Searchlight or Scalpel? The Value and Expectancy of Upstream
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Xiaohong Li
Xiaohong Li is a professor and doctoral supervisor from the School of Film at Xiamen University. Her research interests include the history of Chinese cinema and Chinese films.
Abstract
Upstream (Nixing Rensheng, 2024) is the first film to shine a light on China’s food delivery riders, the largest marginalized group in the country. It continues the realist tradition of Chinese cinema by illuminating this overlooked group with the searchlight of cinematic language, presenting them to the world and holding significant value. However, the film fails to meet the higher expectancy of the audience, that is, to dissect the deeper reasons behind the delivery riders being controlled by algorithms, exploited by platforms, and constantly facing dangers, like a scalpel. Although the film portrays a collective image of delivery riders, they merely serve as the backdrop to the “upstream” of the urban elite, Gao Zhilei. This results in an insufficient reflection on and critique of reality, ultimately creating a huge gap between its value and the audience’s expectancy.
About the author
Xiaohong Li is a professor and doctoral supervisor from the School of Film at Xiamen University. Her research interests include the history of Chinese cinema and Chinese films.
References
Anonymous. 2024. “Xu Zheng Liting Nixing Rensheng: Zhimian Xiaofeikunnan Zhengyi, Quanshi Shenghuo Nijing Zhong De Jianren Yu Chengzhang.” [“Xu Zheng Strongly Supports Upstream: Facing the Controversy of ‘Exploiting Suffering’ and Interpreting the Resilience and Growth in Life’s Adversity.”]. Sohu. Last visited August 24, 2024. https://www.sohu.com/a/801391334_121924583.Suche in Google Scholar
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Postscript
The originally article entitled 探照灯还是手术刀？ – 《逆行人生》的价值与期望值 was published in Dangdai Dianying 当代电影 (Contemporary Cinema) 2024 (09): 10–14.Suche in Google Scholar
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- A Memorandum of the Chinese Film Industry in 2024
- Xie Jin: A Distinguished Pioneer of the Mind-Nature Realism Film Paradigm
- Balanced Harmony: Aesthetic Realms in Chinese Film
- “Aspiration” and “Rhetoric”: Lyric Aesthetics of Chinese Small-Town Films
- The Cinematic Representation of the Factory Zone by Young Directors in the 21st Century
- From Drama to Film, as a Genre Bridge and New Main Melody Narrator – A Discussion on the Creation Path of Up-and-Coming Director Rao Xiaozhi
- Landscape and Memory: Homeland Narratives and Space Production of New Directors
- Interview
- Contemporary Traditional Cultural Philosophy and Re-Creation: Interview with Huo Tingxiao
- Film Reviews
- A Tapestry of a Legendary Land: the Flow and Fluidity of Beauty of Chinese Culture
- Searchlight or Scalpel? The Value and Expectancy of Upstream
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- A Memorandum of the Chinese Film Industry in 2024
- Xie Jin: A Distinguished Pioneer of the Mind-Nature Realism Film Paradigm
- Balanced Harmony: Aesthetic Realms in Chinese Film
- “Aspiration” and “Rhetoric”: Lyric Aesthetics of Chinese Small-Town Films
- The Cinematic Representation of the Factory Zone by Young Directors in the 21st Century
- From Drama to Film, as a Genre Bridge and New Main Melody Narrator – A Discussion on the Creation Path of Up-and-Coming Director Rao Xiaozhi
- Landscape and Memory: Homeland Narratives and Space Production of New Directors
- Interview
- Contemporary Traditional Cultural Philosophy and Re-Creation: Interview with Huo Tingxiao
- Film Reviews
- A Tapestry of a Legendary Land: the Flow and Fluidity of Beauty of Chinese Culture
- Searchlight or Scalpel? The Value and Expectancy of Upstream
