Whereas scholarship on Zhang Meng＇s acclaimed film The Piano in a Factory is scarce and mainly focuses on working-class identities, the present article contributes to the discussion by investigating the film＇s tragi...Whereas scholarship on Zhang Meng＇s acclaimed film The Piano in a Factory is scarce and mainly focuses on working-class identities, the present article contributes to the discussion by investigating the film＇s tragicomic style. By taking an existentialist viewpoint about the absurd, it demonstrates that the furloughed workers in fact live in an absurdist existence. Moreover, the changing era rather than character flaws is blamed for the absurdity. Specific images are examined in order to reveal a symbolism having to do with the demise of industrialism and the advent of commercialism. While absurdity is the undercurrent, the characters use humor as a strategy to evade, elude, and cope with life. The third section employs theories of comedy to investigate the comicality of the movie, which derives from exaggeration of negative traits in the characters. The paper argues that by manipulating the scenario at the end, Zhang holds out hope for the working-class＇ future. Piano is hence able to transcend the absurdist existence and end up with joy, hope and faith.展开更多
This article focuses on representations of Emperor Qin Shihuang＇s necropolis, an example of the tomb as a special form of landscape in Chinese literature and visual culture. Unlike remnants of other historic structur...This article focuses on representations of Emperor Qin Shihuang＇s necropolis, an example of the tomb as a special form of landscape in Chinese literature and visual culture. Unlike remnants of other historic structures, the tomb is built to be an enclosed space and is contained in its own system of time. If a tomb is broken into, its system of time/space is fractured, and it becomes a ruin from the point of view of both its own historical function and its larger contemporary context. Both Chinese and American popular culture have a demonstrated fascination with breaking into Emperor Qin Shihuang＇s tomb. This article provides an analysis of three groups of texts from China and the United States, including Lilian Lee＇s novella The Terracotta Warrior and its screen adaptations, the 2005 film The Myth, directed by Stanley Tong, and its TV adaptation, and American texts including the 2001 NBC TV movie The Lost Empire, directed by Peter MacDonald, and the 2008 film The Mummy： Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, directed by Rob Cohen. After demonstrating how the special chronotope of Qin Shihuang＇s tomb directly affects the major thematic developments of these texts, this article then examines and compares how the different groups of texts confront the topics of death and immortality, excavation vs. preservation, and good vs. evil in ways that reflect the politics of representation.展开更多
文摘Whereas scholarship on Zhang Meng＇s acclaimed film The Piano in a Factory is scarce and mainly focuses on working-class identities, the present article contributes to the discussion by investigating the film＇s tragicomic style. By taking an existentialist viewpoint about the absurd, it demonstrates that the furloughed workers in fact live in an absurdist existence. Moreover, the changing era rather than character flaws is blamed for the absurdity. Specific images are examined in order to reveal a symbolism having to do with the demise of industrialism and the advent of commercialism. While absurdity is the undercurrent, the characters use humor as a strategy to evade, elude, and cope with life. The third section employs theories of comedy to investigate the comicality of the movie, which derives from exaggeration of negative traits in the characters. The paper argues that by manipulating the scenario at the end, Zhang holds out hope for the working-class＇ future. Piano is hence able to transcend the absurdist existence and end up with joy, hope and faith.
文摘This article focuses on representations of Emperor Qin Shihuang＇s necropolis, an example of the tomb as a special form of landscape in Chinese literature and visual culture. Unlike remnants of other historic structures, the tomb is built to be an enclosed space and is contained in its own system of time. If a tomb is broken into, its system of time/space is fractured, and it becomes a ruin from the point of view of both its own historical function and its larger contemporary context. Both Chinese and American popular culture have a demonstrated fascination with breaking into Emperor Qin Shihuang＇s tomb. This article provides an analysis of three groups of texts from China and the United States, including Lilian Lee＇s novella The Terracotta Warrior and its screen adaptations, the 2005 film The Myth, directed by Stanley Tong, and its TV adaptation, and American texts including the 2001 NBC TV movie The Lost Empire, directed by Peter MacDonald, and the 2008 film The Mummy： Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, directed by Rob Cohen. After demonstrating how the special chronotope of Qin Shihuang＇s tomb directly affects the major thematic developments of these texts, this article then examines and compares how the different groups of texts confront the topics of death and immortality, excavation vs. preservation, and good vs. evil in ways that reflect the politics of representation.
