《中国电影研究》第三期|聶偉:The Entropy Change of the Sixth Generation

 

Keywords: six generation, Chinese film, entropy change, genre film, microfilm

To Cite This Article:

3 A Glimpse of the Article

Energy Transformation and Genre Film Practice (2009–2010)

Nie, Wei. "The Generation, Transformation, and Dissipation of the “Sixth Generation” Cinema in China: The Entropy Change of a Concept" Journal of Chinese Film Studies, vol. 1, no. 2, 2021, pp. 377-397. https://doi.org/10.1515/jcfs-2021-0033

有意思的是,該族群終獲“驗明正身”的一剎那,恰恰啟動了“夾縫一代”概念的解體——“第五代”由此步入過去式,成為一種不斷向後釋放“負面影響的恐懼”的發展史術語。愈來愈多的青年影人爭相投身於國際、國內影片市場,多方位地消費“第五代”國際品牌,使之演變為成份龐雜的“混種性”概念。當維繫“這一代”的種名僅僅在商業國際品牌的市場象徵意義上具備關聯性的這時候,也開啟了中國影片新世紀以來的“無代”敘事。

The “Micro-era” and “Micro Reality” of the Film (2011 and Later)

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jcfs-2021-0033/html

《中国电影研究》

《中国电影研究》第二卷第三期

第五代編劇最初自發的創作衝動集中爆發於上世紀末。自己的創作熱量源於個體內心深處實戰經驗的累積,那些與轉型期中國影片管理體制維持疏遠關係的“影片遊俠”秉持“我的記憶我做主”的心態,以回憶錄、半回憶錄式的口氣講訴周遭生活世界。

熱量置換與類別實踐(2009—2010)

In the year 2009, when “Shanzhaiism” went rampant nationwide, the transformation of the Sixth Generation kicked off again. This time they were leaning on genre film and made “high copies” of the Hollywood commercial films and the mode of mainstream filmmaking. However, films such as Da Da’s Dance (Dada,2008), Chongqing Blues(Rizhao Chongqing, 2010), I Wish I Knew, Driverless (Wurenjiashi, 2010), and Apart Together (Tuanyuan, 2010) were accused of “a halfway transformation and an unalterably stubborn temper.” As exemplified in the extreme case of Zhang Yuan’s new feature Da Da’s Dance, which constantly reflects the films of He Jianjun’s Postman (Youchai, 1995), Zhang Ming’s In Expectation (Wushan yunyu, 1996), and Wang Chao’s Luxury Car (Jiangcheng xiari, 2006). Da Da’s Dance is like a narrative and aesthetic return to the early works of the Sixth Generation focused on urban youth: featuring a predetermined fate of running away, a banal plot dominated by the salvation of the peeper, and an everlasting and depressing dream of adolescence. The sluggish pace, together with the lack of nondiegetic music and the stage manners of the nonprofessional actors, makes it difficult for the mass market to embrace and digest its aesthetics. The lack of experiences of the Sixth Generation directors was thus fully exposed, and the following question came naturally: why is it so difficult for the Sixth Generation directors to step out from the initial stereotype of coming-of-age stories based on their memories and experiences to stride into the new creative space and establish a more intimate aesthetic that could connect with a broader audience?

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編輯:莫珺茹

Wei Nie is a professor of Film Studies at Shanghai University. His research interests include the Chinese film industry and culture, Asian films, and new media. He is the author of Chinese-Language Cinema and the Pan-Asian Practice (2010) and Exploring the Chinese Film Industry (2010–2020): The Perspective of Supply-Side Reform (2021), and the chief editor of Studies on the Six Generation Directors (2014) and Film Criticism: Image Codes and Chinese Interpretations (2010).

重述發展史熱點也是第五代編劇嘗試的創作求變之路。《南京!南京!》與《斗牛》證明了國族發展史之於當下影片創作的使命象徵意義。特別是管虎的《斗牛》以其個性化創作與少數民族發展史記憶的內化合一,提問了觀眾們對第五代編劇“不擅於講訴大發展史”的普遍批評。正如《庄子·达生》所言,內心深處不懷“慶賞爵祿”,不懷“非譽巧拙”,達至“以天合天”的物我合一,編劇不但忠於個體的本真實戰經驗,但是也把求索少數民族發展史真相內化成自身的思想市場需求。

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The end of the twentieth century witnessed the collective outburst of spontaneous creativity of the Sixth Generation who drew their initial inspiration and energy from the accumulation of raw personal experiences. These outcast heroes remained estranged from the Chinese film apparatus during the transformation era. Determined to record and interpret their memories in their own way, they chose to present their lived reality with an autobiographical or semi-autobiographical narrative.

