The Captive Audience and Albanian Films in Mao’s China

Lu, Xiaoning

Abstract

The ironclad alliance between the People’s Republic of China and Albania during the 1960s is often taken as the unquestioned starting point of transnational film exchanges between the two fraternal socialist states. This article delineates the presence of Albanian cinema in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from 1949 to 1976, when geopolitical realignments reconfigured the socialist camp, with special attention to Albanian cinema’s position within the filmscape in Mao’s China. Drawing on official news reports, movie reviews and recently published personal reminiscences, and employing the lens of the captive audience, it teases out the multifaceted reception of Albanian films, including the types of engagement that deviate from and challenge the then-prevailing revolutionary discourses. The study thus helps to demystify a reductive understanding of the socio-political significance of Albanian cinema in China.

Citation

Lu, X. (2021). The Captive Audience and Albanian Films in Mao’s China. Studies in Eastern European Cinema, 12(3), 216-236. https://doi.org/10.1080/2040350X.2020.1822587

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 9, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Oct 6, 2020
• Publication Date: Sep 20, 2021
• Deposit Date: Sep 16, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 16, 2020
• Journal: Studies in Eastern European Cinema
• Print ISSN: 2040-350X
• Electronic ISSN: 2040-3518
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 216-236
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2040350X.2020.1822587
• Keywords: Chinese cinema, Albanian cinema, film reception, Mao's China, captive audience
• Related Public URLs: https://doi.org/10.1080/2040350X.2020.1822587