Markets and the Political Poster in Chinese film

This paper discusses the role of the political poster in Chinese film since 1950, with particular reference to the emergence of the market economy since 1979. The paper argues that whilst there is an integration of media address across films and posters across the period, there is also evidence of an ironic deployment of poster messages and slogans in film. Posters are displayed in private homes, but also in public venues, open spaces, and institutional settings. Juxtaposition between posters and the market-place is not unusual therefore, and works as an effective storytelling mechanism – capturing both the layered spatialisation of politics and society in recent Chinese history, and the ironies of contradiction embedded in accelerated development in an authoritarian state. The argument draws on concepts of inertia, acceleration, and uneven development in exploring the role of poster art in storytelling on film.

Professor Stephanie Hemelryk Donald is currently a Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor at the Centre for World Cinemas at the University of Leeds. Following a first degree in Chinese at the University of Oxford and a DPhil  on Chinese film at University of Sussex (1997), she emigrated to Australia, where she has worked ever since. Her research covers film, the media, and children’s experiences in the Asia-Pacific region, with a particular focus on visual culture. Previous positions held include  Professor of Chinese Media Studies at the University of Sydney, and Foundation Dean of Media and Communication at RMIT University, Melbourne. She has recently been awarded a prestigious Future Fellowship by the Australian Research Council, which she will take up at the University of New South Wales in May 2012. Recent work is published by Theory, Culture and Society,  New Formations, and MIA.