The Filmmaker as Feminist
(2025) p.95-117- Abstract
- On the position of filmmaker as feminist, this article aims to investigate the documentarian’s strategies of dealing with the cruelty in activism and the cruelty suffered by women in Chinese context. I will firstly analyse the protagonists’ shock from We the Workers (2017), which shows the tension between activism logic and cinematic representation of activist. This tension was eased by recognising protagonists’ emotionalised reflexivity. Then I will analyse the production and distribution processes of Outcry and Whisper (2020) and compare the text of its three editions. I will examine how filmmakers negotiate with intersectional suppressed powers, creativity collaborators, NGO sponsors and protagonists in representing violence, activism... (More)
- On the position of filmmaker as feminist, this article aims to investigate the documentarian’s strategies of dealing with the cruelty in activism and the cruelty suffered by women in Chinese context. I will firstly analyse the protagonists’ shock from We the Workers (2017), which shows the tension between activism logic and cinematic representation of activist. This tension was eased by recognising protagonists’ emotionalised reflexivity. Then I will analyse the production and distribution processes of Outcry and Whisper (2020) and compare the text of its three editions. I will examine how filmmakers negotiate with intersectional suppressed powers, creativity collaborators, NGO sponsors and protagonists in representing violence, activism and women. The power tensions among documentary participants—filmmaker, protagonist, sponsor, or multiple identity holders—will illustrate how exile, activist and transnational feminist values have reshaped Chinese independent documentary authorship, filmmaking process and representation strategies, and the social-political space explored by documentaries. I attempt to promote concern for activist protagonists and cinematic experience of healing to reconstruct feminist humanity, rather than the de-gendered and/or de-humanised political activism or de-politicised feminism in documentary films, as the strategy of dealing with violence encountered in the cruelty of activism and women in a suppressed political context. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/14c2e527-ea8b-428d-bc96-710627e00374
- author
- Zeng, Jinyan LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-04-15
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Activism, China, Documentary, Ethics, Feminist, Emotional Reflexivity, Cruelty
- host publication
- Chinese Independent Cinema : Past, Present and a Questionable Future - Past, Present and a Questionable Future
- editor
- Berry, Chris ; Robinson, Luke ; Qiong Yu, Sabrina and Wu, Lydia
- pages
- 95 - 117
- publisher
- Amsterdam University Press
- ISBN
- 9789463722575
- 978-90-485-5540-6
- DOI
- 10.5117/9789463722575_ch04
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 14c2e527-ea8b-428d-bc96-710627e00374
- alternative location
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.27080103.8
- date added to LUP
- 2021-08-24 15:37:06
- date last changed
- 2025-05-09 16:41:15
@inbook{14c2e527-ea8b-428d-bc96-710627e00374,
abstract = {{On the position of filmmaker as feminist, this article aims to investigate the documentarian’s strategies of dealing with the cruelty in activism and the cruelty suffered by women in Chinese context. I will firstly analyse the protagonists’ shock from We the Workers (2017), which shows the tension between activism logic and cinematic representation of activist. This tension was eased by recognising protagonists’ emotionalised reflexivity. Then I will analyse the production and distribution processes of Outcry and Whisper (2020) and compare the text of its three editions. I will examine how filmmakers negotiate with intersectional suppressed powers, creativity collaborators, NGO sponsors and protagonists in representing violence, activism and women. The power tensions among documentary participants—filmmaker, protagonist, sponsor, or multiple identity holders—will illustrate how exile, activist and transnational feminist values have reshaped Chinese independent documentary authorship, filmmaking process and representation strategies, and the social-political space explored by documentaries. I attempt to promote concern for activist protagonists and cinematic experience of healing to reconstruct feminist humanity, rather than the de-gendered and/or de-humanised political activism or de-politicised feminism in documentary films, as the strategy of dealing with violence encountered in the cruelty of activism and women in a suppressed political context.}},
author = {{Zeng, Jinyan}},
booktitle = {{Chinese Independent Cinema : Past, Present and a Questionable Future}},
editor = {{Berry, Chris and Robinson, Luke and Qiong Yu, Sabrina and Wu, Lydia}},
isbn = {{9789463722575}},
keywords = {{Activism; China; Documentary; Ethics; Feminist; Emotional Reflexivity; Cruelty}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{04}},
pages = {{95--117}},
publisher = {{Amsterdam University Press}},
title = {{The Filmmaker as Feminist}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.5117/9789463722575_ch04}},
doi = {{10.5117/9789463722575_ch04}},
year = {{2025}},
}