Overview
- Examines the significance of Chinese independent animation that reflecting the current sociocultural changes
- Considers independent animation as a social mirror reveals artistic individuality and cultural identity
- Investigates the parallel paths and strategies that different artists constantly negotiate with the hegemonic power in contemporary China
Part of the book series: Palgrave Animation (PAANI)
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This study of ‘independent’ animation opens up a quietly subversive and vibrant dimension of contemporary Chinese culture which, hitherto, has not received as much attention as dissident art or political activism. Scholarly interest in Chinese animation has increased over the last decade, with attention paid to the conventional media circle of production, distribution and consumption. The ‘independent’ sector has been largely ignored however, until now. By focusing on distinctive independent artists like Pisan and Lei Lei, and situating their work within the present day media ecology, the author examines the relationship between the genre and the sociocultural transformation of contemporary China. Animation, the author argues, has a special significance, as the nature of the animation text is itself multilayered and given to multiple interpretations and avenues of engagement. Through an examination of the affordances of this ‘independent’ media entity, the author explores how this multifaceted cultural form reveals ambiguities that parallel contradictions in art and society. In so doing, independent animation provides a convenient ‘mirror’ for examining how recent social upheavals have been negotiated, and how certain practitioners have found effective ways for discussing the post-Socialist reality within the current political configuration.
Reviews
“a much-needed close study of Chinese independent animation as a phenomenon. Wenhai Zhou uses an ambitious methodological framework to make sense of what can often seem a dauntingly nebulous new field, poles apart from the clear-cut canon of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. Rather than constructing an artificially static model, Zhou embraces the dynamic nature of contemporary Chinese animation and offers a number of useful conceptualizations through which to study it.” (Isabel Galwey, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
“Chinese Independent Animation is a valuable contribution to an area of animation studies previously neglected. Notions of national cinema are often problematic but here Aaron Wenhai Zhou addresses this in a thoughtful way, taking historic and cultural context into account. The inclusion of in-depth interviews makes this a vital resource for anyone interested in independent animation in both China and world-wide.” (Dr Nichola Dobson, Lecturer in Animation and Director of Postgraduate Research, University of Edinburgh)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Aaron Wenhai Zhou received his PhD in Screen and Media Studies at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. His research focuses on the realm of Chinese independent animation in context with sociocultural transformations during the post-socialist era. Currently, he is involved with the 8th of CIAFF (China Independent Animation Film Forum) working on different projects. His areas of research combine Chinese studies and media studies.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Chinese Independent Animation
Book Subtitle: Renegotiating Identity in Modern China
Authors: Wenhai Zhou
Series Title: Palgrave Animation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40697-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-40696-7Published: 24 April 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-40699-8Published: 25 April 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-40697-4Published: 23 April 2020
Series ISSN: 2523-8086
Series E-ISSN: 2523-8094
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XII, 222
Number of Illustrations: 42 b/w illustrations
Topics: Animation, Asian Cinema and TV