Journal of Shanghai University (Social Science Edition)

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Two Extremes as Commercial and Classic
——The "Same Goal by Different Routes" of Jiang
Wen' s Highbrow and Feng XiaoGang' s Lowbrow

  

  • Received:2008-12-31 Online:2009-09-15 Published:2009-09-15

Abstract:

 Both Feng Xiaogang' s works and Jiang Wen' s works are representatives of the ChinesFe film at the turn of the century. While the former, through grassroots mentality and carnival discourse, displays a kind of rare temperament in citizens, the latter, by way of the almost "paranoid" spirit of art, seeks for the "classic" and "immortal" in the industrialized wave, and becomes the most dedicated "inquirer of soul" of the Chinese humanities film since Yellow Earth. Indeed, Jiang holds such a "classic" viewpoint of film arts that he thinks that the ideological, artistic levels in films gradually "grow" out of shooting process, in which, accidents, sufferings and pains determine all final forms excepting for the standard products on the assembly line. But Feng' s expression of selfdeconstruction, which has a kind of propitiatory imagination and ridiculous tone, makes his films turn from the suspected spirit to the reverse of criticism and subversion, showing a life attitude towards nihilism and modern cynicism. Although both Feng' s manipulation of commercial factors and Jiang' s effort to regard artistry as the highest goal can not be faultless, their works carry out a noticeable "extremes" exploration, thus supplying the Chinese film in dilemma with a way to indigenization, which gets out of the "Hollywood effect".

Key words:   Feng Xiaogang; Jiang Wen; commercialization; artistry; the turn of the century; Chinese film