title: Cinema of China

text: Recent patriotic films have been labelled as propaganda films by western mainstream media. However Richard Peña, a lecturer at Columbia University's School of the Arts in New York told VOA in regards to the claim of "propaganda" label that it was more a matter of perspective of "the beholder". Ian Huffer, Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at Massey University, added that "Most recent Chinese blockbusters that have been characterised as propaganda by Western journalism are really more like those Hollywood films over the years that have used military conflicts to evoke jingoist feeling or that show the US saving the world from global catastrophe".


title: Cinema of China

text: Motion pictures were introduced to China in 1896. China was one of the earliest countries to be exposed to the medium of film, due to Louis Lumière sending his cameraman to Shanghai a year after inventing cinematography. The first recorded screening of a motion picture in China took place in Shanghai on 11 August 1896, as an "act" on a variety bill. The first Chinese film, a recording of the Peking opera, "Dingjun Mountain", was made in November 1905 in Beijing. For the next decade the production companies were mainly foreign-owned, and the domestic film industry was centered on Shanghai, a thriving entrepot and the largest city in the Far East. In 1913, the first independent Chinese screenplay, "The Difficult Couple", was filmed in Shanghai by Zheng Zhengqiu and Zhang Shichuan. Zhang Shichuan then set up the first Chinese-owned film production company in 1916. The first full-length feature film was "Yan Ruisheng" () released in 1921. which was a docudrama about the killing of a Shanghai courtesan, although it was too crude a film to ever be considered commercially successful. During the 1920s film technicians from the United States trained Chinese technicians in Shanghai, and American influence continued to be felt there for the next two decades. Since film was still in its earliest stages of development, most Chinese silent films at this time were only comic skits or operatic shorts, and training was minimal at a technical aspect due to this being a period of experimental film.


title: Cinema of China

text: Later, after trial and error, China was able to draw inspiration from its own traditional values and began producing martial arts films, with the first being "Burning of Red Lotus Temple" (1928). "Burning of Red Lotus Temple" was so successful at the box office, the Star Motion Pictures (Mingxing) production later filmed 18 sequels, marking the beginning of China's esteemed martial arts films. Many imitators followed, including U. Lien (Youlian) Studio's "Red Heroine" (1929), which is still extant. It was during this period that some of the more important production companies first came into being, notably Mingxing and the Shaw brothers' Tianyi ("Unique"). Mingxing, founded by Zheng Zhengqiu and Zhang Shichuan in 1922, initially focused on comic shorts, including the oldest surviving complete Chinese film, "Laborer's Love" (1922). This soon shifted, however, to feature-length films and family dramas including "Orphan Rescues Grandfather" (1923). Meanwhile, Tianyi shifted their model towards folklore dramas, and also pushed into foreign markets; their film "White Snake" (1926) proved a typical example of their success in the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia. In 1931, the first Chinese sound film "Sing-Song Girl Red Peony" was made, the product of a cooperation between the Mingxing Film Company's image production and Pathé Frères's sound technology. However, the sound was disc-recorded, which was then played in the theatre in-sync with the action on the screen. The first sound-on-film talkie made in China was either "Spring on Stage" (歌場春色) by Tianyi, or "Clear Sky After Storm" by Great China Studio and Jinan Studio. Musical films, such as "Song at Midnight" (1937) and "Street Angels" (1937), starring Zhou Xuan, became one of the most popular film genres in China.


title: Cinema of China

text: However, the first truly important Chinese films were produced beginning in the 1930s, with the advent of the "progressive" or "left-wing" movement, like Cheng Bugao's "Spring Silkworms" (1933), Wu Yonggang's "The Goddess" (1934), and Sun Yu's "The Great Road", also known as "The Big Road" (1934). These films were noted for their emphasis on class struggle and external threats (i.e. Japanese aggression), as well as on their focus on common people, such as a family of silk farmers in "Spring Silkworms" and a prostitute in "The Goddess". In part due to the success of these kinds of films, this post-1930 era is now often referred to as the first "golden period" of Chinese cinema. The Leftist cinematic movement often revolved around the Western-influenced Shanghai, where filmmakers portrayed the struggling lower class of an overpopulated city.


title: Cinema of China

text: Three production companies dominated the market in the early to mid- 1930s: the newly formed Lianhua ("United China"), the older and larger Mingxing and Tianyi. Both Mingxing and Lianhua leaned left (Lianhua's management perhaps more so), while Tianyi continued to make less socially conscious fare.


title: Cinema of China

text: The period also produced the first big Chinese movie stars, such as Hu Die, Ruan Lingyu, Li Lili, Chen Yanyan, Zhou Xuan, Zhao Dan and Jin Yan. Other major films of the period include "Love and Duty" (1931), "Little Toys" (1933), "New Women" (1934), "Song of the Fishermen" (1934), "Plunder of Peach and Plum" (1934), "Crossroads" (1937), and "Street Angel" (1937). Throughout the 1930s, the Nationalists and the Communists struggled for power and control over the major studios; their influence can be seen in the films the studios produced during this period.


title: Cinema of China

text: The Japanese invasion of China in 1937, in particular the Battle of Shanghai, ended this golden run in Chinese cinema. All production companies except Xinhua Film Company ("New China") closed shop, and many of the filmmakers fled Shanghai, relocating to Hong Kong, the wartime Nationalist capital Chongqing, and elsewhere. The Shanghai film industry, though severely curtailed, did not stop however, thus leading to the "Solitary Island" period (also known as the "Sole Island" or "Orphan Island"), with Shanghai's foreign concessions serving as an "island" of production in the "sea" of Japanese-occupied territory. It was during this period that artists and directors who remained in the city had to walk a fine line between staying true to their leftist and nationalist beliefs and Japanese pressures. Director Bu Wancang's "Hua Mu Lan", also known as "Mulan Joins the Army" (1939), with its story of a young Chinese peasant fighting against a foreign invasion, was a particularly good example of Shanghai's continued film-production in the midst of war. This period ended when Japan declared war on the Western allies on 7 December 1941; the solitary island was finally engulfed by the sea of the Japanese occupation. With the Shanghai industry firmly in Japanese control, films like the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere-promoting "Eternity" (1943) were produced. At the end of World War II, one of the most controversial Japanese-authorized companies, Manchukuo Film Association, would be separated and integrated into Chinese cinema.


title: Cinema of China

text: The film industry continued to develop after 1945. Production in Shanghai once again resumed as a new crop of studios took the place that Lianhua and Mingxing studios had occupied in the previous decade. In 1945, Cai Chusheng returned to Shanghai to revive the Lianhua name as the "Lianhua Film Society with Shi Dongshan, Meng Junmou and Zheng Junli." This in turn became Kunlun Studios which would go on to become one of the most important studios of the era, (Kunlun Studios merged with seven other studios to form Shanghai film studio in 1949) putting out the classics "The Spring River Flows East" (1947), "Myriad of Lights" (1948), "Crows and Sparrows" (1949) and "Wanderings of Three-Hairs the Orphan", also known as "San Mao, The Little Vagabond" (1949).


title: Cinema of China

text: Many of these films showed the disillusionment with the oppressive rule of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Party and the struggling oppression of nation by war. "The Spring River Flows East", a three-hour-long two-parter directed by Cai Chusheng and Zheng Junli, was a particularly strong success. Its depiction of the struggles of ordinary Chinese during the Second Sino-Japanese war, replete with biting social and political commentary, struck a chord with audiences of the time.


title: Cinema of China

text: Meanwhile, companies like the Wenhua Film Company ("Culture Films"), moved away from the leftist tradition and explored the evolution and development of other dramatic genres. Wenhua treated postwar problems in universalistic and humanistic ways, avoiding the family narrative and melodramatic formulae. Excellent examples of Wenhua's fare are its first two postwar features, "Unending Emotions" (1947) and "Fake Bride, Phony Bridegroom" (1947). Another memorable Wenhua film is "Long Live the Missus" (1947), like "Unending Emotions" with an original screenplay by writer Eileen Chang. Wenhua's romantic drama "Spring in a Small Town" (1948), a film by director Fei Mu shortly prior to the revolution, is often regarded by Chinese film critics as one of the most important films in the history of Chinese cinema, in 2005, Hong Kong film awards it as the best 100 years of film. Ironically, it was precisely its artistic quality and apparent lack of "political grounding" that led to its labeling by the Communists as rightist or reactionary, and the film was quickly forgotten by those on the mainland following the Communist victory in China in 1949. However, with the China Film Archive's re-opening after the Cultural Revolution, a new print was struck from the original negative, allowing "Spring of the Small Town" to find a new and admiring audience and to influence an entire new generation of filmmakers. Indeed, an acclaimed remake was made in 2002 by Tian Zhuangzhuang. A Chinese Peking opera film, "A Wedding in the Dream" (1948), by the same director (Fei Mu), was the first Chinese color film.


title: Cinema of China

text: With the communist revolution in China in 1949, the government saw motion pictures as an important mass production art form and tool for propaganda. Starting from 1951, pre-1949 Chinese films, Hollywood and Hong Kong productions were banned as the Chinese Communist Party sought to tighten control over mass media, producing instead movies centering on peasants, soldiers and workers, such as "Bridge" (1949) and "The White Haired Girl" (1950). One of the production bases in the middle of all the transition was the Changchun Film Studio.


title: Cinema of China

text: The private studios in Shanghai, including Kunming, Wenhua, Guotai and Datong, were encouraged to make new films from 1949 to 1951. They made approximately 47 films during this period, but soon ran into trouble, owing to the furore over the Kunlun-produced drama "The Life of Wu Xun" (1950), directed by Sun Yu and starring veteran Zhao Dan. The feature was accused in an anonymous article in "People's Daily" in May 1951 of spreading feudal ideas. After the article was revealed to be penned by Mao Zedong, the film was banned, a Film Steering Committee was formed to "re-educate" the film industry and within two years, these private studios were all incorporated into the state-run Shanghai Film Studio.


