Listening to films: Politics of the auditory in 1970s China

This article focuses on listening practices in 1970s China and examines the cinematic soundtracks of a handful of films, domestic and foreign, that were edited specifically for the purpose of radio broadcasting. Coined as ‘edited film recording’, this made-for-radio sonic compilation is a new product, one that takes crucial pieces from the original soundtrack but has significant editorial input, specifically in the insertion of an omniscient narrator. The narrator tells the story, expands narrative at times and comes in at crucial moments to drive key messages home. Film production was also designed for auditory consumption outside of the theatre, on gramophone and radio, before television entered individual households in China. Film literacy thus could be achieved without an actual access to the film products themselves. The hybridity of the genre created an illusion of broader and equal access to the symbolic order of a socialist visual culture. While communal life in 1970s China can be characterized by an infatuation with film and film culture, a web of other media, particularly those of sound, facilitated this fascination. The transitional period in China can be seen as a decade of cross-platform saturation of media culture on a high level.