Abstract:

"mainstream movie" is a term rich in connotation and an ideal film form with Chinese characteristics of being pragmatic and balanced while open and flexible. It has experienced a complicated process to sprout, grow and bloom with common understanding. It is a fruit born from a variety of ideologies which seek for cooperation in the multicultural context. In the present Chinese film market, commercial films, theme films and art films all present a "mainstreaming" trend in their own fields from different aspects, which can be described as: the commercialization of theme films, the mainstreaming in commercial films and the commercialization of art films. Despite various forms, these changes actually share the same essence of "massification". Mainstream films, which result from the coexistence and integration of various cultures, show the conflict and interfusion between the dominant culture and the commercial culture. They also reflect the diachronic and synchronic interaction, amalgamation, competition and transformation among the traditional culture, youth culture, Hong Kong culture and foreign cultures. The mainstreaming or massification of these cultural resources builds the multicultural pattern of mainstream movies while demonstrating features of "mainstream" art, aesthetics and culture.

Key words: mainstream movie, mainstreaming, massification, culture, cultural resources, aesthetics