Abstract
In the rapid process of modernization, Chinese metropolises like Shanghai have gradually tended towards a homogenization – the city’s identity formed by its semi-colonial history, vernacular architecture, and local’s habits has been largely replaced by modernist design, culture and lifestyle. To retrieve the vanishing urban memory, this study aims to use film as a method to trace back Shanghai’s past to one of its most distinctive urban images - the ballroom dance culture in the Republican era. The popularity of ballroom dancing represented the modern qualities of Shanghai deeply influenced by Western lifestyle, which imparted the city with a unique charm of blending culture. This study utilizes filmic materials to explore Shanghai’s ballroom dance culture from an urban perspective. More precisely, after having collected all the Republican Shanghai films (1920s to 1940s), a qualitative analysis was conducted to examine the related information embodied in filmic urban images. Through the lens of film, the urban memory on ballroom dancing is deconstructed into two facets: the venues and the participants. The venues are classified according to the architectural features, while the participants are explicated on the character’s traits represented. Furthermore, the study interprets the filmmaker’s intension and viewpoint as well as the public attitudes on ballroom dance culture to unravel the social ideology of the time. By reviving such unique urban memory, this research polishes the city’s cultural image and strengthens the local spirit, and thus to provide valuable insights for the development of Shanghai by projecting its past to the future.
Author Information
Qiyun Tan, Michigan State University, United States
Yiqiao Sun, Zhejiang University, China
Paper Information
Conference: MediAsia2024
Stream: Critical and Cultural Studies
This paper is part of the MediAsia2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Tan Q., & Sun Y. (2024) “Shanghai in the Night”: A Study of Urban Memory on Ballroom Dance Culture in Republican-Era Shanghai Cinema (1920s-1940s) ISSN: 2186-5906 – The Asian Conference on Media, Communication & Film 2024: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 111-124) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5906.2024.10
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5906.2024.10
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