title: Cinema of China

text: The Communist regime solved the problem of a lack of film theaters by building mobile projection units which could tour the remote regions of China, ensuring that even the poorest could have access to films. By 1965 there were around 20,393 such units. The number of movie-viewers hence increased sharply, partly bolstered by the fact that film tickets were given out to work units and attendance was compulsory, with admissions rising from 47 million in 1949 to 4.15 billion in 1959. In the 17 years between the founding of the People's Republic of China and the Cultural Revolution, 603 feature films and 8,342 reels of documentaries and newsreels were produced, sponsored mostly as Communist propaganda by the government. For example, in "Guerrilla on the Railroad" (铁道游击队), dated 1956, the Chinese Communist Party was depicted as the primary resistance force against the Japanese in the war against invasion. Chinese filmmakers were sent to Moscow to study the Soviet socialist realism style of filmmaking. The Beijing Film Academy established in 1950 and in 1956, the Beijing Film Academy was officially opened. One important film of this era is "This Life of Mine" (1950), directed by Shi Hu, which follows an old beggar reflecting on his past life as a policeman working for the various regimes since 1911. The first widescreen Chinese film was produced in 1960. Animated films using a variety of folk arts, such as papercuts, shadow plays, puppetry, and traditional paintings, also were very popular for entertaining and educating children. The most famous of these, the classic "Havoc in Heaven" (two parts, 1961, 4), was made by Wan Laiming of the Wan Brothers and won Outstanding Film award at the London International Film Festival.


title: Cinema of China

text: The thawing of censorship in 1956–57 (known as the Hundred Flowers Campaign) and the early 1960s led to more indigenous Chinese films being made which were less reliant on their Soviet counterparts. During this campaign the sharpest criticisms came from the satirical comedies of Lü Ban. "Before the New Director Arrives" exposes the hierarchical relationships occurring between the cadres, while his next film, "The Unfinished Comedy" (1957), was labelled as a "poisonous weed" during the Anti-Rightist Movement and Lü was banned from directing for life."The Unfinished Comedy" was only screened after Mao's death. Other noteworthy films produced during this period were adaptations of literary classics, such as Sang Hu's "The New Year's Sacrifice" (1956; adapted from a Lu Xun story) and Shui Hua's "The Lin Family Shop" (1959; adapted from a Mao Dun story). The most prominent filmmaker of this era was Xie Jin, whose three films in particular, "Woman Basketball Player No. 5" (1957), "The Red Detachment of Women" (1961) and "Two Stage Sisters" (1964), exemplify China's increased expertise at filmmaking during this time. Films made during this period are polished and exhibit high production value and elaborate sets. While Beijing and Shanghai remained the main centers of production, between 1957–60 the government built regional studios in Guangzhou, Xi'an and Chengdu to encourage representations of ethnic minorities in films. Chinese cinema began to directly address the issue of such ethnic minorities during the late 1950s and early 1960s, in films like "Five Golden Flowers" (1959), "Third Sister Liu" (1960), "Serfs" (1963), "Ashima" (1964).


title: Cinema of China

text: During the Cultural Revolution, the film industry was severely restricted. Almost all previous films were banned, and only a few new ones were produced, the so-called "revolutionary model operas". The most notable of these was a ballet version of the revolutionary opera "The Red Detachment of Women", directed by Pan Wenzhan and Fu Jie in 1970. Feature film production came almost to a standstill in the early years from 1967 to 1972. Movie production revived after 1972 under the strict jurisdiction of the Gang of Four until 1976, when they were overthrown. The few films that were produced during this period, such as 1975's "Breaking with Old Ideas", were highly regulated in terms of plot and characterization.


title: Cinema of China

text: In the years immediately following the Cultural Revolution, the film industry again flourished as a medium of popular entertainment. Production rose steadily, from 19 features in 1977 to 125 in 1986. Domestically produced films played to large audiences, and tickets for foreign film festivals sold quickly. The industry tried to revive crowds by making more innovative and "exploratory" films like their counterparts in the West.


title: Cinema of China

text: After the Cultural Revolution had ended in 1976, Chinese cinema grew significantly in the late 1970s. In 1979, annual box office admissions reached a peak of tickets sold, equivalent to an average of per person. Chinese cinema continued to prosper into the early 1980s. In 1980, annual box office admissions stood at tickets sold, equivalent to an average of per person. In terms of box office admissions, this period represented the peak ticket sales in the history of the Chinese box office. High ticket sales were driven by low ticket prices, with a cinema ticket typically costing between ¥0.1 () and ¥0.3 () at the time.


title: Cinema of China

text: A number of films during this period drew box office admissions in the hundreds of millions. China's highest-grossing film in box office admissions was "Legend of the White Snake" (1980) with an estimated admissions, followed by (1981) and "The Undaunted Wudang" (1983) with more than ticket sales each. The highest-grossing foreign film was the Japanese film "Kimi yo Fundo no Kawa o Watare" (1976), which released in 1978 and sold more than tickets, followed by the Indian film "Caravan" (1971) which released in 1979 and sold about tickets.


title: Cinema of China

text: In the late 1980s the film industry fell on hard times, faced with the dual problems of competition from other forms of entertainment and concern on the part of the authorities that many of the popular thriller and martial arts films were socially unacceptable. In January 1986 the film industry was transferred from the Ministry of Culture to the newly formed Ministry of Radio, Cinema, and Television to bring it under "stricter control and management" and to "strengthen supervision over production."


title: Cinema of China

text: The end of the Cultural Revolution brought the release of "scar dramas" (傷痕剧 "shānghén jù"), which depicted the emotional traumas left by this period. The best-known of these is probably Xie Jin's "Hibiscus Town" (1986), although they could be seen as late as the 1990s with Tian Zhuangzhuang's "The Blue Kite" (1993). In the 1980s, open criticism of certain past Communist Party policies was encouraged by Deng Xiaoping as a way to reveal the excesses of the Cultural Revolution and the earlier Anti-Rightist Campaign, also helping to legitimize Deng's new policies of "reform and opening up." For instance, the Best Picture prize in the inaugural 1981 Golden Rooster Awards was given to two "scar dramas", "Evening Rain" (Wu Yonggang, Wu Yigong, 1980) and "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" (Xie Jin, 1980).


title: Cinema of China

text: Many scar dramas were made by members of the Fourth Generation whose own careers or lives had suffered during the events in question, while younger, Fifth Generation directors such as Tian tended to focus on less controversial subjects of the immediate present or the distant past. Official enthusiasm for scar dramas waned by the 1990s when younger filmmakers began to confront negative aspects of the Mao era. "The Blue Kite", though sharing a similar subject as the earlier scar dramas, was more realistic in style, and was made only through obfuscating its real script. Shown abroad, it was banned from release in mainland China, while Tian himself was banned from making any films for nearly a decade afterward. After the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, few if any scar dramas were released domestically in mainland China.


title: Cinema of China

text: Beginning in the mid-late 1980s, the rise of the so-called fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers brought increased popularity of Chinese cinema abroad. Most of the filmmakers who made up the Fifth Generation had graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982 and included Zhang Yimou, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Chen Kaige, Zhang Junzhao, Li Shaohong, Wu Ziniu and others. These graduates constituted the first group of filmmakers to graduate since the Cultural Revolution and they soon jettisoned traditional methods of storytelling and opted for a more free and unorthodox symbolic approach. After the so-called scar literature in fiction had paved the way for frank discussion, Zhang Junzhao's "One and Eight" (1983) and Chen Kaige's "Yellow Earth" (1984) in particular were taken to mark the beginnings of the Fifth Generation. The most famous of the Fifth Generation directors, Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, went on to produce celebrated works such as "King of the Children" (1987), "Ju Dou" (1989), "Raise the Red Lantern" (1991) and "Farewell My Concubine" (1993), which were not only acclaimed by Chinese cinema-goers but by the Western arthouse audience. Tian Zhuangzhuang's films, though less well known by Western viewers, were well noted by directors such as Martin Scorsese. It was during this period that Chinese cinema began reaping the rewards of international attention, including the 1988 Golden Bear for "Red Sorghum", the 1992 Golden Lion for "The Story of Qiu Ju", the 1993 Palme d'Or for "Farewell My Concubine", and three Best Foreign Language Film nominations from the Academy Awards. All these award-winning films starred actress Gong Li, who became the Fifth Generation's most recognizable star, especially to international audiences.


title: Cinema of China

text: Diverse in style and subject, the Fifth Generation directors' films ranged from black comedy (Huang Jianxin's "The Black Cannon Incident", 1985) to the esoteric (Chen Kaige's "Life on a String", 1991), but they share a common rejection of the socialist-realist tradition worked by earlier Chinese filmmakers in the Communist era. Other notable Fifth Generation directors include Wu Ziniu, Hu Mei, Li Shaohong and Zhou Xiaowen. Fifth Generation filmmakers reacted against the ideological purity of Cultural Revolution cinema. By relocating to regional studios, they began to explore the actuality of local culture in a somewhat documentarian fashion. Instead of stories depicting heroic military struggles, the films were built out of the drama of ordinary people's daily lives. They also retained political edge, but aimed at exploring issues rather than recycling approved policy. While Cultural Revolution films used character, the younger directors favored psychological depth along the lines of European cinema. They adopted complex plots, ambiguous symbolism, and evocative imagery. Some of their bolder works with political overtones were banned by Chinese authorities.


title: Cinema of China

text: These films came with a creative genres of stories, new style of shooting as well, directors utilized extensive color and long shots to present and explore history and structure of national culture. As a result of the new films being so intricate, the films were for more educated audiences than anything. The new style was profitable for some and helped filmmakers to make strides in the business. It allowed directors to get away from reality and show their artistic sense.


title: Cinema of China

text: The Fourth Generation also returned to prominence. Given their label after the rise of the Fifth Generation, these were directors whose careers were stalled by the Cultural Revolution and who were professionally trained prior to 1966. Wu Tianming, in particular, made outstanding contributions by helping to finance major Fifth Generation directors under the auspices of the Xi'an Film Studio (which he took over in 1983), while continuing to make films like "Old Well" (1986) and "The King of Masks" (1996).


