Abstract
The collective affords a prominent presence in Sun Yu’s extant silent era films. Along with his dedicated portrayal of athletic bodies and sanguine spirit, family-like communities contribute to his optimistic outlook against a backdrop of national crisis. Sun’s collective tends to envelop romantic plots, bringing individuals to a grander national narrative, while at the same time it is alive with tension between childlike innocence and sexual allure. This paper employs time-based annotation tool to analyze the performance and cinematography that contribute to the representation of a loving community. By annotating scenes of reoccurring gestures and collective intimacy in Wild Rose, Little Toys and Big Road how tension between desire and naïveté often lurks under playful touches and affectionate gazes. It is through such ambiguity and collective interactions that Sun finds room to address serious issues of national salvation and class struggle with cheerfulness and humanistic complexity.
Recommended Citation
Yan, Yuqian
(2024)
"Between Naïveté and Desire: Analyzing Collective Intimacy in Sun Yu’s Films with a Time-based Annotation Tool,"
The Journal of e-Media Studies: Vol. 7:
Iss.
1, Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1349/PS1.1938-6060.A.503
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/joems/vol7/iss1/13
Figure 1. Wild Rose (1932, left) and Daybreak (1933, right).
Yan Figures 2 and 3.png (1281 kB)
Figures 2 and 3. Queen of Sports (1934, left) and The Big Road (1934, right).
Little Toys (1933) Clip 1 - Yan.mp4 (188986 kB)
Clip 1. Scenes of the Collective in Little Toys [Playthings] (1933), Table 2, No. 4.
Little Toys (1933) Clip 2 - Yan.mp4 (138316 kB)
Clip 2. Scenes of the Collective in Little Toys [Playthings] (1933), Table 2, No. 6.
Little Toys (1933) Clip 3 - Yan.mp4 (189762 kB)
Clip 3. Scenes of the Collective in Little Toys [Playthings] (1933), Table 2, No. 12.
Yan Figure 4 Full.png (1512 kB)
Figure 4. Repeated gestures of salute–finger-touching–handshake in Wild Rose.
Yan Figure 5.png (623 kB)
Figure 5. Repeated gesture of wiping off and flipping tears in Little Toys [Playthings].
Yan Figure 6 Full.png (1350 kB)
Figure 6. Repeated gestures of patting the head, sliding a hand down the face, and hitting the chin in The Big Road.
Yan Figure 7 Full (2500 x 1080 px) (1400 x 2200 px).png (1984 kB)
Figure 7. Sister Ye and Zhang act intimately in public.
Yan Figure 8 Full.png (1217 kB)
Figure 8. Lilac and Jasmine’s intimate interactions in The Big Road.
Yan Figure 9.png (536 kB)
Figure 9. Close-ups on Lilac and Jasmine kissing and holding each other.