Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.
Justine Xi: My article discusses the deviation of two films in style and intention from contemporary independent Chinese filmmakers commonly referred to as the Urban Generation or Sixth Generation. The article specifically points out an “anti-realist” style that is used to critique consumerism (contextualized in China’s rapid technological and economic growth), and also address the legacy of Chinese sociopolitical history in a different manner.
FM: What research and/or methodologies do you incorporate in your article?
JX: I viewed and studied many films and the surrounding discourse on common tropes already identified of Postsocialist Chinese independent cinema, paying attention to better-known filmmakers such as Jia Zhangke. I then compare a few Chinese independent films of the same time period which have not been studied in this context, and differ in those aspects that I discuss in the article.
FM: Describe the original context for/when writing this article while an undergraduate student.
JX: The original idea for this article came from an independent research assignment for my professor Dr. Burnett’s Global Art Cinema class. Interested in contemporary Chinese art, film, and culture, I began viewing and researching this subject.
FM: How has your department and/or institution supported your work in film and media?
JX: I was coming from a different department, so Film and Media Studies and my institution have supported an interdisciplinary education, which has encouraged and allowed me to find interest and overlap between film and media studies and my studies in art and anthropology.
FM: How has your faculty mentor fostered your advancement as a film scholar?
JX: Dr. Burnett challenges his students to critique contemporary scholarly review, even as undergraduate or first-time film students. He supports individual interests and ideas, and provides the resources he has, even if they have not been specifically discussed in the class curriculum.
FM: How has the Film Matters editorial and publication process impacted the development/evolution of your article?
JX: The goal of submitting my essay for publication encouraged me to further explore my interest in the subject. The original essay had a different film in place of Asia One that was closer in time period to Chicken Poets to support my argument. But after viewing Asia One in an exhibition after the class assignment, I decided to examine the same subject with changes and similarities across time, developing my argument and intent of the article.
FM: What audience do you hope to reach with your Film Matters article and/or what impact do you hope it has on the field of film studies?
JX: I hope that this article will bring to light the diversity and variation in contemporary Chinese independent cinema, and that those interested in or familiar with more popular contemporary Chinese independent films will have a more nuanced understanding of it.
FM: What are your future plans?
JX: I hope to study and engage in more media criticism in the future, and also continue producing work as an artist and perhaps filmmaker.
Author Biography
Justine Xi recently completed her Bachelor of Fine Art at Washington University in St. Louis with minors in Art History and Anthropology. She is currently a Bay Area-based multimedia artist and volunteer at the experimental film distributor Canyon Cinema.