概念生成:個體實戰經驗的熱量爆發(1990—2003)

在國產片“山寨風”甚囂塵上的2009年,第五代編劇再次啟動轉型之旅。這一次自己借重的資源主要是類型片模式、“高仿”荷里活商業片與主流電影製作。但,《达达》、《日照重庆》、《海上传奇》、《无人驾驶》、《团圆》仍然沒有徹底擺脫“轉型不徹底、不免老脾氣”的表演藝術風格慣性。做為一個極端的例證,張元的續集《达达》依稀閃現《邮差》、《巫山云雨》、《江城夏日》的影子,更像是對晚期“第五代”都市青春題材敘事美學的“返祖”:一個投奔與找尋的故事情節命運,一套偷拍與救贖的陳舊邏輯搬演,一段長久壓抑始終無法醒來的青春夢魘。影片節拍較慢拖沓,缺少無聲源配樂,非職業演員的思想個性相距普通大眾的審美觀趣味性仍然遙遠。至此,編劇創作經驗的貧乏暴露無遺:為什么第五代電影人返回個人記憶原型的第一步成長故事,多半遲遲無法跨入新的表演藝術空間,難以和觀眾們族群創建更加緊密的感情與美學關連?

1 About the Author

聶偉 Wei Nie

The overwhelming power of the early works of the Sixth Generation derives from the rawness and authenticity of individual experiences drawn out by the disorganized creative impulses. The cultural capital accumulated by the community of the Sixth Generation filmmakers neared its peak within a decade at the turn of the new century. Meanwhile, external forces shaped the creative work of Sixth Generation filmmakers with the invisible hand of the market. By the end of 2003, as “the ban was lifted,” these directors gradually outgrew the chaotic state in which each of them fought their own battles alone and entered a period of organized development when they consciously took advantage of mainstream market resources, cultural capital, and techniques.

一個概念的熵變:第五代影片的生成、轉型與消退

Abstract: Ever since its advent in the 1990s, the term “Sixth Generation,” as a postulated label, has so far run the course of three consecutive phases: generation, transformation, and dissipation. In the first phase (1990–2003), the Sixth Generationdirectors based their films on the authenticity of their individual experiences and significantly altered the structure of cinematic power and aesthetic expression in China. The second phase (2003–2008) witnessed the group’s entry into a period characterized by a “generation-less” narrative drawing closer to mainstream cultural capital, market, and filmic techniques. The market overexploited the label of the Sixth Generation, and its independent identity was corrupted. 2009 and 2010 constituted the third phase in which the Sixth Generation sought all the possibilities for market survival by shooting a wide range of films, from mainstream production to commercial films. Since 2011, the label “Sixth Generation” went through a process of self-dissolution. Nevertheless, these directors once again came together on the platform of new media, transforming their energy through microfilm and continuingto exert social influence directly or indirectly.

以無序化的創作衝動爆發出個體心靈的內在實戰經驗,構成了第五代編劇晚期經典作品打動人心的熱量之源。新世紀前後,第五代影片族群的人文資本積累幾乎到達多年的最低閾值,而外部力量也適時介入進去,藉助市場之手實現對第五代影片創作的強力鼓勵。2003月底之後,第五代編劇集體“解禁”,從各自為營的無序狀態,轉向自覺利用主流人文資本、主流市場資源與主流影片技術手段的有序經濟發展。

無數的“影片民工”經由新新媒體,以“遊民影片”的特徵敘述大時代的細微變動,在宏偉話語的背面找尋適宜自身言說的“微時代”圖像表達,步入了本雅明象徵意義上的“內部世界”敘事。廣為流傳於互聯網虛擬社區的微影片以自我保護的坐姿將自身構築成與外在世界暫時阻隔的空間,但是又如本雅明所言的,“空間偽裝自身”,“潛意識地保持著一種鬥爭和防禦的坐姿”,但最終內部世界無法抗拒外在空間,它僅僅發生改變了外部世界有如海市蜃樓般的聽覺攻擊性。

