollywood. Instead of serving as objects in the male gaze, women are encouraged to display their subjectivity and personality.
I think the film is a really strong means of spreading ideologies due to its reproducible quality. The rise of cinema created more audience and film had extremely strong political power in 1930s Shanghai. The change on the conception of women in China is definitely a social development . I recognize the power of film as it can easily shape how we perceive the world.
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Huang Ka Lam