Leitmotif films (or mainstream films), indie documentaries, 'sixth generation films,' and general commercial films are essential parts of the Chinese film industry. This paper examines some characteristics of leitmotif films and indie documentaries in the context of the social changes of post-Mao China. These two genres are very important components of the Chinese film industry, but little attention has been paid to them in social sciences. Chinese leitmotif films reflect the mainstream attitude of the Chinese government, so they maintain an intimate relationship with the state. Meanwhile, it is assumed that indie documentaries resist the ideological standpoint of the government and, as indicated by the term "indie," are free from the control of the state. Both leitmotif films and indie documentaries, however, have very close relationships with the state.
Leitmotif films and indie documentaries are similar in their attitude against the commercialization of Chinese film, though they have some dissimilarities. Leitmotif films aim to educate people in socialist ideology. To achieve this goal, the state provides administrative and economic support to films of this genre. The government may award prizes to leitmotif films or launch political projects to promote them. On the contrary, indie documentaries focus on reality and the everyday life of ordinary Chinese people, and reflect the idea that the previous government-run media failed to address these subjects.
However, the fact that indie documentaries maintain a very close relationship with mainstream media like CCTV (Chinese Central Television) makes them not too hostile to the government. Chinese indie documentaries are also influenced by the government and mainstream ideals. When they deal with critical issues like environmental pollution, poverty, the Cultural Revolution, and so on, they do not attack the government directly but rather attribute them to personal affairs.
The economic reform of the 1980s led the Chinese film industry toward commercialization, and leitmotif films and indie documentaries were no exceptions. An elaborate analysis of the interaction between the state, commercialization, the film industry, and ideology would help explain the dynamics of Chinese film genres.