Abstract: Glorious Happy Land and North China at Dawn are two important “Cultural Movies” made in 1937 by Manchou Film Association. An indepth analysis of the two short documentaries reveals that Manchou Film Association had a part to play in Japan’s “invasion” and “domination” of Manchuria. On the other hand, the analysis also brings to light ambiguous ideological and cultural symptoms of the Puppet Regime which was set up by the Japanese invaders and served as a tool of control and domination. The article argues that in these two movies, Manchou Film Association clearly preached the “Manchou concept” and advocated the policies pursued by the Kwantung Army in North China. In addition, Manchou Film Association, with its manipulation of the imperial gaze at the rural Other and the representation of the cosmopolitan Self, helped to create an imperial “continental illusion” and thus collaborated in Japan’s colonial domination and expansion. In the two movies, the perfect juxtaposition of the imperial gaze and self representation demonstrates exactly the hypocrisy and falsehood of such ideas as “JapanManchou as an united whole” and “peace in the east Asia” as advocated by the Japanese invaders in their “state policy movies”.

Key words: Manchou Film Association, cultural movies, empire and colonization, imperial gaze at the rural Other, representation of cosmopolitan Self