History of Chinese Documentary and Contemporary Television - Literature review Example

The Literature Review about the History of Chinese Documentary and Contemporary Television Documentary Movement The Literature Review about the History of Chinese Documentary and Contemporary Television Documentary Movement Introduction The paper explores the prospect of the increasing demand for Chinese documentaries. It includes significant developments in the Chinese television documentary. The literature review focuses on several aspects of Chinese television documentary development. Literatures used in the study relate to Chinese arts and documentary. They investigate the possible reasons that might be behind the booming market for Chinese documentary. The literature review contains comprehensive studies that renowned scholars and authors have done concerning the Chinese documentary. Studies reviewed emphasize on primary factors contributing to advancement of Chinese culture and its global acceptance. In addition, they highlight fundamental considerations that Chinese cultures consider to find extensive compatibility with other global cultures. Pernin, J., 2011. Chris Berry, Lu Xinyu, Lisa Rofel (eds.), The New Chinese Documentary Film Movement: For the Public Record. China Perspect. 80–81. The literature focuses on the history of Chinese independent documentary in relation to the contemporary television documentary movement. Berry, Xinyu, and Rofell, 2010 explain the significance of contemporary documentary movement using two main approaches. The initial method suggests the probable reason concerning the centrality of the documentary movement in Chinese audiovisual culture (Pernin, 2011, p. 1). The second approach to understanding contemporary television network revolves around the discussion and contributions concerns of digital era cinema. Additional discussion entails the fact that the trending documentary age had a foundation on digital cinema treasures immediacy. History of the Chinese documentary has roots on major transformations from development of visual culture with the support television. The transformation then proceeds to use of internet. The research supports the transformation sequence of visual performance of Chinese documentaries using historical dates and occurrences. Yin, 2014, for instance, discusses documentary video and film production in 1990s. The developments of visual performance in the nineteenth century acted as the basis of sequential current research and breakthrough in the current china documentaries that have attractive visual and sound performance. Besides the changes in visual performance of Chinese documentaries over the years, themes, styles, and circumstances of documentary production also changed. The new documentary aesthetic has also contributed to the revolution of Chinese film, television, and video production. Historical change of Chinese documentary in the television sector clearly shows the dominance of contemporary documentary in broadcasting television stations. Modern news reported outside China recognizes the stereotypic nature in association with the Chinese television network and culture. Chinese broadcasting stations have their reporters’ not considerate of representation of the communist party and government affairs. When the reporters anchor news, they typically tend to maintain independence. Researchers always evade studies involving the inherent transformation of public culture in not being patriotic about policies of Chinese government by its citizens. Such lack of patriotism indicates a massive transformation of Chinese culture. The literature discusses the importance of the contemporary documentary movement in Chinese visual culture. It discusses the hardships that besieged production of film and video in 1990s. Particular cartels controlled the studios for production of films, which restricted competition as the studio managers had powers of choosing their preferred candidates. It is notable, however, economic reforms in urban areas led to increased awareness and creation of more studios (Riff, Lacy, & Fico, 2014). As establishment of studios continued, there was a rise in documentary movements because of increased production of more modern films and videos. It is however essential to note the impact of politics, history, and social contexts on the contemporary Chinese documentary movement. Political reforms such as market-oriented changes transformed China’s documentary movement. The social, political, and historic reforms also transformed the audio-visual culture in China. Müller, G. (2013). Documentary of World History and Power in the PRC: Global Rise in Chinese Eyes (Vol. 32). Mueller mentions that documentaries have become a favorite format for Chinese state directed media to present officially sanctioned view of history (Muller 2004). She introduces the issue of the global growth in a historical viewpoint in order to help understand the history of Chinese literature in relation to contemporary television documentary movement. Shifting focus from narrow current time policy to a larger context allows for a more general discussion of the historical laws surrounding the rise. The opportunities and dangers encountered legitimate the present day political options. Gotelind Muller capitalizes on the current Chinese interest in international history. Chinese interests align with their global growth. She discusses how screens present history and explores the purpose of visual history for memory culture and the wider society reached. She makes the discussion in reference to three recent Chinese documentary television series. The series casts the officially authorized view of the rise of the modern West, reasons of the termination of the Soviet Union besides the legitimization of the current Chinese government through specific research and studies on modern Chinese history arguing about Chinese rise. Further, presentation of Chinese and foreign history in a global framework influences negatively or