title: Cinema of China

text: The Fifth Generation movement ended in part after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, although its major directors continued to produce notable works. Several of its filmmakers went into self-imposed exile: Wu Tianming moved to the United States (but later returned), Huang Jianxin left for Australia, while many others went into television-related works.


title: Cinema of China

text: During a period when socialist dramas were beginning to lose viewership, the Chinese government began to involve itself deeper into the world of popular culture and cinema by creating the official genre of the "main melody" (主旋律 "zhǔxuánlǜ"), inspired by Hollywood's strides in musical dramas. In 1987, the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television issued a statement encouraging the making of movies which emphasizes the main melody to "invigorate national spirit and national pride". The expression "main melody" refers to the musical term "leitmotif", which translates to the 'theme of our times', which scholars suggest is representative of China's socio-political climate and cultural context of popular cinema. These main melody films, still produced regularly in modern times, try to emulate the commercial mainstream by the use of Hollywood-style music and special effects. A significant feature of these films is the incorporation of a "red song", which is a song written as propaganda to support the People's Republic of China. By revolving the film around the motif of a red song, the film is able to gain traction at the box office as songs are generally thought to be more accessible than a film. Theoretically, once the red song dominates the charts, it will stir interest in the film that which it accompanies.


title: Cinema of China

text: Main melody dramas are often subsidized by the state and have free access to government and military personnel. The Chinese government spends between "one and two million RMBs" annually to support the production of films in the main melody genre. August 1st Film Studio, the film and TV production arm of the People's Liberation Army, is a studio that produces main melody cinema. Main melody films, which often depict past military engagements or are biopics of first-generation CCP leaders, have won several Best Picture prizes at the Golden Rooster Awards. Some of the more famous main melody dramas include the ten-hour epic "Decisive Engagement" (大决战, 1991), directed by Cai Jiawei, Yang Guangyuan and Wei Lian; "The Opium War" (1997), directed by Xie Jin; and "The Founding of a Republic" (2009), directed by Han Sanping and Fifth Generation director Huang Jianxin. "The Founding of an Army" (2017) was commissioned by the government to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army, and is the third instalment in The Founding of a Republic series. The film featured many young Chinese pop singers that are already well-established in the industry, including Li Yifeng, Liu Haoran, and Lay Zhang, so as to further the film's reputation as a main melody drama.


title: Cinema of China

text: The post-1990 era has been labelled the "return of the amateur filmmaker" as state censorship policies after the Tiananmen Square demonstrations produced an edgy underground film movement loosely referred to as the Sixth Generation. Owing to the lack of state funding and backing, these films were shot quickly and cheaply, using materials like 16 mm film and digital video and mostly non-professional actors and actresses, producing a documentary feel, often with long takes, hand-held cameras, and ambient sound; more akin to Italian neorealism and cinéma vérité than the often lush, far more considered productions of the Fifth Generation. Unlike the Fifth Generation, the Sixth Generation brings a more individualistic, anti-romantic life-view and pays far closer attention to contemporary urban life, especially as affected by disorientation, rebellion and dissatisfaction with China's contemporary social marketing economic tensions and comprehensive cultural background. Many were made with an extremely low budget (an example is Jia Zhangke, who shoots on digital video, and formerly on 16 mm; Wang Xiaoshuai's "The Days" (1993) was made for US$10,000). The title and subjects of many of these films reflect the Sixth Generation's concerns. The Sixth Generation takes an interest in marginalized individuals and the less represented fringes of society. For example, Zhang Yuan's hand-held "Beijing Bastards" (1993) focuses on youth punk subculture, featuring artists like Cui Jian, Dou Wei and He Yong frowned upon by many state authorities, while Jia Zhangke's debut film "Xiao Wu" (1997) concerns a provincial pickpocket.


title: Cinema of China

text: As the Sixth Generation gained international exposure, many subsequent movies were joint ventures and projects with international backers, but remained quite resolutely low-key and low budget. Jia's "Platform" (2000) was funded in part by Takeshi Kitano's production house, while his "Still Life" was shot on HD video. "Still Life" was a surprise addition and Golden Lion winner of the 2006 Venice International Film Festival. "Still Life", which concerns provincial workers around the Three Gorges region, sharply contrasts with the works of Fifth Generation Chinese directors like Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige who were at the time producing "House of Flying Daggers" (2004) and "The Promise" (2005). It featured no star of international renown and was acted mostly by non-professionals.


title: Cinema of China

text: Many Sixth Generation films have highlighted the negative attributes of China's entry into the modern capitalist market. Li Yang's "Blind Shaft" (2003) for example, is an account of two murderous con-men in the unregulated and notoriously dangerous mining industry of northern China. (Li refused the tag of Sixth Generation, although admitted he was not Fifth Generation). While Jia Zhangke's "The World" (2004) emphasizes the emptiness of globalization in the backdrop of an internationally themed amusement park.


title: Cinema of China

text: Some of the more prolific Sixth Generation directors to have emerged are Wang Xiaoshuai ("The Days", "Beijing Bicycle", "So Long, My Son"), Zhang Yuan ("Beijing Bastards", "East Palace West Palace"), Jia Zhangke ("Xiao Wu", "Unknown Pleasures", "Platform", "The World", "A Touch of Sin", "Mountains May Depart", "Ash Is Purest White"), He Jianjun ("Postman") and Lou Ye ("Suzhou River", "Summer Palace"). One director of their generation who does not share most of the concerns of the Sixth Generation is Lu Chuan ("", 2004; "City of Life and Death", 2010).


title: Cinema of China

text: In the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, two of China's Sixth generation filmmakers, Jia Zhangke and Zhang Meng – whose grim works transformed Chinese cinema in the 1990s – showed on the French Riviera. While both directors represent Chinese cinema, their profiles are quite different. The 49-year-old Jia set up the Pingyao International Film Festival in 2017 and on the other hand is Zhang, a 56-year-old film school professor who spent years working on government commissions and domestic TV shows after struggling with his own projects. Despite their different profiles, they mark an important cornerstone in Chinese cinema and are both credited with bringing Chinese movies to the international big screen. Chinese director Jia Zhangke's latest film "Ash Is Purest White" has been selected to compete in the official competition for the Palme d'Or of the 71st Cannes Film Festival, the highest prize awarded at the film festival. It is Jia’s fifth movie, a gangster revenge drama that is his most expensive and mainstream film to date. Back in 2013, Jia won Best Screenplay Award for "A Touch of Sin", following nominations for "Unknown Pleasures" in 2002 and "24 City" in 2008. In 2014, he was a member of the official jury and the following year his film "Mountains May Depart" was nominated. According to entertainment website Variety, a record number of Chinese films were submitted this year but only Jia's romantic drama was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. Meanwhile, Zhang will make his debut at Cannes with "The Pluto Moment", a slow-moving relationship drama about a team of filmmakers scouting for locations and musical talent in China’s rural hinterland. The film is Zhang’s highest profile production so far, as it stars actor Wang Xuebing in the leading role. The film was partly financed by iQiyi, the company behind one of China’s most popular online video browsing sharing sites. Diao Yinan is also a notable member of the sixth generation whose works include "Black Coal Thin Ice", "Wild Goose Lake", "Night Train" and "Uniform" which have premiered at festivals such as Cannes and received acclaim abroad.


title: Cinema of China

text: He Ping is a director of mostly Western-like films set in Chinese locale. His "Swordsmen in Double Flag Town" (1991) and "Sun Valley" (1995) explore narratives set in the sparse terrain of West China near the Gobi Desert. His historical drama "Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker" (1994) won a myriad of prizes home and abroad.


title: Cinema of China

text: Recent cinema has seen Chinese cinematographers direct some acclaimed films. Other than Zhang Yimou, Lü Yue made "Mr. Zhao" (1998), a black comedy film well received abroad. Gu Changwei's minimalist epic "Peacock" (2005), about a quiet, ordinary Chinese family with three very different siblings in the post-Cultural Revolution era, took home the Silver Bear prize for 2005 Berlin International Film Festival. Hou Yong is another cinematographer who made films ("Jasmine Women", 2004) and TV series. There are actors who straddle the dual roles of acting and directing. Xu Jinglei, a popular Chinese actress, has made six movies to date. Her second film "Letter from an Unknown Woman" (2004) landed her the San Sebastián International Film Festival Best Director award. Another popular actress and director is Zhao Wei, whose directorial debut "So Young" (2013) was a huge box office and critical success.


title: Cinema of China

text: The most highly regarded Chinese actor-director is undoubtedly Jiang Wen, who has directed several critically acclaimed movies while following on his acting career. His directorial debut, "In the Heat of the Sun" (1994) was the first PRC film to win Best Picture at the Golden Horse Film Awards held in Taiwan. His other films, like "Devils on the Doorstep" (2000, Cannes Grand Prix) and "Let the Bullets Fly" (2010), were similarly well received. By the early 2011, "Let the Bullets Fly" had become the highest grossing domestic film in China's history.


title: Cinema of China

text: There is a growing number of independent seventh or post-Sixth Generation filmmakers making films with extremely low budgets and using digital equipment. They are the so-called dGeneration (for digital). These films, like those from Sixth Generation filmmakers, are mostly made outside the Chinese film system and are shown mostly on the international film festival circuit. Ying Liang and Jian Yi are two of these generation filmmakers. Ying's "Taking Father Home" (2005) and "The Other Half" (2006) are both representative of the generation trends of the feature film. Liu Jiayin made two dGeneration feature films, "Oxhide" (2004) and "Oxhide II" (2010), blurring the line between documentary and narrative film. "Oxhide", made by Liu when she was a film student, frames herself and her parents in their claustrophobic Beijing apartment in a narrative praised by critics. "An Elephant Sitting Still", considered one of the greatest film debuts in Chinese cinema, is also the only film by the late Hu Bo.


title: Cinema of China

text: Two decades of reform and commercialization have brought dramatic social changes in mainland China, reflected not only in fiction film but in a growing documentary movement. Wu Wenguang's 70-minute "" (1990) is now seen as one of the first works of this "New Documentary Movement" (NDM) in China. "Bumming", made between 1988 and 1990, contains interviews with five young artists eking out a living in Beijing, subject to state authorized tasks. Shot using a camcorder, the documentary ends with four of the artists moving abroad after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. "Dance with the Farm Workers" (2001) is another documentary by Wu.


