Page 139 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 5

nation’s inhabitants. As mentioned in Chapter 4, in Materials and Labor, a
popular reality show on Al Sharqiya, an Iraqi satellite network, the context
of the war provides the premise for the series. Baghdad residents whose
homes have been destroyed have their homes rebuilt at no cost to them. 39
Occasionally, a new genre emerges in a country as an expression of
its own unique experience. To illustrate, the Urban Generation genre
emerged in China during the 1990s, largely in response to two defining
events: the Tiananmen Square massacre and the onset of the government’s
drive toward privatization. Stuart Klawans describes several films that
make up this genre:

In On the Beat (1995), [Ying] Ning invites us to tag along with the bicycle-
riding cops in an old neighborhood of Beijing, one of those warrens of
courtyards, lanes and two-story apartments that are fast being replaced
by high-rises. Since the worst malefactor the cops meet is a three-card-
monte player, the film on its surface is all shaggy-dog charm. Beneath, it
is a catalog of frustrations, at everything from senseless policies at work
to crumbling relationships at home.
Lu Yue’s Mr. Zhao (1998) follows the same pattern: amiable and even
humorous on the outside unsettled within. Set in Shanghai, it’s the clev-
erly constructed story of a philandering middle-aged professional who
betrays, with exquisite clumsiness, his wife, his mistress, and his own
best possibilities.
Mr. Zhao and On the Beat are exceptional in maintaining an aura of
rueful humor and focusing on characters with respectable jobs.
If any figure defines the Urban Generation film, it’s the ne’er-do-well,
whose estrangement from society is portrayed with notable sympathy.
In the epic-length Platform (2001), Mr. [Hongwei] Wang Wang plays a
member of an acting troupe [whose] experiences mirror those of the Urban
Generation. Having started in the 1970s by performing musical tributes
to Chairman Mao, the character winds up after privatization playing rock
music to an audience of dozens. In both roles, Mr. Wang is never without
his cigarette, his slouch and an ill-concealed vulnerability.
The story they tell about themselves may be dismal, but it suggests that
Beijing’s dingiest housing compound may contain energy and willpower,
kept under high pressure and straining for release. 40

Inter-genre Analysis

As discussed in Chapter 4, inter-genre analysis examines issues, charac-
ters, and themes that appear across genres and reflect areas of widespread

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