Abstract
Since the 1980s, Chinese cinema has gained international recognition, with an increasing number of Chinese films receiving accolades overseas. The portrayal of women in Chinese films has emerged as a contentious and significant creative theme. This research focuses on 11 award-winning Chinese films showcased at the San Sebastian Film Festival, employing textual analysis and cultural interpretation within the framework of Chinese history and contemporary cultural context. By utilizing feminist film theory, gaze theory, gender studies, and semiotic studies, this study aims to classify and summarize the female images depicted in these films. Drawing on the theories of Orientalism and self-Orientalization, it critically examines the representation of women in the films under study. Additionally, it explores whether these films cater to the Western market’s imagination of Chinese women. Through a comprehensive interpretation of the film texts, this research identifies various archetypal female images, including tragic victims of patriarchal systems, virtuous wives and mothers, objects of male desire, and damsels in distress. Despite women’s attempts at growth and resistance in these films, they often meet with failure, death, or madness. By analyzing the multi-faceted cultural identities portrayed in these female images, this study not only presents a comprehensive understanding from the male “other” perspective but also sheds light on the transformation and continuity of Eastern femininity as perceived from a Western viewpoint.
Author Information
Hao Zhang, Xihua University, China
Fang Xie, Jiangsu Ocean University, China
Paper Information
Conference: KAMC2023
Stream: Film Studies
This paper is part of the KAMC2023 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Zhang H., & Xie F. (2023) Orientalism and Self-Orientalization: A Case Study of Female Images in Chinese Films Awarded at the San Sebastian Film Festival ISSN: 2436-0503 – The Kyoto Conference on Arts, Media & Culture 2023: Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2023.38
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2023.38
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