Abstract
The mainstream or dominant political idea being chanted by the Chinese government at present is no socialist ideology opposing oppression and exploitation; rather, it is the so-called value of “harmony.” In terms of this sacred moral compass of harmony—which often calls for the willing cooperation of the lower classes for the political-economic agenda of semi-neoliberal reform in the name of the socialist spirit of sacrifice—China’s New Wave Cinema eagerly buys into this. However, it does so not in the name of socialism but, rather, in the spirit of humanism, and relies on the discourse of dignity. The destiny of the New Wave cinema is thus sealed by the limited horizon of the auteurs, and is ultimately over-determined by the epochal transformation.
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Wang, X. (2018). Conclusion: The Politics of Dignity and the Destiny of China’s New Wave Cinema. In: Ideology and Utopia in China's New Wave Cinema. Chinese Literature and Culture in the World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91140-3_7
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