The Decade of Fear

• Authors: Helman A.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) - one of the greatest tragedies experienced by the Chinese people, caused great losses and permanent changes in the political, social, cultural and the moral sphere of life. It devastated the great material and spiritual legacy of the traditional Chinese culture. The authoress of the article presents the echoes of this period in the films of the most important representatives of the fifth generation: Chen Kaige (Farewell my Concubine, 1993), Tian Zhuangzhuang (The Blue Kite, 1993) and Zhang Yimou (To live, 1994). Through the analysis of particular scenes, Helman points to the fact that these films do not speak directly about what happened during the Cultural Revolution, as of course this topic was strongly disapproved of by the Chinese state. That is why Cultural Revolution is barely a back drop for the lives of the main characters of the films. According to the authoress, the strength of these films lies in their many verbal allusions, subtexts, and a complex network of icons and meanings, that are also readable for the Western viewer, who is neither Chinese nor aware of the history of the Chinese nation.

Keywords

EN

CHINESE CINEMA; CULTURAL REVOLUTION; ZHANG YIMOU

Discipline

• ARTS_&_ARCHITECTURE: ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Sztuki PAN
• Journal: Kwartalnik Filmowy
• Year: 2008
• Issue: 61
• Pages: 123-136
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Helman A.

• A. Helman, Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Instytut Sztuk Audiowizualnych, ul. Pilsudskiego 13, 31-110 Kraków, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

08PLAAAA04769082