Introduction

This book determines the influences to Chinese popular culture by dividing the whole structure of popular culture into three major categories; they are media, arts and life-style respectively. Though the discussions of the political, economic and social perspectives in each categories; the author Latham deduces the historical background is the primary reason for the rapid development in China. Therefore, the author draws into a conclusion that the formation of today’s Chinese popular culture is contributed by historical causations.

Within this book, local Chinese film-makers are differentiated into several “generations” according their active years between 1910s to the 1980s. Generally, directors who produce movies after 1990s
Most of the state-owned enterprises were increasing autonomy during this period. The economy reforms lead to the changes within the film industry. However, it is difficult to judge whether the economic improvements are beneficial for the film directors. In the following paragraphs, the film industry circumstances for both the fifth and the sixth generation are investigated by referring to the history background in order to discuss the dominant positions and deprivations of each specific phase in China.

In the 1940s, before the Open Door Policy introduced in China by Deng Xiaoping the in 1978, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) adopted “antiforeignism” with the purpose of improving the loyalty and the ideology of the Chinese present toward the Centre (Chan, 1994). At that time movies were function as a political propaganda. Therefore, most of the content of the film were under monitored by the state censorship. Due to this restriction, the story-lines of local movies were becoming more predictable and regulated (Latham, 2007 & Yang, 1994). Also during the Cultural Revolution in the 1966, all the cultural products were under administration by Gang of Four; therefore, any art creations they disliked could possibly cause the death for the artists as well as film-makers. Consider the reasons behind; it was the recession the Chinese film industry before the Open door Policy. Since the death of Chairman Mao in the 1976, the film production restrictions are gradually relaxed. After that, the adoption of “Open Door Policy” had altered the film-making manufacture in an enormous