Institute of Visual Studies
Topic: #MeToo in Transnational China after Harvey Weinstein
Chair: Louis Lo (Associate Professor of Institute of Visual Studies, NYCU)
Time: 5 May 2023 (Fri.) 10:00-11:50
Link: https://meet.google.com/ciu-gqyo-ctn
※ The talk is conducted in English and via Google Meet
Blurb:
When the Harvey Weinstein allegations in October 2017 opened up the depth and breadth of sexual harassment in Hollywood, Weinstein’s associates in mainland China and Hong Kong came under scrutiny as well. One of the first responses from the People’s Republic of China came in the form of an opinion piece published in the English-language edition of the government-run newspaper China Daily. Sava Hassan, an expat Egyptian-Canadian residing in mainland China, wrote "Weinstein Case Demonstrates Cultural Differences," in which he argues that sexual harassment does not pose a problem in China because of the timidity of Chinese men and the prevailing conservative values of the society. Although claiming the article only reflects his observations as a teacher in China, Hassan’s ignorance of the actual situation did not belie the fact that China Daily published a perspective that thoroughly disregarded the facts. Internet response was immediate and China Daily expeditiously withdrew the piece; however, the Chinese press inadvertently added fuel to the growing transnational conflagration around the smoldering issue of sexual harassment and violence against women in the People’s Republic.
The hashtag crossed the Chinese Internet firewall to circulate using the characters for “rice”/ 米 (mi) and rabbit 兔 (tu) to stand in for the English #MeToo and avoid censorship. As these grievances span the worlds of entertainment, higher education, and beyond, the ways in which business, gender-based violence, and sexual politics form transnational links from China through Hong Kong to Hollywood makes Weinstein’s story global, and the movement continues to roil Chinese popular culture today. This presentation updates scholarship on #MeToo in China to look at its impact on contemporary cinema and media culture including the case of Kris Wu and his transnational star presence spanning mainland China, Canada, and Korea.
Bio:
Gina Marchetti chairs the Department of Humanities and Media Studies at Pratt Institute. She is the author of Romance and the "Yellow Peril": Race, Sex and Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Fiction (University of California, 1993), From Tian’anmen to Times Square: Transnational China and the Chinese Diaspora on Global Screens (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2006), The Chinese Diaspora on American Screens: Race, Sex, and Cinema (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2012), Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s INFERNAL AFFAIRS—The Trilogy (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2007), and Citing China: Politics, Postmodernism, and World Cinema (Hawai’i, 2018).
