Reading Response: Lee, Leo Ou-fan AND Zhang Zhen

First we discussed the “hibridity” in the early chinese cinema. Based on the second reading, people in China used to watch shadowplay in a teahouse, since it is the perfect place for many people to gather around . When the western culture came in, this is where they implement “hibridity”. From there, they started to play movies in their teahouse, in which it depicts a modernity in the history of chinese cinema.

We also discussed what differs montage and long shot in a film scene. As long shot can create a more realistic views on the scene by providing center of attention to the main character, it limits the other characters’ POV, which we can get in a montage. Talking about space, long shot has a benefit in terms of continuity, which it ables us to get the perfect observation of the background/space of the scene, i.e. the scale. In montage, since multiple shots are combined in one segment, it might confuses the viewer of the dimensional space in the scene.

In the end, based on the first reading, we discussed about how cinema serves as everyday urban space. Some reasons why people usually do dating in cinema are because of the silentness in cinema, which people tend to whisper to talk to their date. Also with a no distraction environment, it creates a perfect intimacy and ambiance for the couples to date.

Name: Georgy Valencio SISWANTA

UID: 3035898896

1 thought on “Reading Response: Lee, Leo Ou-fan AND Zhang Zhen

  1. Lu Zhang says:

    I appreciate your insightful reading analysis associated with the tutorial, especially the part on filmic techniques. I would suggest strengthening your discussion through some film cases and specifically picking particular stills to clarify how montage and long shot serve for character shaping, and plot development… Besides, the teahouse, as a cultural representation, is worth more discussion. For example, how does the teahouse depict modernity in the history of Chinese cinema? Regarding how cinema serves as everyday urban space, there are several bullet points that will navigate your analysis, like space, culture, civilization, economy, etc.

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