title: Cinema of China

text: Another internationally acclaimed documentary is Wang Bing's nine-hour tale of deindustrialization "" (2003). Wang's subsequent documentaries, "" (2007), "Crude Oil" (2008), "Man with no name" (2009), "Three Sisters" (2012) and "Feng ai" (2013), cemented his reputation as a leading documentarist of the movement.


title: Cinema of China

text: Li Hong, the first woman in the NDM, in "Out of Phoenix Bridge" (1997) relates the story of four young women, who moving from rural areas to the big cities like millions of other men and women, have come to Beijing to make a living.


title: Cinema of China

text: The New Documentary Movement in recent times has overlapped with the dGeneration filmmaking, with most documentaries being shot cheaply and independently in the digital format. Xu Xin's "Karamay" (2010), Zhao Liang's Behemoth, Huang Weikai's "Disorder" (2009), Zhao Dayong's "Ghost Town" (2009), Du Haibing's "1428" (2009), Xu Tong's "Fortune Teller" (2009) and Li Ning’s "Tape" (2010) were all shot in digital format. All had made their impact in the international documentary scene and the use of digital format allows for works of vaster lengths.


title: Cinema of China

text: Inspired by the success of Disney animation, the self-taught pioneers Wan brothers, Wan Laiming and Wan Guchan, made the first Chinese animated short in the 1920s, thus inaugurating the history of Chinese animation. (Chen Yuanyuan 175) Many live-action films of the Republican era also included animated sequences.


title: Cinema of China

text: In 1937, the Wan brothers decided to produce 《铁扇公主》" Princess Iron Fan", which was the first Chinese animated feature film and the fourth, after the American feature films "Snow White", "Gulliver’s Travels", and "The Adventure of Pinocchio". It was at this time that Chinese animation as an art form had risen to prominence on the world stage. Completed in 1941, the film was released under China United Pictures and aroused a great response in Asia. Japanese animator Shigeru Tezuka once said that he gave up medicine after watching the cartoon and decided to pursue animation.


title: Cinema of China

text: During this golden era, Chinese animation had developed a variety of styles, including ink animation, shadow play animation, puppet animation, and so on. Some of the most representative works are 《大闹天宫》" Uproar in Heaven", 《哪吒闹海》 "Nezha's Rebellion in the Sea" and《天书奇谈》 "Heavenly Book", which have also won lofty praise and numerous awards in the world.


title: Cinema of China

text: After Deng Xiaoping’s Reform Period and the "opening up" of China, the movies《葫芦兄弟》 "Calabash Brothers", 《黑猫警长》"Black Cat Sheriff", 《阿凡提》"Avanti Story" and other impressive animated movies were released. However, at this time, China still favored the Japanese’s more unique, American and European-influenced animated works over the less-advanced domestic ones.


title: Cinema of China

text: In the 1990s, digital production methods replaced manual hand-drawing methods; however, even with the use of advanced technology, none of the animated works were considered to be a breakthrough film. Animated films that tried to cater to all age groups, such as "Lotus Lantern" and "Storm Resolution", did not attract much attention. The only animated works that seemed to achieve popularity were the ones for catered for children, such as "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf"《喜羊羊与灰太狼》.


title: Cinema of China

text: During this period, the technical level of Chinese domestic animation production has been established comprehensively, and 3D animation films have become the mainstream. However, as more and more foreign films (such as ones from Japan, Europe, and the United States) are being imported into China, Chinese animated works is left in the shadows of these animated foreign films.


title: Cinema of China

text: It was only with the release of 《西游记之大圣归来》"" in 2015, a computer animated film, that Chinese animated works took back the rein. The film was a huge hit and broke the record for Chinese domestic animated movies with CN¥956 million at China’s box office. After the success of "Journey to the West", several other high-quality animated films were released, such as《大鱼海棠》 "Big Fish and Begonia" and 《白蛇缘起》 "White Snake". Though none of these movies made headway in regards to the box office, they did make filmmakers more and more interested in animated works.


title: Cinema of China

text: This all changed with the breakthrough animated film, 《哪吒之魔童降世》"Ne Zha". Released in 2019, it became the second highest-grossing film of all time in China, the highest-grossing animated non-English film, and the highest-grossing animated film in a single territory. It was with this film that Chinese animated films, as a medium, finally broke the notion in China that domestic animated films are only for children. With "Nezha", and a spinoff, "Jiang Ziya", Chinese animation has now come to be known as a veritable source of entertainment for all ages.


title: Cinema of China

text: With China's liberalization in the late 1970s and its opening up to foreign markets, commercial considerations have made its impact in post-1980s filmmaking. Traditionally arthouse movies screened seldom make enough to break even. An example is Fifth Generation director Tian Zhuangzhuang's "The Horse Thief" (1986), a narrative film with minimal dialog on a Tibetan horse thief. The film, showcasing exotic landscapes, was well received by Chinese and some Western arthouse audiences, but did poorly at the box office.


title: Cinema of China

text: Tian's later "The Warrior and the Wolf" (2010) was a similar commercial failure. Prior to these, there were examples of successful commercial films in the post-liberalization period. One was the romance film "Romance on the Lu Mountain" (1980), which was a success with older Chinese. The film broke the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-running film on a first run. Jet Li's cinematic debut "Shaolin Temple" (1982) was an instant hit at home and abroad (in Japan and the Southeast Asia, for example). Another successful commercial film was "Murder in 405" (405谋杀案, 1980), a murder thriller.


title: Cinema of China

text: Feng Xiaogang's "The Dream Factory" (1997) was heralded as a turning point in Chinese movie industry, a "hesui pian" (Chinese New Year-screened film) which demonstrated the viability of the commercial model in China's socialist market economy. Feng has become one of the most successful commercial director in the post-1997 era. Almost all his films made high returns domestically while he used ethnic Chinese co-stars like Rosamund Kwan, Jacqueline Wu, Rene Liu and Shu Qi to boost his films' appeal.


title: Cinema of China

text: In the decade following 2010, owing to the influx of Hollywood films (though the number screened each year is curtailed), Chinese domestic cinema faces mounting challenges. The industry is growing and domestic films are starting to achieve the box office impact of major Hollywood blockbusters. However, not all domestic films are successful financially. In January 2010 James Cameron's "Avatar" was pulled out from non-3D theaters for Hu Mei's biopic "Confucius", but this move led to a backlash on Hu's film. Zhang Yang's 2005 "Sunflower" also made little money, but his earlier, low-budget "Spicy Love Soup" (1997) grossed ten times its budget of ¥3 million. Likewise, the 2006 "Crazy Stone", a sleeper hit, was made for just 3 million HKD/US$400,000. In 2009–11, Feng's "Aftershock" (2009) and Jiang Wen's "Let the Bullets Fly" (2010) became China's highest grossing domestic films, with "Aftershock" earning ¥670 million (US$105 million) and "Let the Bullets Fly" ¥674 million (US$110 million). "Lost in Thailand" (2012) became the first Chinese film to reach ¥1 billion at the Chinese box office and "Monster Hunt" (2015) became the first to reach . As of 2021, 9 of the top 10 highest-grossing films in China are domestic productions. On 8 February 2016, the Chinese box office set a new single-day gross record, with , beating the previous record of on 18 July 2015. Also in February 2016, "The Mermaid", directed by Stephen Chow, became the highest-grossing film in China, overtaking "Monster Hunt". It is also the first film to reach .


title: Cinema of China

text: Under the influence of Hollywood science fiction movies like "Prometheus", published on 8 June 2012, such genres especially the space science films have risen rapidly in the Chinese film market in recent years. On 5 February 2019, the film "The Wandering Earth" directed by Frant Kwo reached $699.8 million worldwide, which became the third highest-grossing film in the history of Chinese cinema.


title: Cinema of China

text: Since the late 1980s and progressively in the 2000s, Chinese films have enjoyed considerable box office success abroad. Formerly viewed only by cineastes, its global appeal mounted after the international box office and critical success of Ang Lee's period wuxia film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" which won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2000. This multi-national production increased its appeal by featuring stars from all parts of the Chinese-speaking world. It provided an introduction to Chinese cinema (and especially the wuxia genre) for many and increased the popularity of many earlier Chinese films. To date "Crouching Tiger" remains the most commercially successful foreign-language film in U.S. history.


title: Cinema of China

text: Similarly, in 2002, Zhang Yimou's "Hero" was another international box office success. Its cast featured famous actors from Mainland China and Hong Kong who were also known to some extent in the West, including Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. Despite criticisms by some that these two films pander somewhat to Western tastes, "Hero" was a phenomenal success in most of Asia and topped the U.S. box office for two weeks, making enough in the U.S. alone to cover the production costs.


title: Cinema of China

text: Other films such as "Farewell My Concubine", "2046", "Suzhou River", "The Road Home" and "House of Flying Daggers" were critically acclaimed around the world. The Hengdian World Studios can be seen as the "Chinese Hollywood", with a total area of up to 330 ha. and 13 shooting bases, including a 1:1 copy of the Forbidden City.


title: Cinema of China

text: The successes of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero" make it difficult to demarcate the boundary between "Mainland Chinese" cinema and a more international-based "Chinese-language cinema". "Crouching Tiger", for example, was directed by a Taiwan-born American director (Ang Lee) who works often in Hollywood. Its pan-Chinese leads include Mainland Chinese (Zhang Ziyi), Hong Kong (Chow Yun-Fat), Taiwan (Chang Chen) and Malaysian (Michelle Yeoh) actors and actresses; the film was co-produced by an array of Chinese, American, Hong Kong, and Taiwan film companies. Likewise, Lee's Chinese-language "Lust, Caution" (2007) drew a crew and cast from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and includes an orchestral score by French composer Alexandre Desplat. This merging of people, resources and expertise from the three regions and the broader East Asia and the world, marks the movement of Chinese-language cinema into a domain of large scale international influence. Other examples of films in this mold include "The Promise" (2005), "The Banquet" (2006), "Fearless" (2006), "The Warlords" (2007), "Bodyguards and Assassins" (2009) and "Red Cliff" (2008-09). The ease with which ethnic Chinese actresses and actors straddle the mainland and Hong Kong has significantly increased the number of co-productions in Chinese-language cinema. Many of these films also feature South Korean or Japanese actors to appeal to their East Asian neighbours. Some artistes originating from the mainland, like Hu Jun, Zhang Ziyi, Tang Wei and Zhou Xun, obtained Hong Kong residency under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme and have acted in many Hong Kong productions.


