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Confucianism and the Rise of Feminism’s Impact on the Image of Female Figures in Chinese Television and Films

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Date

2023

Authors

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Baker, Sarah

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Thesis

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Master of Communication Studies

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Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

This research examines the representation of Chinese women and gender relations in seven Chinese films and a television drama. My case studies include The Goddess (1934), New Women (1935), Song of Youth (1959), The Red Detachment of Women (1961), Hibiscus Town (1986), Women Human Demon (1987), Send Me to the Clouds (2019), and the television drama Nothing but Thirty (2020). These works overlap with four significant historical eras in China: The Republican era, the Mao era, the post-Mao era, and the post-2000 era, which reflect the impact of socio-political changes on gender in traditional Confucian Chinese society over time. The Republican era marked the end of the imperial system in China and the entrance of feminism, making this an important date to commence my research. The Mao era that followed was characterized by political movements aimed at mobilizing women to achieve a Maoist socialist society. Thereafter, the post-Mao era witnessed an enhancement of gender equality due to social reform and economic growth. Finally, the post-2000 era has seen a rapid increase in the perception of equal gender rights with the popularization of the internet. This research employs a qualitative research methodology using a textual analysis. In addition, the tapping into Confucian gender concepts and feminist theories such as Laura Mulvey's (1975) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Simone de Beauvoir's (1953) The Second Sex, and Chinese feminism will help examine how women's images and gender relations, formed by Confucianism, have changed in Chinese patriarchal society throughout four eras. The research findings reveal an increased representation of active and independent women and relatively increased equal rights in Chinese society. Chinese women have gradually discarded the passive and dependent roles emphasising kinship and reliance on men. Additionally, female protagonists in post-Mao and post-2000 eras are portrayed as autonomous and active individuals in society who seek personal fulfilment and fight against patriarchal rules.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10292/16597

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Masters Theses