Chinese Cinema During the Transition Period from Silents to Talkies: Cantonese Films and “National Defense Films”

HAN Yanli

doi:10.18917/eizogaku.73.0_5

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

トーキー移行期の中国語映画における言語と国民統合の問題――広東語映画の製作と「国防映画」をめぐって

Abstract

After Chinese talkie films appeared in 1931, Cantonese films began to be mass-produced in south China. This paper examines the film production conditions of Cantonese films before 1941, by analyzing some of the Cantonese films and cinema magazines of that period.In 1936, as a part of its nation-building project, the National Government in Nanjing tried to outlaw the production of films in dialects, in an attempt to foster linguistic unity in the country. At that time, China was under constant threat of attack from Japan. The Cantoness film industry survived by capitalizing on anti-Japanese feeling. Almost sixty-six Cantonese “national defense films” were made before 1941.Although some Cantonese “national defense films” can be seen as a countermeasure to the prohibition of dialect films, Chinese national identity was nevertheless constructed partially in these films made in Hong Kong.Most of the sixty-six films do not depict “the dreadful Japanese enemy.” Their major theme was the importance of eliminating “others” who betray the War of Anti-Japanese Resistance.

Journal

eizogaku

eizogaku 73 (0), 5-22,131, 2004-11-25

Japan Society of Image Arts and Sciences

Details 詳細情報について

CRID: 1390014128337632640

DOI: 10.18917/eizogaku.73.0_5

ISSN: 21896542; 02860279

Text Lang: ja

Data Source

JaLC

Abstract License Flag: Disallowed

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