title: Cinema of China

text: In 2010, Chinese cinema was the third largest film industry by number of feature films produced annually. In 2013, China's gross box office was ¥21.8 billion (US$3.6 billion), the second-largest film market in the world by box office receipts. In January 2013, "Lost in Thailand" (2012) became the first Chinese film to reach ¥1 billion at the box office. As of May 2013, 7 of the top 10 highest-grossing films in China were domestic productions. As of 2014, around half of all tickets are sold online, with the largest ticket selling sites being Maoyan.com (82 million), Gewara.com (45 million) and Wepiao.com (28 million). In 2014, Chinese films earned ¥1.87 billion outside China. By December 2013 there were 17,000 screens in the country. By 6 January 2014, there were 18,195 screens in the country. Greater China has around 251 IMAX theaters. There were 299 cinema chains (252 rural, 47 urban), 5,813 movie theaters and 24,317 screens in the country in 2014.


title: Cinema of China

text: The country added about 8,035 screens in 2015 (at an average of 22 new screens per day, increasing its total by about 40% to around 31,627 screens, which is about 7,373 shy of the number of screens in the United States. Chinese films accounted for 61.48% of ticket sales in 2015 (up from 54% last year) with more than 60% of ticket sales being made online. Average ticket price was down about 2.5% to $5.36 in 2015. It also witnessed 51.08% increase in admissions, with 1.26 billion people buying tickets to the cinema in 2015. Chinese films grossed overseas in 2015. During the week of the 2016 Chinese New Year, the country set a new record for the highest box office gross during one week in one territory with , overtaking the previous record of of 26 December 2015 to 1 January 2016 in the United States and Canada. Chinese films grossed () in foreign markets in 2016.


title: Cinema of China

text: As of April 2015, the largest Chinese film company by worth was Alibaba Pictures (US$8.77 billion). Other large companies include Huayi Brothers Media (US$7.9 billion), Enlight Media (US$5.98 billion) and Bona Film Group (US$542 million). The biggest distributors by market share in 2014 were: China Film Group (32.8%), Huaxia Film (22.89%), Enlight Pictures (7.75%), Bona Film Group (5.99%), Wanda Media (5.2%), Le Vision Pictures (4.1%), Huayi Brothers (2.26%), United Exhibitor Partners (2%), Heng Ye Film Distribution (1.77%) and Beijing Anshi Yingna Entertainment (1.52%). The biggest cinema chains in 2014 by box office gross were: Wanda Cinema Line (), China Film Stellar (393.35 million), Dadi Theater Circuit (378.17 million), Shanghai United Circuit (355.07 million), Guangzhou Jinyi Zhujiang (335.39 million), China Film South Cinema Circuit (318.71 million), Zhejiang Time Cinema (190.53 million), China Film Group Digital Cinema Line (177.42 million), Hengdian Cinema Line (170.15 million) and Beijing New Film Association (163.09 million).


title: Cinema of China

text: Huayi Brothers is China’s most powerful independent (i.e., non state-owned) entertainment company, Beijing-based Huayi Brothers is a diversified company engaged in film and TV production, distribution, theatrical exhibition, as well as talent management. Notable films include 2004's "Kung Fu Hustle"; and 2010's "Aftershock", which had a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.


title: Cinema of China

text: Beijing Enlight Media focuses on the action and romance genres. Enlight usually places several films in China’s top 20 grossers. Enlight is also a major player in China’s TV series production and distribution businesses. Under the leadership of its CEO Wang Changtian, the publicly traded, Beijing-based company has achieved a market capitalization of nearly US$1 billion.


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: The F48 BMW X1 is the second generation of the BMW X1 range of subcompact luxury crossover SUV. The F48 X1 was unveiled at the September 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, and later at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. Contrary to the previous generation which uses rear-wheel drive as standard, all models are now front-wheel drive based (marketed as "sDrive") while also available with an optional all-wheel drive ("xDrive").


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: The F48 X1 is based on the modular front-wheel-drive-based UKL2 platform that is shared between BMW and MINI models, instead of being based on the rear-wheel drive 3 Series Touring platform as with the previous generation X1.


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: In comparison, the F48 X1 has a shorter wheelbase, and is wider, and taller compared to its predecessor. However, the new platform has allowed for increased interior legroom, headroom, and shoulder room.


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: A long-wheelbase model for the Chinese market (F49 model code) was unveiled at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show, and features a longer wheelbase. Long-wheelbase models share the same engines and also introduced a new all-wheel drive hybrid model called the xDrive25Le. These models went on sale in May 2016.


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: In May 2019, the facelifted LCI model was revealed on the official BMW website. Changes include new available LED headlights, bumpers (with LED taillights), new wheels, and a larger kidney grille reminiscent to other contemporary BMW models such as the F40 1 Series.


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: All models get 17-inch alloy wheels, a roof rack, an electrically operated tailgate, a 6.5-inch iDrive system, cloth seats, and 40:20:40 split-folding rear seats. The X1 is also offered in a Sport trim which adds sports seats, and in xLine and M Sport trim which adds heated leather seats. Available options include a panoramic sunroof, an upgraded iDrive Navigation Plus system with an 8.8-inch touch display, and a head-up display.


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: sDrive16d and 18i models are available with a 6-speed manual transmission and sDrive18i models can be upgraded to a 6-speed Automatic Transmission for 2016 to 2017 and a 7-speed Steptronic dual clutch transmission (DCT) from 2018 onwards. The rest of the model range receives the 8-speed Steptronic automatic manufactured by Aisin (AWF8F35) as standard from 2016 to 2017, and sDrive20i models receive a Steptronic 7-speed DCT (similar to the 2018-up sDrive18i) from 2018 onwards, while the rest of the range still gets the same 8-speed Steptronic automatic.


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: In September 2019, BMW revealed the X1 xDrive25e plug-in hybrid model, which combines a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine with a 9.7 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and a electric motor. The system output is and of torque. The petrol engine is paired with a 6-speed Steptronic automatic transmission. The pure electric range as per NEDC is .


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki> xDrive25i model sold as xDrive28i in the United States, using the B46A20O0 version of the straight-4 engine. A front-wheel-drive ‘sDrive28i’ variant powered by the same engine is also offered.


title: BMW X1 (F48)

text: In February 2019 Green NCAP assessed BMW X1 with 18d xDrive 4-cylinder diesel engine and manual transmission:


title: Black propaganda

text: Black propaganda is a form of propaganda intended to create the impression that it was created by those it is supposed to discredit. Black propaganda contrasts with gray propaganda, which does not identify its source, as well as white propaganda, which does not disguise its origins at all. It is typically used to vilify or embarrass the enemy through misrepresentation.


title: Black propaganda

text: The major characteristic of black propaganda is that the audience are not aware that someone is influencing them, and do not feel that they are being pushed in a certain direction. Black propaganda purports to emanate from a source other than the true source. This type of propaganda is associated with covert psychological operations. Sometimes the source is concealed or credited to a false authority and spreads lies, fabrications, and deceptions. Black propaganda is the "big lie", including all types of creative deceit. Black propaganda relies on the willingness of the receiver to accept the credibility of the source. If the creators or senders of the black propaganda message do not adequately understand their intended audience, the message may be misunderstood, seem suspicious, or fail altogether.


title: Black propaganda

text: Governments conduct black propaganda for a few reasons. By disguising their direct involvement, a government may be more likely to succeed in convincing an otherwise unbelieving target audience. There are also diplomatic reasons behind the use of black propaganda. Black propaganda is necessary to obfuscate a government's involvement in activities that may be detrimental to its foreign policies.


title: Black propaganda

text: Benjamin Franklin created and circulated a fake supplement to a Boston newspaper that included letters on Indian atrocities and the treatment of American prisoners.


title: Black propaganda

text: In the United Kingdom, the Political Warfare Executive operated a number of black propaganda radio stations. Gustav Siegfried Eins (GS1) was one of the first such stations—purporting to be a clandestine German station. The speaker, "Der Chef", purported to be a Nazi extremist, accusing Adolf Hitler and his henchmen of going soft. The station focused on alleged corruption and sexual improprieties of Nazi Party members.


title: Black propaganda

text: Another example was the British radio station "Soldatensender Calais", which purported to be a radio station for the Wehrmacht. Under the direction of Sefton Delmer, a British journalist who spoke perfect Berliner German, "Soldatensender Calais" and its associated shortwave station, "", broadcast music, up-to-date sports scores, speeches of Adolf Hitler for "cover" and subtle propaganda.


title: Black propaganda

text: Radio Deutschland was another radio station employed by the British during the war aimed and designed to undermine German morale and create tensions that would ultimately disrupt the German war effort. The station was broadcast on a frequency close on the radio dial to an actual German station. During the war most Germans actually believed that this station was in fact a German radio station and it even gained the recognition of Germany's propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.


title: Black propaganda

text: There were British black propaganda radio stations in most of the languages of occupied Europe as well as German and Italian. Most of these were based in the area around Bletchley Park and Woburn Abbey in Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire respectively.


title: Black propaganda

text: Another possible example was a rumour that there had been a German attempt to land on British shores at Shingle Street, but it had been repulsed with large German casualties. This was reported in the American press, and in William L. Shirer's "Berlin Diary" but was officially denied. British papers, declassified in 1993, have suggested this was a successful example of British black propaganda to bolster morale in the UK, USA and occupied Europe.


