150126 SE Gender in Chinese Cinema: Historical Representations and Contemporary Performances (2021S)

This seminar centres on the relationship between gender and cinema to explore representations and performances of sexual identity and the cinematic construction of notions of femininity and masculinity on the Chinese screens since the early-twentieth-century. Focusing primarily on mainland China, it investigates the politics of gender and/in film since the early-twentieth-century.

The analysis of selected feature films, documentaries, documentary forms of performance and relevant scholarship aims to encourage participants to reflect critically on the ways in which cinema contributes to the discourse of modernity and the ideological construction of the nation through a gender lens.

The course is divided into thematic blocks exploring such themes as: the role of gender in the formulation of Chinese modernity; the utopian construction of the socialist nation through models of masculinity and femininity in the Mao era and their postsocialist deconstruction; feminist approaches to cinematic memory and women’s filmmaking; cross-dressing and transgender performances on screen; queer(ing) Chinese film histories, and others. Each theme is illustrated by one or more case studies (films) that form the basis of the seminar discussion.

Upon successful completion of the course, participants will acquire a foundation in the history of Chinese cinema and enhance their ability to examine and interpret complex visual texts and understand the sociological and political dimensions of film culture in modern and contemporary China. They will learn how to apply visual analysis, close reading, and a range of theoretical approaches to assess the significance of image-making in the socio-cultural production of gender and to understand the role of representation and performance in the construction – and deconstruction – of concepts of “Chinese” femininities, masculinities, and (hetero-)normative sexual identities. Participants will be encouraged to approach cinema from a range of perspectives in film, performance, gender, and cultural studies. Thus, the seminar will increase understanding of visual and textual analysis as well as critical theory.