The reading of “The Urban Milieu of Shanghai Cinema” detailed explain the concept of filming industry development in China (Shanghai), how Hollywood and Chinese movie affect each other, and the link between the urban environment and filming. For example, many Hollywood movies’ titles use four Chinese characters to boost traditional Chinese culture. The writer also mentioned the relationship between filming and new-style writers writing in the 1930s, such as Lu Xun and Xu Chi. The writer suggested that the inheritance of Chinese cinema is a debatable point.
After reading these readings, I understand more about cinema and filming, and also improve my skills learned from the lectures, especially the urban space, and architecture with film set. Also how the teahouse counts as an important role in the evolution to modernize visual art and shows cinematic space and hybridity. In the passage, Liu emphasized that cinema is the combination of artistic feeling and scientific rationality; the writer believed that cinema is a form of art and artistic aura is from “mechanical reproduction”. In my opinion, the filming industry in China and Hollywood may seem “symbiont” and interdependent from contents and camera angles, but there are original parts. For instance, the different aesthetics among feminine may be found on magazine covers.