East Asian Socially-Engaged Documentary Practices

This week's topic in Asian Cinema is - Alternative Publics: East Asian Socially-Engaged Documentary Practices. Our screening was Meishi Street, a documentary directed by Ou Ning. 

The following excerpt was taken from: http://chinesevisualfestival.org/portfolios/meishi-street-煤市街/ 

"Meishi Street shows ordinary citizens taking a stand against the planned destruction of their homes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, after the Beijing Municipal Government ordered the demolition of entire neighbourhoods to widen traffic routes. Several evictees of Meishi Street, located next to Tiananmen Square, fought through endless red tape and the indifference of fellow citizens for the right to keep their homes. Given video cameras by the filmmakers, they shot exclusive footage of the eviction process, adding vivid intimacy to their story. Acclaimed at over two dozen museums and galleries around the world, Meishi Street, by renowned visual artist Ou Ning, works as both art and activism, calling worldwide attention to lives being demolished in the name of progress."

One of our readings for this week was an essay written by Ou Ning, who connects an increase in civic consciousness with the rise of digital images in China. 

Some of his arguments include: 

• The Internet has radically changed how Chinese citizens feel about public affairs. 
• The vastly developing pirate industry threatens to cause serious damage to both Chinese and international media industries. As a flexible mode of production and consumption, the pirate industry disrupted the decades-long cultural isolation and information void of China. As a result, it has fostered civic consciousness. 
• The independent film making community forms a collective voice, which can unveil the social injustices and the dark side of reality in China, and thus can prevent the inflation of power and political corruption. 

The article was an interesting read. The link to the essay can be found below:

Ou Ning, “Digital Images and Civic Consciousness” (translated by Yu Hsiao-Hwei), Ou Ning's Blog, <www.alternativearchive.com/ouning/article.asp?id=102>. Essay originally published in Argos Festival 2004 (Brussels: Argos, 2004).