Chris Berry and Lisa Rofel
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789888028528
- eISBN:
- 9789882207202
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888028528.003.0008
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter turns to the complicated question of the social and political status of these films. Rather than label them as “oppositional,” ...
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This chapter turns to the complicated question of the social and political status of these films. Rather than label them as “oppositional,” “underground,” or “resistance,” the discussion argues that “alternative” understood in a specifically Chinese context is the most appropriate nomination of the movement. It investigates the idea of “alternative” culture to capture the specificity of China's post-1989 culture and explores the New Documentary Movement as part of it. The chapter also examines how alternativeness is manifested in the New Documentary Movement—in its themes, formal properties, spaces of production and viewing, and archiving characteristics.Less
This chapter turns to the complicated question of the social and political status of these films. Rather than label them as “oppositional,” “underground,” or “resistance,” the discussion argues that “alternative” understood in a specifically Chinese context is the most appropriate nomination of the movement. It investigates the idea of “alternative” culture to capture the specificity of China's post-1989 culture and explores the New Documentary Movement as part of it. The chapter also examines how alternativeness is manifested in the New Documentary Movement—in its themes, formal properties, spaces of production and viewing, and archiving characteristics.
