Cinematic Guerrillas: Propaganda, Projectionists, and Audiences in Socialist China

Cinema in socialist China expanded from six hundred movie theaters to a hundred thousand mobile film projectionist teams, bringing films, power generators, loudspeakers, slideshows, posters, live performances, and mass ritual participation to rural areas. Jie Li's book Cinematic Guerrillas examines the media networks, environments, discourses, and practices of film projectionists and their grassroots audiences from the 1940s to the 1980s, reconceptualizing socialist media practices as "revolutionary spirit mediumship" that aimed to turn audiences into congregations, contribute to the Mao cult, convert skeptics of revolutionary miracles, and exorcize class enemies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 360 pages
Publication date: 26 December 2023
Publisher: Columbia University Press

Cinema has the potential to be a powerful tool for revolution and mass mobilization. In socialist China, the film exhibition network expanded significantly, with mobile film projectionist teams reaching rural areas that lacked electricity. These teams not only brought films but also power generators, loudspeakers, slideshows, posters, live performances, and mass ritual participation, amplifying the era's utopian dreams and violent upheavals.

Cinematic Guerrillas, a book by Jie Li, explores the history of Chinese film exhibition and reception, providing insights into the powers and limits of propaganda. Through a wealth of archives, memoirs, interviews, and ethnographic fieldwork, Li examines the media networks, environments, discourses, and practices of film projectionists and their grassroots audiences from the 1940s to the 1980s. She considers the ideology and practice of "cinematic guerrillas," which refers to onscreen militants, off-the-grid movie teams, and unruly moviegoers. These guerrillas bridged Maoist iconography, the experiences of projectionists, and popular participation and resistance.

Li reconceptualizes socialist media practices as "revolutionary spirit mediumship," aiming to turn audiences into congregations, contribute to the Mao cult, convert skeptics of revolutionary miracles, and exorcize class enemies. The book also considers the meanings of cinema for revolution and nation building, the successive generations of projectionists, workers, peasants, soldiers, women, and ethnic minorities, as well as national leaders, local cadres, and cultural censors. By reading diverse, vivid, and often surprising accounts of moviegoing, Li excavates Chinese media theories that provide a critical understanding of the role of cinema in shaping society and politics.

In conclusion, cinema has the potential to be a powerful tool for revolution and mass mobilization, as demonstrated in socialist China. By bringing films, power generators, and other resources to rural areas, cinema projectionist teams amplified the era's utopian dreams and violent upheavals. Cinematic Guerrillas provides a valuable insight into the power of cinema as a medium for propaganda and popular participation, and its impact on shaping society and politics.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231206266