Chinese Documentaries: From Dogma to Polyphony

by Yingchi Chu

Overview

In China, unlike in Western cinema, documentary film, rather than fiction film, has been the dominant mode since 1949. In recent years, documentary TV programmes have experienced a meteoric rise. Arguing that there is a gradual process of 'democratization' in the media, in which documentaries play a significant role, this book discusses various types of Chinese documentaries, under both the planned and the market economy. It especially explores the relationship between documentaries and society, showing how, under the market economy, although the government continues to use the genre as propaganda to promote its ideologies and policies, documentaries are being used as a medium where public concerns and alternative voices can be heard.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134186020
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/20/2007
Series:	Media, Culture and Social Change in Asia , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Yingchi Chu is a Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at Murdoch University, Western Australia. She has published journals and book chapters on Chinese media, and is the author of Hong Kong Cinema: Coloniser, Motherland and Self (2003).

Table of Contents

Introduction: Writing about Chinese Documentaries 1. The Documentary Genre and Chinese Documentaries 2. Nationalism and the Birth of Chinese Documentary 3. The Dogmatic Formula 4. Media Reform, Documentary Programming, and the New Citizen 5. Documenting the Law 6. Documenting the Minorities 7. The Many Voices of Chinese Documentary. Conclusion: Documentary as Critical Discourse. Notes. Bibliography. Filmography