title: Black propaganda

text: Author James Hayward has proposed that the rumours, which were widely reported in the American press, were a successfully engineered example of black propaganda with an aim of ensuring American co-operation and securing lend lease resources by showing that the United Kingdom was capable of successfully resisting the might of the German Army.


title: Black propaganda

text: David Hare's play "Licking Hitler" provides a fictionalised account based on the British black propaganda efforts in World War II.


title: Black propaganda

text: German black propaganda usually took advantage of European racism and anti-Communism. For example, on the night of April 27, 1944, German aircraft under cover of darkness (and possibly carrying fake Royal Air Force markings) dropped propaganda leaflets on occupied Denmark. These leaflets used the title of "Frihedsposten", a genuine Danish underground newspaper, and claimed that the "hour of liberation" was approaching. They instructed Danes to accept "occupation by Russian or specially trained American Negro soldiers" until the first disorders resulting from military operations were over.


title: Black propaganda

text: The German Büro Concordia organisation operated several black propaganda radio stations (many of which pretended to broadcast illegally from within the countries they targeted). One of these stations was "Workers' Challenge" which purported to be a British communist radio station and encouraged British workers to go on strike against their "capitalist" bosses.


title: Black propaganda

text: The "Tanaka Memorial" was a document that described a Japanese plan for world conquest, beginning with the conquest of China. Most historians now believe it was a forgery.


title: Black propaganda

text: The following message was distributed in black propaganda leaflets dropped by the Japanese over the Philippines in World War II. It was designed to turn Filipinos against the United States:


title: Black propaganda

text: Prior to, and during the Cold War, the Soviet Union used disinformation on multiple occasions. It also employed the technique during the Iranian hostage crisis that took place from 1979 until 1981. For strictly political purposes, and to show support for the hostages, Soviet diplomats at the United Nations vocally criticized the taking of the hostages. At this same time, Soviet "black" radio stations within Iran called the National Voice of Iran openly broadcast strong support for the hostage-takers in an effort to increase anti-American sentiment inside Iran. This was a clear use of black propaganda to make anti-American broadcasts appear as if they were originating from Iranian sources.


title: Black propaganda

text: Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union effectively used the KGB's Service A of the First Chief Directorate in order to conduct its covert, or "black", "active measures". It was Service A that was responsible for clandestine campaigns that were targeted at foreign governments, public populations, as well as to influence individuals and specific groups that were hostile towards the Soviet government and its policies. The majority of their operations was actually conducted by other elements and directorates of the KGB. As a result, it was the First Chief Directorate that was ultimately responsible for the production of Soviet black propaganda operations.


title: Black propaganda

text: By the 1980s, Service A consisted of nearly 120 officers whose responsibilities consisted of covert media placements, and controlled media to covertly introduce carefully manufactured information, disinformation, and slogans into the areas such as government, media, and religion of their targeted countries, namely the United States. Because both the Soviet Union and the KGB's involvements were not acknowledged and intentionally disguised, these operations are therefore classified as a form of black propaganda. The activities of Service A greatly increased during the period of the 1980s through the early 1990s presumably as the Soviet government fought to maintain control during the declining period of the Cold War.


title: Black propaganda

text: The British government ran a secret “black propaganda” campaign for decades, targeting Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia with leaflets and reports from fake sources aimed at destabilising cold war enemies by encouraging racial tensions, sowing chaos, inciting violence and reinforcing anti-communist ideas, newly declassified documents have revealed.


title: Black propaganda

text: Following the September 11 attacks against the United States, the U.S. Department of Defense organized and implemented the Office of Strategic Influence in an effort to improve public support abroad, mainly in Muslim countries. The head of OSI was an appointed general, Pete Worden who maintained a mission described by "The New York Times" as "circulating classified proposals calling for aggressive campaigns that use[d] not only the foreign media and the Internet, but also covert operations." Worden, as well as then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld planned for what Pentagon officials said was 'a broad mission ranging from 'black' campaigns that use[d] disinformation and other covert activities to 'white' public affairs that rely on truthful news releases.' Therefore, OSI's operations could include black activities.


title: Black propaganda

text: OSI's operations were to do more than public relations work, but included contacting and emailing media, journalists, and foreign community leaders with information that would counter foreign governments and organizations that are hostile to the United States. In doing so, the emails would be masked by using addresses ending with .com as opposed to using the standard Pentagon address of .mil, and hide any involvement of the US government and the Pentagon. The Pentagon is forbidden to conduct black propaganda operations within the American media, but is not prohibited from conducting these operations against foreign media outlets. The thought of conducting black propaganda operations and utilizing disinformation resulted in harsh criticism for the program that resulted in its closure in 2002.


title: Pulse pressure

text: Pulse pressure is the difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure. It is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). It represents the force that the heart generates each time it contracts. Resting blood pressure is normally approximately 120/80 mmHg, which yields a pulse pressure of approximately 40 mmHg.


title: Pulse pressure

text: The systemic pulse pressure is approximately proportional to stroke volume, or the amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle during systole (pump action) and inversely proportional to the compliance (similar to Elasticity) of the aorta.


title: Pulse pressure

text: The aorta has the highest compliance in the arterial system due in part to a relatively greater proportion of elastin fibers versus smooth muscle and collagen. This serves the important function of damping the pulsatile (max pump pressure) output of the left ventricle, thereby reducing the initial systolic pulse pressure but slightly raising the subsequent diastolic phase (a period rather similar to Dwell time). If the aorta becomes rigid because of disorders such as arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis, the pulse pressure would be very high because the aorta becomes less compliant due to the formation of rigid lesions to the (otherwise flexible) aorta wall.


title: Pulse pressure

text: In trauma, a low or narrow pulse pressure suggests significant blood loss (insufficient preload leading to reduced cardiac output).


title: Pulse pressure

text: A pulse pressure is considered abnormally low if it is less than 25% of the systolic value. If the pulse pressure is extremely low, i.e. 25 mmHg or less, the cause may be low stroke volume, as in Congestive Heart Failure and/or cardiogenic shock.


title: Pulse pressure

text: Usually, the resting pulse pressure in healthy adults, sitting position, is about 30–40 mmHg. The pulse pressure increases with exercise due to increased stroke volume, healthy values being up to pulse pressures of about 100 mmHg, simultaneously as systemic vascular resistance drops during exercise. In healthy individuals the pulse pressure will typically return to normal within about 11 minutes.


title: Pulse pressure

text: For most individuals, during aerobic exercise, the systolic pressure progressively increases while the diastolic remains about the same. In some very aerobically athletic individuals, for example distance runners, the diastolic will progressively fall as the systolic increases. This behavior facilitates a much greater increase in stroke volume and cardiac output at a lower mean arterial pressure and enables much greater aerobic capacity and physical performance. The diastolic drop reflects a much greater fall in systemic vascular resistance of the muscle arterioles in response to the exercise (a greater proportion of red versus white muscle tissue). Individuals with larger BMIs due to increased muscle mass (bodybuilders) have also been shown to have lower diastolic pressures and larger pulse pressures.


title: Pulse pressure

text: If the usual resting pulse pressure is consistently greater than 100 mmHg, the most likely basis is stiffness of the major arteries, aortic regurgitation (a leak in the aortic valve), arteriovenous malformation (an extra path for blood to travel from a high pressure artery to a low pressure vein without the gradient of a capillary bed), hyperthyroidism or some combination. (A chronically increased stroke volume is also a technical possibility, but very rare in practice.) While some drugs for hypertension have the side effect of increasing resting pulse pressure irreversibly, other antihypertensive drugs, such as ACE Inhibitors, have been shown to lower pulse pressure. A high resting pulse pressure is harmful and tends to accelerate the normal aging of body organs, particularly the heart, the brain and kidneys. A high pulse pressure combined with bradycardia and an irregular breathing pattern is associated with increased intracranial pressure and should be reported to a physician immediately. This is known as Cushing's triad and can be seen in patients after head trauma related to increased intracranial pressure.


title: Pulse pressure

text: A meta-analysis study conducted in 2000, suggested that a high pulse pressure is an important risk factor for heart disease. The study, which combined the results of several studies of 8,000 elderly patients in all, found that a 10 mm Hg increase in pulse pressure increased the risk of major cardiovascular complications and mortality by nearly 20%. Heightened pulse pressure is also a risk factor for the development of atrial fibrillation. The authors of the meta-analysis suggest that this helps to explain the apparent increase in risk sometimes associated with low diastolic pressure, and warn that some medications for high blood pressure may actually increase the pulse pressure and the risk of heart disease.


title: Pulse pressure

text: In a large study (N=1289) among patients with psychotic disorders researchers found that, when controlling for patients' age and cardiovascular disease status, body mass index (BMI) and employment status predicted the likelihood of having elevated pulse pressure. Further, it was also found that elevated pulse pressure was (above 60 mm/Hg) mainly associated with the physical domains of functioning such as mobility and self-care.


title: Pulse pressure

text: Pulse pressure readings can be taken on a home blood pressure monitoring device. These devices display systolic and diastolic blood pressure (from which pulse pressure can be calculated) and pulse rate readings. Monitoring at home can be helpful to a medical provider in interpreting in-office results and progression of disease processes.


title: Pulse pressure

text: If the patient suffers from elevated pulse pressure, treatment may include medications that address this factor, such as an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE inhibitor).


title: Frankenweenie (1984 film)

text: Frankenweenie is a 1984 American science fiction comedy horror featurette directed by Tim Burton and written by him and Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody and homage to the 1931 film "Frankenstein" based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus". Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake, released in 2012.


title: Frankenweenie (1984 film)

text: Victor Frankenstein is a young scientist who creates movies starring his dog, Sparky (a Bull Terrier, whose name is a reference to the use of electricity in the film). After Sparky is hit by a car and killed, Victor learns at school about electrical impulses in muscles and is inspired to bring his pet back to life. He creates elaborate machines which bring down a bolt of lightning that revives the dog. Victor is pleased, but when the Frankensteins decide to introduce the revitalized Sparky to his neighbors, they become angry and terrified.