The Exploitation and Transformation of the Concept (2003–2008)

From the online video, podcast to the trendy microfilm, the “micro-era” media context seems to be nourishing for the multifaceted extension of the Sixth generation in its grass-roots narrative and “Aesthetics of the People.” [...] Even so, the Sixth Generation directors are still racing to acclaim and celebrating the coming era of microfilm in the 10th year of the twenty-first century, just like their warm embrace of DV in the 1990s. Compared to traditional film, microfilm bears the advantages of lower budget, richer themes, fewer limitations, faster spreading, and a more casual mood of the creators (Sun 2011). This gives the new media overflow effects in its value (Levinson 2009/2011). After tens of millions of online sharing, forwarding, or comments, the production process has already created a huge crowd of onlookers in the virtual world. While the reform of the film rating system is still indefinitely delayed within the current traditional film apparatus and the segmentation of the market greatly boosts a burgeoning business, the directors do count on microfilm, as the virtual imagined community, to promote the effective development and collective sharing of the video market of new media.

It is interesting to notice that by the time the Sixth Generation was officially embraced by the administrators, the dissolution of the “the generation rooted in the crack” also got started; the term Sixth Generation has since then begun to be used in the past tense, a historical concept which gives off “the anxiety of implications.” More young filmmakers swarmed into the domestic and international film market and branded themselves as the Sixth Generation, propelling its evolution into a hybrid concept. When the coherence within the generation is limited to the market value of a shared brand, the new era of Chinese film history characterized by the “generation-less” narrative came about in the new century (Jia 2006).

在技術層面,因資本體量限制只好而使用的小製作形式,因技術條件破舊而偏重於內景或光線下的直接攝製,因表演藝術技巧青澀而偏重於長鏡頭攝影的敘事共性,“第六代”經典作品呈現出另類而率嗎個性,截然不同於第四代編劇的宏偉敘事虛構,將彼時乏味的中國電影美學撕破了一個缺口。

The Generation of the Concept (1990–2003)

2 Abstract and Keywords

Some directors try to attain creative transformation by recounting a widely-known history. City of Life and Death(Nanjing, Nanjing, 2009) and Cow (Dou niu,2009) demonstrate the missions national history can confer to the films. As are markable synthesis of individual innovation and shared memory of national history, Guan Hu’s Cow serves as a riposte to the popular view that the Sixth Generation “is inept in presenting the grand history.” In A Thorough Understanding of Life excerpted from Chuang Tzu, a good craftsman is portrayed as one who pays no attention to rewards and gains, and refuses to be distracted by critics, so the match between his natural disposition and the natural disposition of the object can be achieved. In the same way, the director of Cow remains faithful to the raw experiences of individuals and locates the juncture that fits the pursuit of the authenticity of the national history into his spiritual agenda.

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本文為“開放以獲取”,讓科學知識傳播得更遠。

聶偉,清華大學影片學副教授,科學研究生導師。主要學術科學研究應用領域包含中國影片產業發展人文、亞洲地區影片和新媒體科學研究。專著有《华语电影与泛亚实践》《中国电影产业十年探察:基于供给侧改革的视角》等,總編輯《第六代导演研究》《电影批评:影像符码与中国阐释》等。

影片“微時代”與“微現實生活”(2011年及之後)

In terms of techniques, the Sixth Generation is marked by low budget production curbed by capital size, excessive direct shots taken indoors or in natural light due to inferior equipment, and the directors’ penchant for exceptional, long takes marred by artistic immaturity. The alternative and authentic outlook presented in the films of the Sixth Generation, distinctive from the grand and fictional narrative of the Fifth Generation, tore a hole in the then dreary cinematic aesthetics of the Chinese mainland.

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From the spectator’s point of view, the Sixth Generation speaks to the multifaceted spiritual interests of the cultural communities of the young people in the reform era (Nie 2006). Their refreshing narratology differed from Hollywood’s conventional storytelling, while their artistic style was deeply influenced by the European avant-garde and neorealism, and their reflective camera work catered to the taste fostered by urban youth. These young filmmakers gathered under the banner of the Sixth Generation were uninterested in creating aesthetic spectacles with blockbusters. Instead, they dedicated themselves to pursuing China’s aesthetics of cinema verité while quenching the “spiritual thirst” yielded by an era of drastic transformation.

