From Chapter 2 / Postcolonialism and Chinese Cinema of the Nineties.by Jing Wang and Tani E. Barlow
"Cinema and Desire: Feminist Marxism and Cultural Politics in the Work of Dai Jinhua"
by by Jing Wang and Tani E. Barlow
From Chapter 2 / Postcolonialism and Chinese Cinema of the Nineties
Between Preindustrial Society and Postmodernist Culture
Films of the early 1990s exhibit complex meanings when their social context is considered. Mainstream films reemerged then, presenting a historical monologue of the preindustrial social order while simultaneously reproducing orthodox discourse. But art films also entered production during the noiseless infiltration of postmodernism, under the interpellating gaze of privileged Western culture, providing an awkward foil to a reletively delayed modernization process. Chinese art film of the nineties, primarily the work of Fifth Generation directors was caught between preindustrial society and postmodern culture, mired in a dilemma that was heightened by the crushing economic reality and the ruptured national culture. (…)