title: Frankenweenie (1984 film)

text: Sparky runs away, with Victor in pursuit. They find themselves at a local miniature golf course and hide in its flagship windmill. The Frankensteins' neighbors, now an angry mob, arrive on the scene, and when they attempt to use a cigarette lighter to try to see in the windmill, it is accidentally set on fire. Victor falls and is knocked out, but Sparky rescues him from the flames, only to be crushed by the windmill. The mob of neighbors, realizing their error, use their cars and jumper cables to "recharge" Sparky. He is revived, and all celebrate. Sparky falls in love with a poodle whose fur bears a strong resemblance to the hairdo of the Bride of Frankenstein and the film ends with Sparky's electricity making the words, "The End" and it becomes still.


title: Frankenweenie (1984 film)

text: This short was included in the Special Edition, Collector's Edition, and Blu-ray 3D releases of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and on the Blu-ray release of its remake.


title: Frankenweenie (1984 film)

text: Burton was fired by Disney after the film was completed, as the studio claimed that he had been wasting company resources and felt the film was not suitable for the targeted young audiences. The short was originally planned to be released alongside the summer re-release of "The Jungle Book", but its release was rescheduled with the Christmas re-release of "Pinocchio" on December 21, 1984. Although the film was subsequently shelved, the film played in UK cinemas in 1985 in front of Touchstone Films' "". Following the success of Burton's later films "Pee-wee's Big Adventure", "Beetlejuice", "Batman", and "Edward Scissorhands", the film was given a home video release in 1992. It was released as an extra, along with "Vincent", on "The Nightmare Before Christmas" DVD, Blu-ray and UMDl.


title: Frankenweenie (1984 film)

text: Disney and Tim Burton produced a full-length remake using stop motion animation, which was released on October 5, 2012 in Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D. The original film is included as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray home video release.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry for African Americans founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. There are two main branches of Prince Hall Freemasonry: the independent State Prince Hall Grand Lodges, most of which are recognized by White Masonic jurisdictions, and those under the jurisdiction of the National Grand Lodge. Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest and largest (300,000+ initiated members) predominantly African-American fraternity in the nation.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: Prior to the American Revolutionary War, Prince Hall and fourteen other free black men petitioned for admittance to the white Boston St. John's Lodge. They were declined. The Masonic fraternity was attractive to some free blacks like Prince Hall because freemasonry was founded upon ideals of liberty, equality and peace.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: Having been rejected by colonial American Freemasonry, Hall and 14 others sought and were initiated into Masonry through Lodge No. 441 of the Grand Lodge of Ireland on March 6, 1775. The military lodge was attached to the 38th Foot (renamed "The 1st Staffordshire Regiment") in 1782. The Lodge was attached to the British forces stationed in Boston. Hall and other freedmen founded African Lodge No. 1 and he was elected Master. Other African Americans included Cyrus Johnston, Bueston Slinger, Prince Rees, John Canton, Peter Freeman, Benjamin Tiler, Duff Ruform, Thomas Santerson, Prince Rayden, Cato Speain, Boston Smith, Peter Best, Forten Horward, and Richard Titley, all of whom were free by birth.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: When men wished to become Masons in the new nation the existing members of the Lodge had to vote unanimously to accept the petitioner. If any one white member voted against a black petitioner that person would be rejected. In a letter by General Albert Pike to his brother in 1875 he said, "I am not inclined to mettle in the matter. I took my obligations to white men, not to Negroes. When I have to accept Negroes as brothers or leave Masonry, I shall leave it." Masonic and Grand Lodges generally excluded African Americans. Since the votes were anonymous, it was impossible to identify the member who had voted against accepting a black member. The effect was the black men who had legitimately been made Masons in integrated jurisdictions could be rejected. Racial segregation existed until the 1960s.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: The black Masons therefore had limited power. When the military lodges left the area, they were given the authority to meet as a lodge, take part in the Masonic procession on St. John's Day, and bury their dead with Masonic rites but could not confer Masonic degrees or perform any other essential functions of a fully operating Lodge.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: Unable to create a charter, they applied to the Premier Grand Lodge of England. The Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England, H. R. H. The Duke of Cumberland, issued a charter for African Lodge No. 459 September 29, 1784, later renamed African Lodge No. 1. The lodge was the country's first African Masonic lodge.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: Six years later, on March 22, 1797 Prince Hall organized a lodge in Philadelphia, called African Lodge #459, under Prince Hall's Charter. They later received their own charter. On June 25, 1797 he organized African Lodge (later known as Hiram Lodge #3) at Providence, Rhode Island.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: Author and historian James Sidbury said "Prince Hall and those who joined him to found Boston's African Masonic Lodge built a fundamentally new "African" movement on a preexisting institutional foundation. Within that movement they asserted emotional, mythical, and genealogical links to the continent of Africa and its peoples.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: The lodge met in the "Golden Fleece," located near Boston Harbor, during the 1780s and 1790s. They later met at Kirby Street Temple in Boston.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: By 1797 there were at least thirty-four members in the Boston black lodge, but still the lodge was overlooked by white Boston Masons. Integration with the American white Masons was not imminent. Since they were unable to attain integration, the blacks concentrated on recognition from white Masons that, because black Masonry descending from Prince Hall of Massachusetts had received its charter from the English Grand Lodge, it was legitimate and not "clandestine", and was entitled to all Masonic rights, such as intervisitation between black and white lodges, without prejudice. Many Grand Masters hoped that ultimately recognition would lead to integration, but they knew it would be a long time before that happened.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: After the death of Prince Hall, on December 4, 1807, the brethren were eager to form a Grand Lodge. On June 24, 1808 they organized African Grand Lodge with the lodges from Philadelphia, Providence and Boston, which was later renamed the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, in his honor.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: The Lodge was struck from the rolls after the 1813 merger of the Antients and the Moderns (two rival Grand Lodges of England), along with many other Lodges. "At the amalgamation of the two Registers after the Union of the two Grand Lodges in England in 1813, African Lodge (and many others at home and abroad) was omitted from the register, there having been no contact for many years. African Lodge was, however, not formally erased."


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: After being denied acknowledgment by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, African Lodge declared itself to be an independent Grand Lodge, the African Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: In 1827 the African Grand Lodge declared its independence from the United Grand Lodge of England, as the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts had done 45 years earlier. It also stated its independence from all of the white Grand Lodges in the United States, declaring itself to be a separate Masonic body.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: This led to a tradition of separate, predominantly African-American jurisdictions in North America, known collectively as Prince Hall Freemasonry. Widespread racial segregation in North America made it impossible for African Americans to join many predominantly white lodges, and most predominantly white Grand Lodges in North America refused to recognize the Prince Hall Lodges and Prince Hall Masons in their territory as legitimate.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: Both the Prince Hall and predominantly white Grand Lodges have had integrated membership for many years now, though in some Southern states this had been policy but not actual practice. Today, Prince Hall Affiliated Grand Lodges are recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), as well as the overwhelming majority of US state Grand Lodges and even many international Grand Lodges. The situation is complicated by the level of recognition that is granted, with some lodges giving full "blanket" recognition to all Prince Hall Grand Lodges, while others put on limits with regard to issues such as "intervisitation rights" or dual membership, sometimes treating Prince Hall Grand Lodges as regular but foreign jurisdictions.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: There are two competing sets of organizations within Prince Hall Freemasonry. A minority of lodges, which are subject to the Prince Hall National Grand Lodge, are referred to as Prince Hall Origin, and are irregular. The majority of lodges, which are subject to 41 independent state grand lodges, and are known as Prince Hall Affiliation (PHA).


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: The Conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters determines the regularity of Prince Hall Freemasonry. All regular and recognized Prince Hall Grand Lodges are represented at the Conference. A comprehensive list of all Prince Hall grand lodges deemed regular is listed on the conference website. Each regular Grand Lodge traces its lineage back to African Lodge #459, where Prince Hall was made a Mason. The group using the name Prince Hall Origin has no affiliation to the conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: Today, predominantly black Prince Hall Grand Lodges exist in the original state jurisdictions of the United States; additionally, Prince Hall jurisdictions have been established in Canada, the Caribbean, and Liberia, governing Prince Hall Lodges throughout the world.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the Caribbean was founded with the assistance of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York. It is based in Christ Church, Barbados, the location of Prince Hall's birth. A monument to Prince Hall has been erected outside the Grand Lodge building. Caribbean Prince Hall Masonry was established in Barbados with the chartering of Prince Hall Memorial Lodge #100 in July 1965 by the Grand Master and officers of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the State of New York and Jurisdiction. The same jurisdiction subsequently chartered additional lodges in Guyana, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, and Dominica, constituting them into a District administration known as the New York 9th District (Caribbean). In June 1975 senior members met at the New York Sheraton Hotel to commence discussion of the possible formation of an independent Caribbean Grand Lodge. Following many years of discussion the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the Caribbean and Jurisdiction was finally inaugurated on 24 April 1993.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: Prince Hall's legacy as a Freemason and a leader has survived with the lodges; Hall is considered the "father of African-American Freemasonry". As a Georgia Mason noted, the original local lodge rules written by Prince Hall and his followers in the late 18th century were the first set of regulations drafted by colored men for self-government in the United States, and Masonry ever since has striven to teach its members 'the fundamentals of central government' which is the basis of American life."


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: After nearly two centuries of controversy, the Grand Lodge of England was asked by a US "mainstream" Grand Lodge to decide the matter of Prince Hall Masonic legitimacy.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: While no Grand Lodge of any kind is universally recognized, at present, Prince Hall Masonry is recognized by some UGLE-recognized Grand Lodges and not by others, but it is working its way toward further recognition.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: When two Grand Lodges recognize and are in Masonic communication with each other, they are said to be "in amity", and the brethren of each may visit each other's lodges and interact Masonically. When two Grand Lodges are not in amity, inter-visitation is not allowed. Exclusive Jurisdiction can be waived when the two over-lapping Grand Lodges are themselves in Amity and agree to share jurisdiction (for example, since the Grand Lodge of Connecticut is in Amity with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Connecticut, the principle of Exclusive Jurisdiction does not apply, and other Grand Lodges may recognize both).


