Abstract

Friedrich Nietzsche is an eminent German philosopher in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In his maiden book, The Birth of Tragedy, he put forward the famous theory on "Dionysus". He also proclaimed himself as a "Dionysian philosopher". Dionysus derives from the ancient Greek Dionysia. In this mysterious ritual, people break the taboos to release their primitive instincts and guzzle to satisfy their desires. Therefore, Dionysus represents a primitive passion. 

In contemporary Chinese cinema, Jiang Wen's film style best resembles this Dionysian Spirit. From the elements that constitute Jiang Wen's films, such as historical background, the female image, and background music, it is not difficult to find Jiang Wen’s deliberate ignorance to the rational world, and high praise for spirit-in-itself as a vibrant individual. These elements make Jiang Wen's movies filled with an incredible passion, which vividly manifests what Nietzsche called the "Dionysian spirit".

Based on the study from the aspects of historical background and the elements of Dionysian Spirit, this thesis systematically analyzes Jiang Wen’s main film works including Red Sorghum, In the Heat of the Sun, The Sun Also Rises and Let the Bullets Fly. Through the analysis and interpretation of the intense Dionysian characteristics in Jiang Wen’s films, I further comprehend the Dionysian Spirit’s profound connotation.

It is shown in the thesis that "desire" and "passion" are the two major themes in Jiang Wen's movies, which echoes the essence of Dionysian spirit, to release natural humanity. Therefore, the substance of the Dionysian spirit has been fully reflected in Jiang Wen's films. The elements of the films demonstrate strong Dionysian characteristics. 

Key Words：Nietzsche；Jiang Wen；Dionysian Spirit；primitive passion；Dionysian elements

Contents

摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Jiang Wen and his films-1

1.2 Friedrich Nietzsche and Dionysus-2

2. Dionysian Spirit embodies in time background of Jiang Wen's films-3

2.1 Red Sorghum: A vigorous work produced after the Cultural Revolution-3

2.2 In the Heat of the Sun: A memory of limpid youth during the Cultural Revolution-4

3. Dionysian Spirit reflected in classical images of Jiang Wen's films-7

3.1 Men-7

3.1.1 A representative tough-guy image: Yu Zhan'ao-7

3.1.2 The aggressive Zhang Mazi-8

3.2 Women-9

3.2.1 A typical example of primitive vitality: Jiu'er-9

3.2.2 A carnival character: frantic mom in The Sun Also Rises-11

3.2.3 A group of irresistible sexy women-12

4. The elements of Dionysian Spirit reflected in Jiang Wen's film-15

4.1 Nature-15

4.1.1 Vibrant red creature: red sorghum-15

4.1.2 Intoxicating sunlight-16

4.2 Music-18

4.2.1 Wild clamor of the folk song-19

4.2.2 An intoxicating atmosphere created by fantastic style music-20

4.2.3 The memory of youth reflected in music-21

5. Conclusion-22

References-24

Acknowledgements-25