‘민국열(民國熱)’에 대한 소고(小考) ― 영화 『황금시대(黃金時代)』의 흥행 실패를 예로

Abstract

A decrease in the political rigidity of Chinese society in the 1990’s led to the resumption of Minguo studies in the academic world. At a popular level, this expanded into a “Minguore” phenomenon where Minguo became a main subject of Chinese pop culture. The most salient feature of the 1990’s Minguore is Shanghai Nostalgia representing urban and consumer culture. Appealing especially to Xiaozi, a newly emerging social class at that time, it successfully attracted them to become the major consumers of Minguore contents. Under the banner of “Minguofanr”, diverse discussions on “Minguo atmosphere” and “Minguo spirit” have been raised in the 21st century. Minguo is recognized as an age that embodies the spirit that is currently missing but to be pursued in the future. This paper analyzes the failure of The Golden Era that, I believe, best captures the characteristics of Minguore. I argue that the movie’s box office failure is attributable to the fact that it fell short of its audiences’ expectations as it fails to represent popularly shared Minguo imagination. I will also examine the significance of Minguo imagination in relation to the Chinese youth who are both the main audience of the movie and the major consumers of Minguo contents. I contend that the values of Chinese youth are in transition—from the envy of and resonance with Xiaozi lifestyle based on material affluence to the pursuit of spiritual ones. To conclude, Minguore is a noteworthy pop culture phenomenon in that it has a close relationship to the shift of Chinese society and shows the change in the Chinese youth’s orientation.