從互聯網視頻到播客,乃至當下流行的微影片,“微時代”的新聞媒體語境或許為第五代編劇念茲在茲的底層敘事與“人民美學”進一步孕育出多元生長的創作沉積物。但此種沉積物本身蘊藏的理智熱量尚待商榷。…… 即使如此,第五代編劇仍然像20世紀末90二十世紀熱烈擁抱DV那般,在21世紀末的第六個年頭爭相喝彩微影片時代的來臨。較之傳統影片,微影片製作效率更高昂、“題材更多樣、侷限更小、傳播速度更快更廣泛、創作心態更輕鬆隨意”,前述特徵形成了新新新聞媒體的價值溢出效應。經由數以千萬計的共享、轉發、評論家,微影片的製作過程自身儼然營造出虛擬世界數目龐大的集體圍觀。在現存傳統影片管理體制下分級制體制改革尚付闕如、分眾消費市場情緒高漲的局勢下,自己希望利用微影片這一虛擬的“想像的共同體”,順利完成新新聞媒體視頻市場的高效率研發與街道社區分享。

Journal of Chinese Film Studies立足於中國,面向國際,旨在搭建世界級國際學術科學研究網絡平臺,刊登海內外高水平的中國影片科研成果,強化相同文化背景的科學研究者之間的對話和溝通交流,促進海內外影片科學研究界積極開展交流與戰略合作,推動中國影片科學研究的全球經濟發展。想與海內外著名歷史學者一同深入探討中國影片嗎?趕緊行動投稿吧!

摘 要:中國影片疆域中的“第五代”概念是一個後設命名。20世紀末90二十世紀發生迄今,依序經歷生成、轉型與耗散四個階段。1990—2003年為第一階段,第五代編劇依靠個體本真實戰經驗創作,強烈負面影響中國影片的攝像機立法權趨勢與美學表達;2003—2008年為第二階段,該族群步入“無代”敘事,向主流人文資本、主流市場資源與主流影片技術手段靠攏。此間“第五代”概念被市場過分消費,獨立品德異化。2009—2010年為第三階段,從主流製作到商業類型片,第五代影片積極主動謀求市場生存的諸種機率。步入2011年,傳統大熒幕象徵意義上的“第五代”概念自我解體。自己再度彙集在新媒體網絡平臺上,其人文熱量通過“微影片”製作或直接或間接地釋放社會負面聲望。

The Generation, Transformation, and Dissipation of the “Sixth Generation” Cinema in China: The Entropy Change of a Concept

With a toolkit endowed by the new media, countless “migrant-worker filmmakers” try to register the delicate alterations in epic time with their “vagrant film” (Han 2006).While seeking beyond the grand discourse to find the most comfortable form of audiovisual expression, they accomplish narratology from what Benjamin acknowledged as the “interior space.” The microfilms that populate virtual communities on the internet cultivate the defensive posture and try to create aspace temporarily cut off from the world. However, as Benjamin put it, “the space disguises itself,” though it maintains “unconscious retention of a posture of struggle and defense” (Gunning 2003), ultimately the interior cannot withstand the exterior; it can only transform the nature of its looming invasion optically.

在觀眾們層面,自己的經典作品真切地感應到時代革新中青年人文族群的多元精神市場需求,其有別於荷里活庸俗模式的敘事思維、頗受西歐表現主義者和新自然主義者感召的表演藝術風格和內省式的鏡語形式,正好與都市青年小眾表演藝術/菁英人文趣味性相投合。這批青年觀眾們聚集在“第五代”的國旗之下,並非為的是分享商業大片的審美觀奇觀,而是要在時代急劇轉型引致的虛空中“解價值觀上的渴”,找尋中國電影自身的真實主義者美學。

概念消費與熱量轉化(2003—2008)

Journal of Chinese Film Studies Volume 1, Issue 2

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Journal of Chinese Film Studies

태그   達達 第六代導演研究 江城夏日 電影批評:影像符碼與中國闡釋 郵差 無人駕駛 南京!南京! 華語電影與泛亞實踐 巫山雲雨 莊子·達生 中國電影研究 團圓 鬥牛 日照重慶 海上傳奇 中國電影產業十年探察:基於供給側改革的視角