About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

8 E. Asia L. Rev. 1 (2012-2013)

handle is hein.journals/etalr8 and id is 1 raw text is: Courtroom Drama With Chinese Characteristics: A Comparative Approach to Legal Process in Chinese Cinema Stephen McIntyre While previous law and film scholarship has concentrated mainly on Hollywood films, this article examines legal themes in Chinese cinema. It argues that Chinese films do not simply mimic Western conventions when portraying the courtroom, but draw upon a centuries-old, indigenous tradition of court case (gong'an) melodrama. Like Hollywood cinema, gong'an drama seizes upon the dramatic and narrative potential of legal trials. Yet, while Hollywood trial films turn viewers into jurors, pushing them back and forth between the competing stories that emerge from the adversarial process, gong'an drama eschews any recognition of opposing narratives, instead centering on the punishment of decidedly guilty criminals. The moral clarity and punitive sense of justice that characterize gong'an drama are manifest in China's modern-day legal system and in Chinese cinema. An analysis of Tokyo Trial, a 2006 Chinese film about the post-World War H war crimes trial in Japan, demonstrates the lasting influence of gong'an drama. Although Tokyo Trial resembles Hollywood courtroom drama in many respects, it remains faithful to the gong'an model. This highlights the robustness of China's native gong'an tradition and the attitudes underlying it. J.D., Duke University School of Law; M.A., East Asian Studies, Duke University; B.A., Chinese, Brigham Young University. I thank Professor Guo Juin Hong for his valuable comments and encouragement. I also thank those who attended and participated in the 2011 Kentucky Foreign Language Conference at the University of Kentucky, at which I presented an earlier version of this article.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most