Project Statement
My creative project is a video with a musical background consisting of clips from different Chinese TV series available online (The Line, Soldiers and Their Commander, and Good Fellas). The shows that I have chosen are all highly rated on the rating websites. I made this video using Adobe Premiere Pro. The voiceover is extracted from the original TV series and the musical background is credit to Skylar Grey. I consider this project a complement to my final research, which examines how the representations of World War II in Chinese digital media has facilitated the formation of a nationalist historical narrative in modern Chinese society. In the research paper, I will analyze Chinese wartime experiences reflected in TV series, and the following nationalist discourses published on the social media in response to these shows. By editing the clips from these TV series together, I use my creative project as a way to directly reflect the nationalist portrayals of World War II and visually illustrate my research background.
The video can be divided in two parts. The first half reflects the atrocities of Japanese troops. This part includes several scenes of massacre and the accounts from survivors, emphasizing the tremendous loss during the war. By demonstrating the extreme violence during the war, these TV series dehumanize Japanese soldiers and create a sense of “otherness.” They also point out the importance of unity by addressing the fact that the civil war madeChina become the prey of Japanese invaders.
The second half mainly focuses on the Chinese resistance against the Japanese invaders. It addresses the long duration of the war, the unified will for victory, and the extreme hardships that Chinese troops went through. These clips include voices from every walk of life (civilians, Communist guerrilla forces, and Kuomintang troops), indicating that the war is for ALL Chinese. The TV series also appeal to certain symbol such as the Yellow River to arouse nationalist empathy among the audience.
The video provides a specific context in which nationalist narrative and digital media are closely intertwined, demonstrating how nationalism is present in current Chinese digital media. It facilitates the understanding of my final research by visually exemplifying a nationalist approach towards Chinese history. It also opens the door for the following discussions on the nationalist discourses prompted by these TV series. This project fits into our class and it is relevant to our discussions about the relationship between twitter and TV shows. Here the project illustrates what is being shown in the TV series, and the responses on social media and their implications will be further discussed in the research paper.
Creative Project:
“A War Against Devil”
【The video contains scenes of violence and gunshots】
Sources: The Line, Good Fellas, Soldiers and Their Commander
Music: I Will Return – Skylar Grey
Editor: Junyi Han
Junyi Han 