This doctoral research project intends to institute the study of the unique
and significant Huangmei Opera film genre by pioneering in making a
series of documentaries and writing an academic text. The combination
of a documentary series and academic writing not only explores the
relationship between the distinctive characteristics of the Huangmei Opera
film genre and its enduring popularity for its fans, but also advances a film
research mode grounded in practitioner research, where the activity of
filmmaking and the study of film theory support and reflect on each other.
The documentary series, which incorporates three interrelated subjects
- Classic Beauty: Le Di, Scenic Writing Director: Li Han Hsiang and
Brother Lian: Ling Po - explores the remarkable film careers of each figure
while discussing the social and cultural context in which they worked.
The section on Le Di introduces the subject of melodrama as a Chinese
tradition. The section on Li Han Hsiang discusses Li's film aesthetics and
his representation of a utopian Chinese world of the imagination. The final
section focuses on the popularity actor Ling Po gained through her roles of
male impersonation. All three topics provide an opportunity to rethink our
understanding of the social, political and cultural forces that contribute to
the genre, and to build an emotional connection between past and present
for the viewers. Meanwhile, by interviewing those surviving key figures
and assembling materials that have been lost, the documentary series not
only fulfils the needs of many fans, but also serves field studies in the area
by setting a direction in research and providing a valuable resource for
scholars involved in Chinese film and cultural studies. It is both accessible
to mainstream audiences and academically warranted.
As an adjunct to the documentary series, the written text explores
aspects of the same material in more depth through the use of structuralist
methodology, and psychoanalytic, auteur and genre theories. The text
combines these Western approaches with aspects of Chinese culture,
philosophy and aesthetic traditions, proposing links between Chinese
aesthetics and Western film theories that contribute new understandings
to both Chinese and Western film studies. On the other hand, because
these film theories were originally developed to study Western films, the
Chinese origins of the Huangmei Opera film genre may challenge existing
theoretical paradigms and so provide new interpretations. This doctoral
project also includes a complete report of all phases of the documentary
production and design process, and a unique, comprehensive filmography
of Huangmei Opera films, and as such supplies a research foundation
for both documentary filmmakers and academics who are interested in
studying the Huangmei Opera film genre further.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/216600 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Chen, Yeong-Rury, na. |
| Publisher | Swinburne University of Technology. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.swin.edu.au/), Copyright Yeong-Rury Chen |
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