Body Aesthetics in Chinese Film and Television Dramas Representations Meanings and Logic

Abstract

As an aesthetic element in film and television dramas, the body wields a potent symbolic expressiveness. It manifests in diverse types, such as the Life-Portrait Type, the Personality Micro-Expressive Type, the Integrating Spirit and Form Type, the Exaggerated Defect Type, the Metaphorical Value-added Type, and the Simulacrum Regeneration Type. Moreover, body aesthetics has attained certain significance in multiple aspects. From the perspectives of species-being and internal measure, it mirrors the core nature of human existence and the criteria by which people evaluate themselves. Regarding national quality and patriotism, it can embody the characteristics of a nation and evoke patriotic sentiments. In the realm of physiognomic logic and social mentality, it reveals the underlying psychological and social implications hidden within physical appearances. Concerning survival wisdom and humanistic feelings, it encapsulates the wisdom of life and the tender emotions of humanity. And in relation to the power system and the true nature of life, it exposes the function of the power structures and the fundamental nature of human existence. Having traversed through different periods such as the inclination towards imperfect aesthetics from the 1930s to 1940s, the rejection of imperfect aesthetics from the 1950s to 1960s, the resurgence of imperfect aesthetics from the 1970s to 1980s, and the flourishing of sexual aesthetics in the 21^st century, body aesthetics in Chinese film and television dramas has unfurled the Chinese people’s interpretations of the body, culture, and history across different historical epochs.