Feng Xiaogang’s Assembly is a war drama made in 2007, about the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949) in which the Communists and Nationalists battled for control of China. Produced by a state-run film studio, the film is based on a real account of a veteran army captain upholding his company honor. After almost twenty years of not making such films, the theme of “revolutionary struggle” is once again returning to China’s movie screens. This seminar uses this film text to discuss one of the most important cultural developments in China at the beginning of the twenty-first century: the re-configuration of both scholarly and popular consciousness about modern and contemporary Chinese history.
Registration required. Email ccs@berkeley.edu
Film showing: Monday, April 12, 4:00 p.m.
Dai Jinhua is the director of the Center for Film Studies and Cultural Studies at Beijing University, and the foremost feminist, “New Left” cultural critic in China. Her publications include Gendering China (Xingbie hongguo) (2006.) This spring she is the Townsend Resident Fellow based in the Rhetoric Department.