positively on the transmitted views locally and internationally, thus giving a clear insight into how the Chinese regard their global growth. Muller Gotelind foresees this documentary received by students and intellectuals working across a number of fields, including Chinese studies, Media studies, television studies, history and memory studies (Muller, 2004). Muller argues that the spread of the internet might make television lose the status that it has, as the leading media, even though many internet users have the tendency off watching TV programs via the website on their computer screens or mobile phones. She sees the Chinese market history as becoming more complex as well. The diverse past sets since early 1980s in the context of the opening up of policy and decisive judgment on certain questions. The resolution questions on Chinese’s party since the founding of the PRC in 1981, which provided a more secure basis for historiography according to some aspects (Xinyu, 2007). Muller says high popularity of TV history is the current development (Muller, 2007).Films historically has been part of the propaganda tool since the beginning of the PRC. The earliest cases were biographies of outstanding people instead of the ordinary people, which were still very close to the format of film genres. New genres as trilogies among others developed by taking advantage of the TV medium namely serialization. Some non-biographical historical documentaries became popular as early as the 1980s. Muller successfully substantiates how documentaries evolved to become a superb method of passing information. The documentaries give insight on the Chinese and international communities; they aid memorization through visual culture of the viewers. In contrast, she views the documentaries as a tool usable to tarnish Chinese history globally. Weight she gives its merits in her arguments proves that the contemporary television documentary movement. Pickowicz, P., & Zhang, Y. (Eds.). 2006. From underground to independent: Alternative film culture in contemporary China. Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham. Chinese film industry attracted the worlds attention in early 1990s. During that period, Chinese movies only received coverage in other parts of the world. The book researches how Chinese films rose from underground to attain independence. It is notable that the book combines several related articles. The book analyzes articles based on the growth and progress of Chinese film industry. Chinese film industry has witnessed a growth over the years to rise to its current position. The literature highlights key issues in the development of Chinese key industry. Research on underground films in China is critical to understanding visual arts and films. The methodology used in the research includes analysis of literary books and sociological aspects of filming in China. The methodology enhanced collection of accurate data and information on the progress of Chinese films. However, it restricted the scope of the study. It did not allow researchers to exploit other sectors of the industry effectively. Moreover, it has only concentrated on specific parts of the books. The book presents the views of different authors on Chinese filming. Some authors have concurring views while others contradict each other. For instance, Kleinhans and Chris Berry share similar ideas on the independence of Chinese film industry. On the other hand, Matthew David Johnson’s work is different from Chris Berrys work. It is more complex than Berrys work and requires more time to analyze. The book contains an analysis of the works of various authors on the progress of Chinese film industry. Chris Berry elaborates the concept of independence in filmmaking. He analyzes the careers of iconic filmmakers in China such as Jiang and Duan Jinchuan. According to the book, Mathew David Johnson uses We Wengguangs films to highlight the progress of Chinese films. The books study on the progress of Chinese film industry relates to previous studies conducted on the subject. As studies conducted in the past, the research concluded that the Chinese culture is evident in its independent filmmaking. On the contrary, the study is different from other research conducted on the Chinese filmmaking. Unlike other studies, the book asserts that Chinese films thrive in international media more that the local Chinese media. It is noteworthy that gaps exist in this study. First, the research depends entirely on books and literary sources of information. Dependence on articles limits the scope of the study of the study. Besides, the methodology does not involve the key participants in Chinese film industry. The key players have sufficient knowledge on how the industry transformed from the underground to independence (Cushion & Lewis, 2010). In summary, the book elaborates how the Filmmaking industry in China has grown over time. It explains how formerly underground filmmaking has independence today. The research uses different methodologies to elaborate on Chinese underground films. It also analyzes many articles before coming to a conclusion on the subject. The book concludes that Chinese film industry has experienced significant growth over the past decades. Berry, C., & Farquhar, M. A. 2006. China on Screen: Cinema And Nation: Columbia University Press, New York. Writing of Chinese cinema has been a controversial issue to due to a number of factors. Multiculturalism in China poses the question whether to include certain genre or not. The book outlines the challenge of expressing a collective term of a “Chinese national cinema.” Berry and Farquhar assert that the “national” plays a significant role in shaping the Chinese narrative repertoire as well as cinematic image. It is evident that the “old national cinemas” never took the national with much concern in regards to studying Chinese cinema. According to Berry and Farquhar, one can construe and contest the Chinese national cinema in several ways. The national cinema encompasses