Sinascape: Contemporary Chinese Cinema

“Sinascape is an exciting study of transnational Chinese cinema in the early twenty-first century. This book exhibits Gary Xu’s rare combination of theoretical persuasiveness, superb grasp of the film medium, and intimate personal knowledge of the film industry. Page after page, the reader will experience nothing less than intellectual stimulation and scholarly ingenuity.” ―Sheldon H. Lu, University of California, Davis

“Sinascape applies its sharp-eyed focus to spotting trends and interpreting aspects in Chinese cinema, and uses examples of popular Chinese movies to illustrate its points.” ―Midwest Book Review

“He [Xu] ends up presenting an interesting challenge to the standard view of the industry…. Xu’s thoughftul investigation into Non-Hollywood sharpens our critical awareness of the nature of representation and of the new versions of Orientalism produced by the transnational movie industry.” ―Karen Louise Erichson, Editor, Frydenlund Publishing House, Copenhagen

“Sinascape contends that the myth of a ‘China’s century’ is fundamentally linked to that of a ‘Hollywood’s century,’ for in both cases a cinematic mode of production dominates the realms of culture, ideology, and politics. With this book, Gary Xu establishes himself as a cutting-edge scholar who offers provocative readings on urgent issues such as copyright, piracy, digital technology, global networking, and cross-cultural spectatorship, all at a time when China is inventing a new visual culture on a dazzling transnational, translocal scale.” ―Yingjin Zhang