Congrats to FMS major Yingyi Wang, who presented her research paper "New Women Beyond the Lens of Male Filmmakers: Bo'er Chen and Her Figure in the 1930s Chinese Leftwing Cinema Movement" at the Fall 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium.

 

Yingyi's paper began as a project in History of World Cinema and is the culmination of three semesters' research. She analyzes representations of the so-called "New Woman" in 1930s leftwing Chinese films and highlights actor Bo'er Chen's feminist critique of "New Women" characters. One of Yingyi's aims is to highlight women's significant but frequently overlooked contributions to 1930s film culture. Chen, an educated socialist intellectual and performer, complained about male bias in the Chinese film industry, arguing that roles for women actors were too often a projection of male intellectuals' fantasies and anxieties.

 

Yingyi's research will be published in Film Matters, a national, peer-reviewed journal for undergraduate film studies research.

 

FMS students who have recently published articles in Film Matters include Sam Powers and Qingheng (Catherine) Yu ('24).  Essays undergo a rigorous peer review process before publication. In addition to Yingyi Wang, FMS majors Claire Redick and Eric Zimmerman will also publish research in Film Matters volume 17, issue 1.