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News on Entertainment & Culture in China

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What lurks beneath

War and office politics
Apr 30, 2009 (WiC 13)

Another week and another hugely popular war series is the talk of Chinese television. We reported in WiC9 on two other military blockbusters (Soldier Assault and My Colonel and My Regiment) that were generating impressive viewing ...

Peking Opera goes global

New movie has big ambitions
Apr 24, 2009 (WiC 12)

The plays of Shakespeare have made it into film on at least 420 occasions. Peking Opera – a Chinese stage art that combines singing, acting and acrobatics – has proven less amenable to the big screen. But a new movie hopes to change ...

That’s not all, folks

China wants to dominate cartoons too
Apr 17, 2009 (WiC 11)

Is Shrek a strategic threat? Most parents would argue he is more of a friendly force, especially in encouraging junior audiences into an hour or two of DVD-induced silence on a Sunday morning. China’s media industry regulator (the State ...

Box office king

Who is China’s most successful director?
Apr 17, 2009 (WiC 11)

The average Hollywood studio exec is very likely to know the work of John Woo, has probably heard of Zhang Yimou, and may even have an inkling of Chen Kaige’s latest offering. They are much less likely to be familiar with Feng Xiaogang. But ...

Till the fat ladies sing…

Four singers celebrate their size
Apr 17, 2009 (WiC 11)

Counting calories’ means something different in Mauritania. Despite government attempts to discourage the practice, as many as one in five women from the west African country deliberately overfeed, often on gallons of cow or camel milk, in hope ...

A new movie about China’s foremost philosopher has stirred controversy
Apr 9, 2009 (WiC 10)

The introduction to the Penguin edition of the Analects of Confucius opens with a frank admission: “Despite his immense importance in the Chinese tradition, little that is certain is known about Confucius.” That does not bode well for a ...

Meet China’s paparazzi king
Apr 3, 2009 (WiC 9)

They are the bane of Hollywood actors’ lives, and have even spawned a reality TV show in the UK. But paparazzi are a relatively new phenomenon in China, where only around 20 photographers go by the name. But the undoubted king of China’s ...

(Down)load your weapons

Online video sites advance on all fronts
Apr 3, 2009 (WiC 9)

War has always made for popular television, with 1970s favourites like MAS*H and Dad’s Army earning cult followings amongst their American and British audiences. TV war serials have been proving popular in China too. After the success of ...

Battle of the bands

Could Cold-blooded Animal rock the world?
Mar 27, 2009 (WiC 8)

Beijing’s rock music scene has come a long way since the 1985 Wham concert at the Workers’ Gymnasium – an event then regarded as the height of rebellious cool. Local bands such as the Carsick Cars and New Pants now excite the interest of ...

Shanghai musical about a revolutionary life
Mar 27, 2009 (WiC 8)

Making musicals about complex historical figures is no easy undertaking. Recall the episode of Friends where Joey stars in a musical about Freud, and sings “All you want is a dingle”. Exactly. What about if all you want is some dialectical ...

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