a range of issues and questions that people should consider. The book achieves to find out the relationship between the national and various topics. There are three different ways of configuring cinematic time. For example, one can portray ideological contexts in the perspectives of logical, linear, and progressive. Some films such as City of Sadness (1989) and Yellow Earth (1984) mixes fact and fiction in incorporating the past events. There are two main Chinese cinematic modes which include realist and operatic. National cinemas should embrace factors such as multiculturalism, global capital inflows, the World Wide Web, and increasing migration. The book recommends the most appropriate methods of construing and contesting cinematic texts and national identity. The “operatic mode” as the authors refer to it does a great deal in promoting cultural nationalist mode. They discuss the intersection of gender and nation and the sexual role in the Chinese media (Stokes, 2003). Berry and Farquhar analyze the “way a Chinese woman should look” by emphasizing on configurations of nation and modernity state. The analysis gives weight to the Chinese culture by considering the need to portray a positive image to the whole world. Investigating “how Chinese men should act” intends to identify systems such as brotherhood and loyalty. The systems are useful in operating the Chinese cinema. In the cinemas, the codes achieve to explain mythic symbols of national identity. The book also analyses the sound relationship between the Chinese culture and foreign culture that results to its absolute viability across the whole world. For instance, Berry and Farquhar use the illustration of The Wedding Banquet (1993) to show how a Chinese family conveniently accommodated a foreigner. Compatibility of the Chinese culture is crucial in enabling the acceptance of the Chinese films in the global film market. In the final chapter of the literature, emphasis relies on interaction of trans-nationalism and nationalism. The concepts are one of the major reasons for success of Chinese cinemas in the global markets. Zhu, Y., & Berry, C. (2009). TV China.: Indiana University Press, Bloomington. The transformations of documentary programming and new that took place in 1990s inspired Chinese television audiences. The book uses Shanghai television’s documentary channel to explore the role of the public in Chinese television. Considering the recent developments in the television sector would create the ease with which to explore concepts like the civil society and the public sphere. The book reveals the fact that recent television development have resulted to the promotion of local culture apart from encouraging local participation. The book analyzes how the television media uphold Chinese culture. The growing demand for Chinese documentaries originates from the originality of the arts. The arts are useful in exploring the Chinese culture. Many genres that base on the Chinese culture resulted from the use of television media. Indigenous media experiences remain crucial in communication because they conserve traditions. Indigenous media projects use digital technologies to integrate local storytelling traditions. The technologies result to new forms of culture critiques that enable the Chinese to improve on its documentaries. It is wrong to conclude that digital technology is a modern force. Digital technology can as well apply to indigenous cultural expression. The Chinese documentaries have achieved to use modern media technologies to promote local traditions and enable people to participate in the media processes. The uniqueness of Chinese culture finds a broad compatibility in the whole world (Berry, 2008). People tend to assume that modern media technologies are only applicable to western documentaries. Western culture dominates the world in several aspects. They have convinced people to appreciate its culture. The idea of practicing other people’s culture at the expense of individual’s lack of confidence in one’s self. Many developing nations have not been patriotic in embracing their culture. The booming of the Chinese film market comes because of the realization of the importance of the Chinese culture to the natives. For instance, Shanghai Television’s Documentary Channel has played a significant role in the journey of transforming the face of Chinese documentaries. The Chinese had an objective of capturing a wide film market when setting up the station. The people considered several global considerations when setting up the station. Concepts such as a public sphere and civil culture have inspired a change in the Chinese media markets. Journalists have used good programming techniques to make the Documentary Channel as perfect as possible. Expansion of the Chinese media to embrace traditional practices is a fundamental objective in acquiring a vast film market. The society has used the concepts of civil society and public sphere to minimize state power. Chinese cultural films are on high demand because the people are in the forefront of promoting their culture and marketing it to the whole world. Conclusion Over the previous few years, there has been an increase in the demand for Chinese documentaries. The sources analyze the Chinese media industry in relation to Chinese cinemas in details. Various transformations that have occurred in the media industry as far as technology is anxious have done a countless deal in changing the face of the documentaries. The Chinese have remained in the forefront in promoting the documentaries by making it a favorite format in the media. The paper provides an analysis of Chinese underground films in several ways. Chinese use national cinema models that embrace their traditions. Among the aspects that have led to an increase in demand for the documentaries, include the public sphere and civil society. Bibliography Bailey, S. 2006. Academic Writing: A Handbook For International Students. Routledge. 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