A fantasy China: an investigation of the Huangmei Opera Film genre through the documentary film medium

This doctoral research project intends to institute the study of the unique and significant Huangmei Opera film genre by pioneering in making a series of documentaries and writing an academic text. The combination of a documentary series and academic writing not only explores the relationship between the distinctive characteristics of the Huangmei Opera film genre and its enduring popularity for its fans, but also advances a film research mode grounded in practitioner research, where the activity of filmmaking and the study of film theory support and reflect on each other. The documentary series, which incorporates three interrelated subjects - Classic Beauty: Le Di, Scenic Writing Director: Li Han Hsiang and Brother Lian: Ling Po - explores the remarkable film careers of each figure while discussing the social and cultural context in which they worked. The section on Le Di introduces the subject of melodrama as a Chinese tradition. The section on Li Han Hsiang discusses Li's film aesthetics and his representation of a utopian Chinese world of the imagination. The final section focuses on the popularity actor Ling Po gained through her roles of male impersonation. All three topics provide an opportunity to rethink our understanding of the social, political and cultural forces that contribute to the genre, and to build an emotional connection between past and present for the viewers. Meanwhile, by interviewing those surviving key figures and assembling materials that have been lost, the documentary series not only fulfils the needs of many fans, but also serves field studies in the area by setting a direction in research and providing a valuable resource for scholars involved in Chinese film and cultural studies. It is both accessible to mainstream audiences and academically warranted. As an adjunct to the documentary series, the written text explores aspects of the same material in more depth through the use of structuralist methodology, and psychoanalytic, auteur and genre theories. The text combines these Western approaches with aspects of Chinese culture, philosophy and aesthetic traditions, proposing links between Chinese aesthetics and Western film theories that contribute new understandings to both Chinese and Western film studies. On the other hand, because these film theories were originally developed to study Western films, the Chinese origins of the Huangmei Opera film genre may challenge existing theoretical paradigms and so provide new interpretations. This doctoral project also includes a complete report of all phases of the documentary production and design process, and a unique, comprehensive filmography of Huangmei Opera films, and as such supplies a research foundation for both documentary filmmakers and academics who are interested in studying the Huangmei Opera film genre further.