In the Name of Internationalism: The Cinematic Memorialization of Norman Bethune in Socialist China

Main author: Lu, Xiaoning
Format: Book Chapters           
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id eprints-30991
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
topic PI Oriental languages and literatures
P Language and Literature
description The red martyr holds a special place in the collective memory of communist nations. In the Chinese pantheon of red martyrs, Norman Bethune, a renowned Canadian doctor who died during his selfless support of China’s anti-imperialist war against Japan, occupies a unique place. Bethune was sacralized as the ultimate symbol of internationalism by Mao Zedong in his essay “In Memory of Norman Bethune.” Much of the commemorative art about Bethune inevitably entails performing exegetic exercises of the Mao text. Using the 1962 compilation documentary In Memory of Norman Bethune and the 1964 biopic Doctor Bethune as examples, this article examines specific narrative strategies utilized in the cinematic memorialization of Bethune. It argues that despite their diverging styles and innovative engagements with the Mao text, both films perpetuate the political reification of the spirit of Bethune as proletarian internationalism incompatible with humanitarianism, while consolidating the political power of central authorities.
author_additional Skrodzka, Aga
author_additionalStr Skrodzka, Aga
format Book Chapters
author Lu, Xiaoning
author_facet Lu, Xiaoning
authorStr Lu, Xiaoning
author_letter Lu, Xiaoning
title In the Name of Internationalism: The Cinematic Memorialization of Norman Bethune in Socialist China
publisher Oxford University Press
publishDate 2020
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/30991/