Commerce and Culture: The Manchukuo Film Industry from 1937 to 1945

Abstract

This thesis centers on the Manchuria film industry from 1930s to 1940s, which was sponsored by the Kwangtung Army and Japanese businessmen. As a state-sponsored company, the development of the Manchukuo Film Prduction and Exhibition Company (Man'ei) shaped the history of Manchukuo film industry. In order to be the first-class filmmaking center of the Far East commercially and culturally, the management and operation of Man'ei was simultaneously directed along two trajectories, combining the Hollywood-style commercial model with a cultural project similar to the European national film industry. Three periods of Man'ei history: Foundation, High Return and "Beautiful Propaganda" arose under different political environment. This paper analyzes how Man'ei negotiated the commercial product and cultural project in response to the multifaceted demands and pressures engendered by its evolving geopolitical environment.