Sinascape: Contemporary Chinese Cinema

The author uses the term "sinascape" to encompass the transnational network of the Chinese film industry, the film industry's representation of China, and films as they pertain to mediation, transnationalism, nationalism, and global politics. Xu (Chinese and cinema studies, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) probe six issues of contemporary global politics: proliferation of the copyright industry, representation of violence and violence of representation, manipulation of reality through mediation and simulacra, relentless demolition driven by modernization and urbanization, erasure of individual memories by linear and masculinist history, and domination of socioeconomic and political life by the cinematic mode of production. Each of these issues are taken up in separate chapters that explore how they are revealed through readings of such films as Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Devils on the Doorstep, Beijing Bicycle, Suzhou River, Kung Fu Hustle, and Millenium Mambo. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Gary G. Xu is associate professor of Chinese, comparative literature, cinema studies, and criticism in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.