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: After carefully studying the records, the Grand Lodge of England concluded that the original Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was indeed entitled to Masonic recognition, despite the general tradition of "exclusive jurisdiction", which meant that only one recognized Masonic body could exist in each state.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: According to data compiled in 2021, 46 out of the 51 mainstream U.S. Grand Lodges recognize Prince Hall Grand Lodges. The few mainstream state Grand Lodges that currently do not recognize Prince Hall Grand Lodges are located in southern states, an area with an estimated 50% of Prince Hall Freemasons: Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina and West Virginia. While African-Americans can join any lodge in North America, Prince Hall Masonry remains a vital part of American tradition.


title: Prince Hall Freemasonry

text: There have been many other notable Masons who were affiliated with Prince Hall originated Grand Lodges, including:


title: Lindsay Lohan on screen and stage

text: American actress and singer Lindsay Lohan began her career as a child actor in the 1990s and has since appeared in numerous film and television projects among other productions. In 1998, Lohan made her motion picture debut in Disney's commercially and critically successful 1998 remake of "The Parent Trap". She continued her acting career by appearing in a number of Disney films, including "Freaky Friday" (2003), which remains her highest-grossing film, "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" (2004) and "" (2005). Her first non-Disney film, "Mean Girls" (2004), became a massive success by grossing over $129 million worldwide and later became a cult classic. Lohan also did smaller, more mature roles in which she received positive reviews on her acting including "A Prairie Home Companion" (2005), "Bobby" (2006) and "Chapter 27" (2007). Between 2006 and 2007, Lohan continued her career by starring in films like "Just My Luck" (2006), "Georgia Rule" (2007) and "I Know Who Killed Me" (2007). Lohan's career faced many interruptions from legal and personal troubles during the mid to late 2000s, with her acting work becoming more sporadic in the following decade. She then had leading roles in "Labor Pains" (2009), "Machete" (2010), "Liz & Dick" (2012) and "The Canyons" (2013). She made her stage debut in the London West End production of "Speed-the-Plow" (2014). In 2022, Lohan signed a multi-picture deal with Netflix to star in her first major productions in over a decade, the romantic comedies "Falling for Christmas" (2022) and "Irish Wish" (2023).


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards, but they were renamed in honour of the British actor of the same name in 1984.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: The awards are given to individuals involved in West End productions and other leading non-commercial theatres based in London across a range of categories covering plays, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. A discretionary non-competitive Special Olivier Award is also given each year. The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honour in British theatre, equivalent to the BAFTA Awards for film and television, and the BRIT Awards for music. The Olivier Awards are considered equivalent to Broadway's Tony Awards and France's Molière Award.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: Since inception, the awards have been held at various venues and theatres across London, from 2012 to 2016 at the Royal Opera House, before moving to the Royal Albert Hall in 2017. Television coverage is broadcast in prime time on ITV, who acquired the rights from 2013 onwards, with radio coverage by Magic Radio.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: The awards were established in 1976 by the Society of London Theatre as the Society of West End Theatre Awards and were designed by artist Tom Merrifield. The first ceremony was in December 1976 at the Café Royal. In 1984, British actor Laurence Olivier gave his consent for the awards to be renamed in his honour and they became known as the Laurence Olivier Awards.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: Every year, judging panels for theatre, opera, dance and affiliate shows are put together by the Society of London Theatre.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: For opera, dance and affiliates, each panel is made up of a mix of professional panellists (journalists, casting directors, arts administrators, publishers and other industry professionals chosen for their knowledge in the field) and members of the public who are passionate about London theatre. The panels first select the shows they consider most worthy of an Olivier Award nomination, then vote on a winner at the end of the judging period.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: For the theatre awards, a longlist is compiled by a panel made up of members of the public, and submitted to SOLT members to vote on. Members may still vote outside of the list at this stage, except for in the four Supporting Actor/Actress categories (as these each contain thousands of eligible performers). The members’ votes are collated with those of the panellists to create the list of nominees. The nominees list is then voted on by both members and panellists to produce the winners.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: Past hosts of the Olivier Awards ceremony include Michael Ball, Imelda Staunton, Clive Anderson, Gemma Arterton, Stephen Mangan, Hugh Bonneville, Sheridan Smith, Lenny Henry, Catherine Tate, and Jason Manford.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: The venue most associated with the Awards is Grosvenor House Hotel, which has housed the after-show reception nine times and hosted the whole event on four further occasions. As well as at the Grosvenor, the presentations have been held at the Albery Theatre (now Noël Coward), Café Royal, Dominion Theatre, London Palladium, Lyceum Theatre, Park Lane Hilton, Piccadilly Theatre, Royal National Theatre Olivier, Royalty Theatre (now Peacock), Shaftesbury Theatre, Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Victoria Palace Theatre.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: The awards ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House from 2012 to 2016, moving to the Royal Albert Hall in 2017.


title: Laurence Olivier Awards

text: The first Laurence Olivier Awards to be broadcast on television was the 1981 ceremony, which was broadcast on BBC1. This continued until 1992, before a switch to BBC2 until 2003. The awards ceremony was then only broadcast on radio until 2011, when the BBC broadcast live interactive red-button coverage of the event, while Paul Gambaccini presented a programme on BBC Radio 2 with live coverage and interviews. The same coverage followed in 2012, before ITV secured the broadcast rights which saw the return of the Olivier Awards to mainstream television in 2013. This has continued in recent years, and the ceremony has also been broadcast on Magic Radio.


Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (; ) is a 2010 Thai drama film written, produced, and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film, which explores themes of reincarnation, centers on the last days in the life of its title character, who is played by Thanapat Saisaymar. Together with his loved ones—including the spirit of his dead wife, Huay, and his lost son, Boonsong, who has returned in a non-human form—Boonmee explores his past lives as he contemplates the reasons for his illness.


"Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" was inspired by the 1983 book "A Man Who Can Recall His Past Lives" by Buddhist abbot Phra Sripariyattiweti. The film is the final installment in a multi-platform art project by Apichatpong Weerasethakul called "Primitive". It premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or, becoming the first Thai film to do so.


title: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

text: In a grassy area, a water buffalo breaks free from a rope tethering it to a tree. It wanders into a forest, where it is spotted by a man holding a sickle. The man begins to lead it somewhere, while a silhouetted figure with red eyes watches.


text: Boonmee lives in a house on a farm with his sister-in-law Jen and his nephew Tong. Boonmee is suffering from a failing kidney; his Laotian assistant Jaai administers dialysis treatments to him. One night, while Boonmee, Jen and Tong are eating dinner together, the ghost of Boonmee's wife Huay appears. Huay, who died over a decade prior, says that she heard Jen and Boonmee's prayers for her, and is aware of Boonmee's poor health. A hairy, red-eyed figure ascends the stairs near the dinner table, and is revealed to be Boonmee's long-lost son Boonsong. Boonsong, who practiced photography, had disappeared some years after Huay died. Boonsong was searching for a creature—whom he calls a "Monkey Ghost"—that he had captured in one of his photos. He says that he mated with a Monkey Ghost, causing his hair to grow longer and his pupils to dilate, and that, after meeting his mate, he forgot "the old world".


text: During the day, on the farm with Jen, Boonmee asserts that his illness is a result of karma. He claims that it was caused by his killing of communists while serving in the military, and his killing of bugs on the farm.


text: A princess is carried through a forest in a litter. She walks near a waterfall, and gazes into her reflection in the water, which she perceives to be more youthful and beautiful than her real appearance. She is kissed by one of her servants, but insists that he imagined kissing her reflection. The servant departs, and she sits by the water and weeps. She is complimented by a catfish, prompting her to wade into the water. She makes offerings of her jewelry in return for being made to look like her reflection, and then has intercourse with the catfish.


text: Boonmee lies in bed near a sitting Huay. He hugs her, and asks about how he might be able to find her in the afterlife. She tells him that the spirits of the deceased are not attached to locations, but to people. Later, Boonmee, Huay, Jen and Tong venture out into the forest. Jen and Tong see shadowy figures running through the brush and leaping between the trees. Huay leads Boonmee, Jen and Tong into a cave. Boonmee believes that he was born in the cave, in a life that he cannot recall. He recounts a dream of a future civilisation in which authorities shine "a light" on "past people", causing them to disappear. Huay disconnects Boonmee's dialysis tube. By the next day, Boonmee is dead.


text: Following Boonmee's funeral, Jen sits on a bed, organising gifts of baht with her friend Roong. Tong, now a monk, arrives, saying that he has been having difficulty sleeping at the temple. He showers and changes from his robes to a T-shirt and jeans. While preparing to go out to eat with Jen, he is stunned to see himself, Jen and Roong on the bed, watching television. He and Jen leave for a restaurant, while he, Jen and Roong remain on the bed.


text: "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" is the final installment in a multi-platform art project "Primitive". The project deals with the Isan region in Thailand's northeast, and in particular the village of Nabua in Nakhon Phanom, near the Laos border. Previous installments include a seven-part video installation and the two short films "A Letter to Uncle Boonmee" and "Phantoms of Nabua", both of which premiered in 2009. The project explores themes of memories, transformation and extinction, and touches on a violent 1965 crackdown on communist sympathisers in Nabua by the Thai army. Regarding the feature film's place within the overarching project, Apichatpong has said that it "echoes other works in the 'Primitive' installation, which is about this land in Isan with a brutal history. But I'm not making a political film - it's more like a personal diary."


text: According to Weerasethakul, the film is primarily about "objects and people that transform or hybridise". A central theme is the transformation and possible extinction of cinema itself. The film consists of six reels each shot in a different cinematic style. The styles include, by the words of the director, "old cinema with stiff acting and classical staging", "documentary style", "costume drama" and "my kind of film when you see long takes of animals and people driving". Weerasethakul further explained in an interview with "Bangkok Post": "When you make a film about recollection and death, you realise that cinema is also facing death. Uncle Boonmee is one of the last pictures shot on film - now everybody shoots digital. It's my own little lamentation".