Beijing film academy in search of individuation

Abstract

“Beijing Film Academy in Search of Individuation” is a qualitative research aiming to study instructional curriculum of Beijing Film Academy (BFA) , social context, and other environmental factors, such as the quality of BFA students, instructors, and executives, including related physical factors. The Concept of Individuation of Gilbert Simondon and A Theory of Practice of Pierre Bourdieu, including the Concept of Knowledge and Power of Michel Foucault is used as a framework for this study. Data collection is conducted by documentary research, indepth interview and analysis of BFA students’ film thesis evaluated by six experts.

The purposes of this study are 1) to examine the individuation of film curriculum of BFA as a discipline, 2) to find the relationship between BFA’ s individuation and quality of BFA students’ film work, and 3) to study external or environmental factors affecting film education in BFA. The research finds that BFA’s curriculum that views film a discipline composes of individuation in many factors.

Student factor: fundamental knowledge and skill in art, including potential and competence in film studying is required for qualified students besides their high examination scores. BFA selects its students with four – round direct examination in which losers are eliminated in each round, and gaokao exam scores are used as supporting criteria for the later selection. Artistic capital embedded in BFA students in combination with other factors BFA designs as its own individuated attribute enable BFA graduates to produce good quality films. Their perspective and skill are even developed and enlarged by their learning from film professionals. Although BFA gives

financial support for students to produce hard cinema, soft- cinema movies are still witnessed. Furthermore, almost all students’ films are rather costly and require high investment in setting, props, costumes, computer graphic and technology, travel cost, etc. This is owing to economic capital of BFA students whose families have good economic status.

BFA designs other factors to establish its own individuation. These factors are 1) the selection of teachers by their background in film profession. 2) The organization of film curriculum structure subdivided into 16 areas and emphasizing actual practices rather than academic knowledge from the memory by rote. 3) The creation of film culture climate enhancing students’ creativity to produce their work fully. 4) The invitation of film professionals from film circle around the world. 5) The arrangement of international film festivals and 6) short – film contests.

As BFA is a part of Chinese educational system, it needs to comply with educational policies of Chinese government. In addition, the curriculum structure needs to respond to the economic development of the country by focusing on the number of graduates rather than the quality. Most of all, BFA must be under the surveillance of the General Secretary of the Communist Party Committee of BFA, who is a Communist Party representative. On the other hand, the government wants to push BFA to produce film professionals to serve for the political purpose of Communist Government. Therefore, film professionals delivered by the government to help BFA produce further more film professionals are those with high knowledge and expertise in film art.

All of these are main factors facilitating BFA to be able to maintain its balance of “being a film academy that requires high creativity and freedom in producing artistic work” and “being a part of the educational institute under the governance of Socialism Communists”. Consequently, BFA at one side needs to remind its students of the strict censorship laws of the Chinese government, and at another side, it encourages the students to exert their full creativity to produce various kinds of movies to increase their film professionalism. In other words, BFA complies with government policies that have no effect on its film education unconditionally but negotiates with those affecting the quality of its film instruction.