Happy Lunar New Year from the USC US-China Institute!
Queer Night!
Part of the Jack H. Skirball Screening Series - New Chinese Cinema: The Unofficial Stories of Tang Tang, Fourth Child, Little Moth and Others
Where
Zhang Hanzi: Tang Tang
China, 2004, 92 min., Betacam SP
Los Angeles premiere
An alluring mixture of documentary and fiction about the fabulous nights (sequins, wigs, feathers, high heels, make-up, glittery camp outfits bought in discount stores), grey mornings and cross-gender love affairs (here a man, there a lesbian) of a drag queen—sorry, “reversed role actor”— in Beijing. A certain kernel of truth is forever missed – more tease than strip here, and the film sometimes takes the spectator on a ride of cheap thrills – but there are moments (staged or not) in which the real asserts itself with a quiet violence: an exchange of gaze between two tired show-girls in a dingy dressing room, two male lovers buying underwear together, a ride in a taxi, a domestic quarrel in an unkempt apartment.
Followed by
Cui Zi’en: Withered in a Blooming Season (Shaonian Hua Cao Huang)
China, 2005, 90 min. Betacam SP
U.S. premiere
Looking at post-socialist dysfunctional families, Cui, godfather of the queer underground, follows Cocteau’s tropes in his description of a claustrophobic situation between a young girl and the brother who is obsessed by her – while being attracted to a very gay lad. He weaves it with the Fassbinder-inspired plot of a hard businesswoman mother who sleeps with her young staff – and, upon discovering that the man has impregnated her daughter, forces him to break up with her on the phone. Mixing melodrama and sassiness, Cui coins a totally queer story: two boys in bed, a girl near them, a baby en route, grown-ups are shit, so is the outside world, my sister, my love, my sissy boy, aren’t we happy.
Featured Articles
We note the passing of many prominent individuals who played some role in U.S.-China affairs, whether in politics, economics or in helping people in one place understand the other.
Events
Ying Zhu looks at new developments for Chinese and global streaming services.
David Zweig examines China's talent recruitment efforts, particularly towards those scientists and engineers who left China for further study. U.S. universities, labs and companies have long brought in talent from China. Are such people still welcome?