American Cinema VS Chinese Cinema

American and Chinese Cinema in my opinion are some of the least comparable film making styles. The cultures of the two countries are dramatically different, mainly because of the traditions of the two countries. American Cinema has gone through four distinct periods the Silent Film era, Classic Hollywood Cinema, New Hollywood, and the Contemporary Period. There has been six distinct periods of Chinese Cinema the Beginnings (1896-1945), the Second Golden Age (late 1940s), the Communist era (1950-1960), the Cultural Revolution (1960s-1980s), the Fifth Generation (1980s-1990s), and finally the Sixth Generation (1990s-present). These periods in both types of cinema have created classics in all aspects of the film world.

American Cinema because of the massive difference in the culture of the people in the country is all over the place. So many American films are seen all over the world that American Cinema touches almost all countries cinema (even Chinese). The silent era of American film was the first era which had films in which music was playing while the film was going on, and breaks that would show what the actors were saying. Classic Hollywood Cinema was when the rise of American Cinema started because of the great films, directors, and actors that were alive during the 1910s and 1920s. The New Hollywood era brought films like the Star Wars Trilogy, and Dawn of the Dead. Most films out of this time are considered classics of film. So many great films were made during this time in every genre, bring American Cinema into many other countries. In the post contemporary era of American Cinema (after 1980) is when most of the good films that were formal presented to American audience were forgot, and replaced with lots of for the lack of a better word, crap. There is the occasional great film but for the most part present day American films are just about the money involved. This is where Chinese and American cinemas are the most different.

Chinese Cinema is created to tell a story and convey it to the director’s best ability usually resulting in a great film. The best way I can describe my personal view on Chinese film is to describe the vast use of color which creates a beautiful image for the audience watching. Every time I sit down and watch a Chinese film I know that I am going to enjoy the color and the great story that is exhibited throughout the film. Chop Socky, shows how Chinese Cinema helped to inspire World Cinema by using color to tell the story. Along with chorography and inventive camera angles plenty of new ways to make movies have come from Chinese Cinema. I haven’t been exposed to many Chinese films which creates a void in this essay causing my argument to truly have only one side.

The main difference between American and Chinese Cinema's are how the stories are presented to the audience Chinese film describe all aspects of the story and bring the entire audience into the film. American films (of the post contemporary era) usually are one track telling the audience only one thing and creates a simple minded film. But like everything in the world there and plenty of exceptions to this, that make American Cinema worth what it is.