Film And Social Change - Essay Example

Film and Social Change Hao Xiaoming and Chen Yanru’s article “The Chinese Cinema in the Reform Era” explores the relationship of social changes and the media, specifically the Chinese film industry, after the remarkable reforms that begun in 1978. Although China was slow to adapt the film industry after its inception in the West, it picked up in the 1930s. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), deflated the Chinese film industry as several movies were excluded from mainstream media (Xiaoming and Yanru 37).

In 1978, the Chinese reforms and the modernization process brought drastic changes in the film industry. The society began appreciating film as a commodity, an artistic expression, and a form of political expression (Xiaoming and Yanru 39). Later, changing policies meant that filmmakers lacked freedom to achieve their storyline, and had to focus on choices that favored the country’s image. Structural changes of the film industry sought to make filmmakers autonomous of state decisions. The change from state-financed cultural establishments to industrial enterprises was beneficial for the industry.

Filmmaking was from then on seen as a business and production houses had their own money to do further productions. Even so, it had some disadvantages, as financial gains overrode social effects of films. Government interests in films meant that there was a specific target audience for films. As government interest reduce, so did the audience of films change because of the changing content that resulted from the freedom of producers. As the Cultural Revolution ended, so did the political restrictions placed on the film industry.

It underwent unstable development as the transition from state control to autonomy took some time. Producers were able to produce more films, although the government still controlled the number of films produced. The majority of films centered on life dramas and suspense films respectively, while propaganda films came in a distance third in terms of content. They all revolved around the 1978 reforms and had slight changes in content of their genre (Xiaoming and Yanru 41). These changes in preferences of life dramas and suspense films showed the transition from state-dominated propaganda films though sought to push government agenda.

As it shifted to a market-oriented industry, audiences could enjoy their preferred content, rather than what the state desired. Traditional Chinese values and patriotism were fashionable themes in the stories, while films that condemned money fetishism and supported reforms were also popular. Amid the reforms, crime stories and thrillers gained popularity, especially with the prevalence of crime during that period. There were significant changes in roles of males and females in films. Both sexes preferred the roles of law enforcers to professionals or industry workers, which were popular in previous generations.

Women were mainly depicted as unemployed homemakers. Divorce in marriages was also a major occurrence in most films. Most of these themes were a direct reflection of the Chinese society, although there were some misrepresentations, for instance, of foreigners in the movies. In the main, the films represented the changing cultural, political, and socioeconomic structures of the Chinese society (Xiaoming and Yanru 43). The media system adapted to the changing social demographics in a swift manner.

Films not only present entertainment, but also reflect happenings in the society. Market forces control viewership of films, and this, as an economic factor, triggered significant changes in the Chinese film industry. Works Cited Xiaoming, Hao and Yanru, Chen. The Chinese Cinema in the Reform Era. Film and Social Change. 2000.