Following the Japanese invasion of northeast China in 1931, the
occupying authorities established the Manchuria Film Association to
promote film production efficiency and serve Japan's propaganda needs.
Manchuria Film Association had two tasks: to make "national policy
films" as part of a cultural mission of educating Chinese in Manchukuo
(the puppet state created in 1932) on the special relationship between
Japan and the region, and to block the exhibition of Chinese films from
Shanghai that contained anti-Japanese messages. The corporation relied
on Japanese capital, technology, and film expertise, but it also
employed many Chinese filmmakers. After the withdrawal of Japanese
forces in 1945, many of these individuals were portrayed as either
exploited victims or traitorous collaborators. Yuxin Ma seeks to move
the conversation beyond such simplistic and inaccurate depictions.
By focusing on the daily challenges and experiences of the Chinese
workers at the corporation, Ma examines how life was actually lived by
people navigating between practical and ideological concerns. She
illustrates how the inhabitants of Manchukuo navigated social
opportunities, economic depression, educational reforms, fascist rule,
commercial interests, practical daily needs, and more--and reveals ways
in which these conflicting preoccupations sometimes manifested as
tension and ambiguity on screen. In the battle between repression and
expression, these Chinese actors, directors, writers, and technicians
adopted defensive and opportunistic tactics. They did so in colonial
spaces, often rejecting modernist representations of Manchukuo in favor
of venerating traditional Chinese culture and values. The expertise,
skills, and professional networks they developed extended well beyond
the occupation into the postwar period, and may individuals
reestablished themselves as cinema professionals in the socialist era.
