Global processess, national responses: Chinese film cultures in transition

Today's processes of cultural globalization involve three major trends: (I)the global expansion of transnational communications conglomerates; (2) the global implementation of market-oriented cultural policies; and (3) the global diffusion of new communication technologies. These processes have set in motion complicated consequencesa nd prompted a range of national responses.B oth China and Taiwan, the two locations which embody the Asian region's largest cultural formation, have experienced major shifis in their internal political and economic organisation and been significantly influenced by these interlinked global processes since the early 1980s. Taking the national film industries in both locations as a case study, this thesis examines the impact of globalisation on the organisation of national cultural production and distribution, and explores the uses of film in representing shifting conceptions of national culture and identity.