Colonial Tactics and Everyday Life

Workers of the Manchuria Film Association

Yuxin Ma

• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9780299340209
• eBook ISBN:
  9780299340230
• Topic: Mezzi di comunicazione e arti performative
• Subtopic: Storia del XX secolo

Following the Japanese invasion of northeast China in 1931, the occupying authorities established the Manchuria Film Association to promote film production efficiency and serve Japan's propaganda needs. Manchuria Film Association had two tasks: to make "national policy films" as part of a cultural mission of educating Chinese in Manchukuo (the puppet state created in 1932) on the special relationship between Japan and the region, and to block the exhibition of Chinese films from Shanghai that contained anti-Japanese messages. The corporation relied on Japanese capital, technology, and film expertise, but it also employed many Chinese filmmakers. After the withdrawal of Japanese forces in 1945, many of these individuals were portrayed as either exploited victims or traitorous collaborators. Yuxin Ma seeks to move the conversation beyond such simplistic and inaccurate depictions.

By focusing on the daily challenges and experiences of the Chinese workers at the corporation, Ma examines how life was actually lived by people navigating between practical and ideological concerns. She illustrates how the inhabitants of Manchukuo navigated social opportunities, economic depression, educational reforms, fascist rule, commercial interests, practical daily needs, and more—and reveals ways in which these conflicting preoccupations sometimes manifested as tension and ambiguity on screen. In the battle between repression and expression, these Chinese actors, directors, writers, and technicians adopted defensive and opportunistic tactics. They did so in colonial spaces, often rejecting modernist representations of Manchukuo in favor of venerating traditional Chinese culture and values. The expertise, skills, and professional networks they developed extended well beyond the occupation into the postwar period, and may individuals reestablished themselves as cinema professionals in the socialist era.

Table of contents

• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Public Compliance and Personal Choices: Actors
• 2. Making Entertainment Movies for Chinese Audiences: Directors
• 3. Writing Films or on Films: Chinese Writers and Journalists
• 4. Technology Transcending Ideologies: Chinese Technicians
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Sketches of Key Figures
• Appendix B: Filmography with Synopsis
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index