Warm Snow and Setting Sun A Comparison of Male Images in Chinese and British Working-class Images
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61173/eb81h465Keywords:
Masculinity, Working-Class Cinema, Comparative StudyAbstract
This paper explores the similar predicaments and spiritual qualities of working-class men in China and England during periods of economic transition and social transformation by comparing their representations in cinema from Northeast China and Northern England. Despite the distinct geographical and cultural backgrounds of the Chinese and English working classes, their cinematic male images both emerge as “stragglers” of epochal upheaval: experiencing the collapse of their economic foundation, the dissolution of traditional masculinity, and the erosion of familial authority. The difference lies in the emphasis: British films focus more on individual resistance and conflicts over gender roles, while Chinese films highlight self-discipline under collective memory and national narratives. Beneath these differences, both employ the form of “tragicomedy,” using humor to counterpoint underlying tragedy, thereby revealing the universal plight of the working class amidst the tides of globalization and marketization. This prompts reflection on human resilience in turbulent times.
References
[1] Ju, W. (2015). The construction of male images in contemporary British cinema (1959-2014) [Doctoral dissertation, East China Normal University]. China National Knowledge Infrastructure. https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/ abstract?v=6h6U53PWxNTk7kHxBNgqc-FLeSGxFVkzuxh- A S D m i m f j d S t m G O - w _ 6 X K b S C I I 4 P v T Y Q 4 o q a l - H Z x Yv R k F D d p B K a S 1 e A h t l 0 J z Y n V N _ m 0 y e H - CmCT_29PKEBbsH_P8nW-Hf7sm3eoGQm314QcFWijgHe_3 MFrULg8JHpUPEa_x3dHiit7_WAlg1AOKbHxAwauuoBjd8Ja ZIY=&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS
[2] Farrell, K. (2003). Naked nation: The Full Monty, workingclass masculinity, and the British image. Men and Masculinities, Dean&Francis Bochen Wang 6(2), 119–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X03255844
[3] Su, Y. (2021). The pain of reality and the human condition: The realist aesthetic practice of new Northeastern cinema. Film Review, 2, 86–90. https://doi.org/10.16583/j.cnki.52-1014/ j.2021.02.018
[4] Liu, Y. (2013). Memory and production: A review of the film The Piano in a Factory. Cultural Studies, 1, 42–51. Liu, Y. (2018). Shuang Xuetao’s fiction and the suspense narrative of China’s old industrial areas in the contemporary era: Focusing on Moses on the Plain. Literature & Art Studies, 12, 15–24. Liu, Y. (2019). Northeast experience at the turn of the century, anti-automation writing, and the rise of a fictional city: A comprehensive discussion of Shenyang narratives in the works of Shuang Xuetao, Ban Yu, and Zheng Zhi. Wenyi Zhengming, 11, 22–31. Liu, Y. (2022). The Doctors Zhang and Wang and the discourse of “Northeast Renaissance” in the context of cross-domain cultural production. Modern Chinese Literature Studies, 5, 122–141. https://doi.org/10.16287/j.cnki. cn11-2589/i.2022.05.009 Liang, Z., Li, Z., & Ding, C. (2018). An empirical study on the wave of SOE layoffs and crime rates. World Economic Papers, 1, 22–43. Hall, S. (1988). The hard road to renewal: Thatcherism and the crisis of the left. Verso.
[5] Liu, F., & Kang, J. (2011). The Piano in a Factory: Warmth, hardship, and ideals behind making a piano the local way. Journal of Beijing Film Academy, 6, 87–91.
[6] Liu, Y. (2013). Memory and production: A review of the film The Piano in a Factory. Cultural Studies, 1, 42–51.
[7] Chen, A. (2019). Narrative techniques in The Full Monty. Communication Power Research, 19, 66.
[8] Liu, Y. (2013). Memory and production: A review of the film The Piano in a Factory. Cultural Studies, 1, 42–51.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 by the authors.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
