Promoting China: National Image in Documentary Films of the Xi Jinping Era

Abstract

The construction of China’s image in Chinese publicity documentary films plays a critical role in the Chinese government’s endeavor to shape international and domestic perceptions of China. The major knowledge gap, and the focus of this study, is how the national image is shaped in the selected films, most notably through major aspects of film production such as themes, narratives, mise-en-scene, photography, and editing. The in-depth analysis of these aspects in this study using art and communication theories including Jakobson’s communication model, Prince’s narrative concept and Giannetti’s visual language concepts suggest that those essential film-making techniques are used in all the selected documentaries with varying degrees of success. The findings provide fresh insight into the workings of Chinese publicity documentary films in relation to China’s representation.