On June 7th, Zhang Ling, Assistant Professor of Film and Media Department of Purchase College, State University of New York, visited the Frontier Workshop of Comparative Literature and World Literary Theory in the School of Liberal Arts of NENU and gave a lecture entitled “Wind and Kite: Joris Ivens and Transnational Film Culture in the Cold War” to the teachers and students of the School of Liberal Arts. This activity was presided over by Professor Yuan Xianlai from the School of Liberal Arts of NENU, and Associate Professor Tan Xiaohan was also present as a guest speaker.
At the beginning of the lecture, Zhang Ling introduced the life experience of the Dutch movie master Ivens and his creation under the background of the Cold War, revisited the significance of Ivens’ documentary films made in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America in the history of movies, and pointed out that Ivens’ works played a vital role in documentary production and personnel training in some socialist countries.
Subsequently, Zhang Ling mainly took the first Sino-French co-production Kite(1958) and Ivens’ last work The Story of the Wind (1988) as examples, and thoroughly analyzed the visual and auditory images of the “wind” and “kite” in the films through the repeated images of the wind in the works. With the rich connotation of “wind” and the use of rich montage techniques, it implies Ivens’ historical experience and various changes and reforms in the world, and its mystery and metaphor also involve rich ideological and political discourse issues.
Next, Zhang Ling showcased the connection between Ivens’ works and Chineseelements, and related and expanded the images such as “wind”, “kite”, “sound”, “qi” and the “Monkey King”. She pointed out that during the Cold War, kites had the meaning of transcending national boundaries and connecting people of all countries, and became a support for the unity of children all over the world. Although the world was stuck in the Cold War from 1950s to 1960s, the communication between China and the West was not interrupted, and the “people’s diplomacy” between China and western European countries played an important role. The theme of travel in Ivens’ works also conveys the internationalism of unity, cooperation and cultural exchange.
At the end of the lecture, Zhang Ling talked with the students about the film as a mass media and the way of collective creation. Associate Professor Tan Xiaohan made a concluding speech, and teachers and students also had warm exchanges and interactions on related topics. This activity has played a positive role in broadening students’ academic horizons and stimulating their enthusiasm for learning.
(From News Center, translated by Wei Jia, revised by Liu Lixin)
