Early chinese film: Struggle to surive.
Film and cinema are two concepts of modernization, which was introduced into China in early 20th centenry. During which time China has suffered from long period of colonization and economical depression. Meanwhile, film industry had already experience several waves of rapid development in western world lead by hollywood. These two passages provide a lot of insight regarding how Chinese film industry struggle to survive and develop its own style under such pressure. First of all, as pointed by Zheng’s paper, films in china has serves as different entertaiment purpose when it is firstly introduced. The teahouse culture initially accept film as a new means of play compared with other leather shadow plays and performing art. Such environment has encouraged many producers to start their industry by producing short film plays containing a few attractor such as comedy or violence. These early stage work is essential for film producer to acquire sufficient skills and funding as well as understand apetite of Chinese audience for later longer and better production such as Children of Trouble times. Meanwhile, what make early stage Chinese films survive under the pressure of western competitor was also related to integration of Chinese own culture background as is pointed out by Leo. While western films usually shows joyful plot with happy ending, Chinese films are more closely related to melodrama and include many emotional component that could arise resonance to Chinese citizens, especially under the great pressure from both civil war and external pressure from colonial government. Those factors becomes very essential for the growth and blooming of Chinese film industry. Even now a days we could find the trace of those early films in more recent one like Red Lantern or Wandering Earth.
Name: Sirui Chen
UID: 3035532882
Nice succinct summary on the key points of both passages and good understanding of the conception of early Chinese cinema and how socio-political dynamics have shaped the industry. You explained the environmental context and reason for melodramatic plot structures well.