Chinese masculinity as a concept can be observed as early as the Zhou dynasty (Hinsch,2013). The transformation of Chinese masculinity has taken place many times since then and much research has emerged regarding how it is portrayed in Taiwanese and Hong Kong films. However, research on Chinese masculinity in Mainland films is limited, primarily because the film industry started to develop only after the Open-door policy in 1970s. Even though this was only four decades ago, significant changes to Chinese masculinity can be seen in these films. Within the genre of youth love films, where the central protagonists are young and belong to the wealthy working class, an increasing number of male characters appear to be feminized. In contrast, the
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This film shows how Chinese police officers strived against difficulties to bring back justice to victims’ family in China. I wish to prove that the patriotism displayed by the protagonists are used to show their masculinity in the film. Furthermore, there are countless fighting scenes done by the main characters Gao Gang and Fang Xin Wu. Naked upper body is always shown in fighting scenes. I wish to find the evidence to show how male bodies is objectified (Rehling,2010) and used to attract the female audience. Then, I want to use this film to illustrate how Chinese Wu masculinity has changed in some aspect, meanwhile most of characteristics of Wu heroes still remains. Next, I will focus on Love is not Blind (2011). The film talks about a girly man who is afraid of expressing his love to his dream girl and the female protagonist is the one who take one step further to confess in the end. Men shows famine traits such as caring, careful and neat whereas women are more careless and unable to take care of oneself. There is difference between the traditional love films and the ones nowadays. Thus, I aim to examine the how feminized masculinity is portrayed in the film. Finally, I will assess the extent of transformation of Chinese masculinity by comparing these two …show more content…
That includes research papers and E-books which focus on the analysis of Chinese masculinity and the changes of China society after the Open-door policy. Kam Louie (2002) talks about the changes of Chinese wu masculinity in Hong Kong and Taiwan films by using three superstars as examples. A key limitation of Kam’s article is that he fails to examine the Chinese masculinity in mainland which is a major component of Chinese society. Therefore, I wish to intend to extend Kam Louie’s argument in examining the transformation of Chinese masculinity in mainland films in 21st century. Furthermore, I will use the analysis done by Bryn Williams (2008) on the traditional traits of Chinese masculinity and make a comparison between the traditional ones and the current forms of masculinity. Hence, from the comparison, I would be able to see the transformation of Chinese masculinity. Next, the research done by Jankowiak, Li (2014) and Song (2010) provides me with the information about China social changes and people’s perception of gender difference. That will further my analysis by linking what is happening in the movie and what is happening in the society now and eventually find out the underlying reasons behind the transformations of
This film shows how Chinese police officers strived against difficulties to bring back justice to victims’ family in China. I wish to prove that the patriotism displayed by the protagonists are used to show their masculinity in the film. Furthermore, there are countless fighting scenes done by the main characters Gao Gang and Fang Xin Wu. Naked upper body is always shown in fighting scenes. I wish to find the evidence to show how male bodies is objectified (Rehling,2010) and used to attract the female audience. Then, I want to use this film to illustrate how Chinese Wu masculinity has changed in some aspect, meanwhile most of characteristics of Wu heroes still remains. Next, I will focus on Love is not Blind (2011). The film talks about a girly man who is afraid of expressing his love to his dream girl and the female protagonist is the one who take one step further to confess in the end. Men shows famine traits such as caring, careful and neat whereas women are more careless and unable to take care of oneself. There is difference between the traditional love films and the ones nowadays. Thus, I aim to examine the how feminized masculinity is portrayed in the film. Finally, I will assess the extent of transformation of Chinese masculinity by comparing these two …show more content…
That includes research papers and E-books which focus on the analysis of Chinese masculinity and the changes of China society after the Open-door policy. Kam Louie (2002) talks about the changes of Chinese wu masculinity in Hong Kong and Taiwan films by using three superstars as examples. A key limitation of Kam’s article is that he fails to examine the Chinese masculinity in mainland which is a major component of Chinese society. Therefore, I wish to intend to extend Kam Louie’s argument in examining the transformation of Chinese masculinity in mainland films in 21st century. Furthermore, I will use the analysis done by Bryn Williams (2008) on the traditional traits of Chinese masculinity and make a comparison between the traditional ones and the current forms of masculinity. Hence, from the comparison, I would be able to see the transformation of Chinese masculinity. Next, the research done by Jankowiak, Li (2014) and Song (2010) provides me with the information about China social changes and people’s perception of gender difference. That will further my analysis by linking what is happening in the movie and what is happening in the society now and eventually find out the underlying reasons behind the transformations of