Contemporary Art Cinema Culture in China explores the dynamic networks of art cinema in China in the 21st century, highlighting the cultural practices of intermediaries such as independent programmers, internet critics, and fan translators.Offering insights gleaned from original ethnographic research, Xiang Fan reveals how these intermediary practitioners think about cinema, negotiate judgement and appreciation, construct a discourse of value and taste, and most importantly, constitute a coordinated and interrelated network for the sharing of art cinema. Fan argues that although their motivation was derived from a cinephilia seeking to forge an alternative mode of distribution and reception, the ‘new’ cinema culture they have produced simultaneously negotiates a subtly complicit relationship with authoritative and market forces. In doing so, she offers an original interdisciplinary perspective on contemporary art cinema culture in Chinese society.
Xiang Fan holds a PhD in Media Communications and Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London. She was previously a Postdoctoral Research Associate for the Chinese Independent Film Archive at Newcastle University, UK. Her research interests include Chinese independent and art cinema, film festivals and exhibition culture in the digital age, and women’s cinema.
Introduction 1. Home space and piracy: The emergence of grassroots cinephile culture2.Towards an ‘alternative’ public cinematic space? Mapping power dynamics of art cinema venues3.‘Independent’ exhibition: Mediating between underground and publicity4. Networked internet critics: From amateur to entrepreneur5. Fan translation: Volunteering in the marginConclusionBibliography Index
Xiang Fan’s exemplary ethnography lifts the lid on China’s cinephile culture, caught between the market economy and one-party state, to reveal the venue operators, amateur critics, and fansubbers whose dedication and determination makes it survive – and often even thrive.
Gary Bettinson, Vivian P.Y. Lee, UK.) Bettinson, Gary (Lancaster University, Canada.) Lee, Vivian P.Y. (Simon Fraser University, Mark Gallagher, Vivian P Y Lee, Yiman Wang
Gary Bettinson, Vivian P.Y. Lee, UK.) Bettinson, Gary (Lancaster University, Canada.) Lee, Vivian P.Y. (Simon Fraser University, Mark Gallagher, Vivian P Y Lee, Yiman Wang