Abstract
文藝,文學與藝術的簡稱;這個名詞在民國時期所代表的意義多面多元,既指涉電影類型和文學改良的指標,也主導了當時文化產業的發展邏輯。本文以文藝作為電影類型與文化批評的概念出發,追蹤整理文藝的脈絡,文分兩部份。一、闡述文藝如何在民國時期的文化政治語境中,發展出對當時電影生產與評論有深厚影響的主導性地位。這個部份以電影廣告內容分析為主,具體呈現民國時期的文藝電影景觀,和電影文藝化的實際表現。二、討論文藝作為電影類型,與西方電影的對應之處;此部份注焦文藝在華語電影研究中的不確定位置,並討論比較電影研究以西方理論為前提的不足。本文透過史料和跨文化史學等分析,意圖還原文藝電影的歷史語境、揭露民國時期中西文化政治與文化產業發展的密切關係,並期在主流電影理論的強大勢力下,建立以史料為主,以在地視點為中心的新華語電影史學。
In this paper I revisit the concept of wenyi 文藝 (letters and arts) for the following two purposes: to examine the role of literature in film distribution and promotion in the Republican period (1910s–1930s) and to renegotiate Chinese film criticism with Western theory. Unlike the negative connotations of triviality, self-indulgence, and even puerile pursuits that the term tends to carry today, wenyi at the time promised a sophisticated, worldly experience. My paper will map the trajectory of wenyi and clarify its importance, including its shifting meanings driven by literary and political forces, and, more crucially, place it in a fluid cultural environment of literary enlightenment and social reform. By means of content analysis of hundreds of film advertisements printed in Shenbao, we discover that wenyi’s cultural currency was firmly in place in promoting film consumption. By revising wenyi’s history during the first decade of China’s full-fledged film production, we are also able to renew the relationship between the indigenous film genre and its Western counterpart, i.e., the melodrama.
In this paper I revisit the concept of wenyi 文藝 (letters and arts) for the following two purposes: to examine the role of literature in film distribution and promotion in the Republican period (1910s–1930s) and to renegotiate Chinese film criticism with Western theory. Unlike the negative connotations of triviality, self-indulgence, and even puerile pursuits that the term tends to carry today, wenyi at the time promised a sophisticated, worldly experience. My paper will map the trajectory of wenyi and clarify its importance, including its shifting meanings driven by literary and political forces, and, more crucially, place it in a fluid cultural environment of literary enlightenment and social reform. By means of content analysis of hundreds of film advertisements printed in Shenbao, we discover that wenyi’s cultural currency was firmly in place in promoting film consumption. By revising wenyi’s history during the first decade of China’s full-fledged film production, we are also able to renew the relationship between the indigenous film genre and its Western counterpart, i.e., the melodrama.
Original language | Chinese |
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Pages (from-to) | 73-126 |
Number of pages | 54 |
Journal | 傳播與社會學刊 = Communication and Society |
Issue number | 29 |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
本文乃蔣經國國際學術交流基金會研究計畫資助 (計畫編號: RG013-P-12) 的成果之一。Keywords
- 文藝
- 文藝電影
- 民國時期
- 電影廣告
- 通俗劇
- wenyi
- wenyi pictures
- the Republican period
- film advertisement
- melodrama