‘Shanghai is Burning’: Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema
This article offers a critical analysis of Matthew Baren’s 2018 film Extravaganza, a documentary about drag scenes in Shanghai. By focusing on some drag characters represented in this film, in tandem with an examination of the social and industry contexts of the film, as well as my interviews with t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sage
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55701/ |
| _version_ | 1848799199884214272 |
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| author | Bao, Hongwei |
| author_facet | Bao, Hongwei |
| author_sort | Bao, Hongwei |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This article offers a critical analysis of Matthew Baren’s 2018 film Extravaganza, a documentary about drag scenes in Shanghai. By focusing on some drag characters represented in this film, in tandem with an examination of the social and industry contexts of the film, as well as my interviews with the filmmaker and performers, I problematise the gender identity of the performers and the national identity of the film. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of ‘becoming’ and Song Hwee Lim’s discussion of ‘trans’, I propose to think about certain modes of transnational production with the critical concept of ‘becoming trans’. ‘Becoming trans’ offers a productive way to conceptualise new modes of ‘minor’ transnational cinematic connections in a globalised world without having to resort to identity politics. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:31:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-55701 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:31:53Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Sage |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-557012018-12-20T08:48:08Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55701/ ‘Shanghai is Burning’: Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema Bao, Hongwei This article offers a critical analysis of Matthew Baren’s 2018 film Extravaganza, a documentary about drag scenes in Shanghai. By focusing on some drag characters represented in this film, in tandem with an examination of the social and industry contexts of the film, as well as my interviews with the filmmaker and performers, I problematise the gender identity of the performers and the national identity of the film. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of ‘becoming’ and Song Hwee Lim’s discussion of ‘trans’, I propose to think about certain modes of transnational production with the critical concept of ‘becoming trans’. ‘Becoming trans’ offers a productive way to conceptualise new modes of ‘minor’ transnational cinematic connections in a globalised world without having to resort to identity politics. Sage 2018-12-01 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by_nc https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55701/1/Shanghai%20is%20burning%20final.pdf Bao, Hongwei (2018) ‘Shanghai is Burning’: Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema. Global Media and China, 3 (4). pp. 233-255. ISSN 2059-4372 extravaganza queer film transgender transnational cinema https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2059436418818274 10.1177/2059436418818274 10.1177/2059436418818274 10.1177/2059436418818274 |
| spellingShingle | extravaganza queer film transgender transnational cinema Bao, Hongwei ‘Shanghai is Burning’: Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema |
| title | ‘Shanghai is Burning’: Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema |
| title_full | ‘Shanghai is Burning’: Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema |
| title_fullStr | ‘Shanghai is Burning’: Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Shanghai is Burning’: Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema |
| title_short | ‘Shanghai is Burning’: Extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema |
| title_sort | ‘shanghai is burning’: extravaganza, transgender representation and transnational cinema |
| topic | extravaganza queer film transgender transnational cinema |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55701/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55701/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55701/ |