REPUBLIC: DUBLIN SCREENING, INTRODUCTON BY DR. QI ZHANG AND DR. CAITRÍONA OSBORNE

We will first briefly introduce some concepts that we believe are useful to interpret some underlying meanings subtly manifested in the film. These concepts are based on narrative theory proposed by Mona Baker, a Professor in translation studies, and have been applied widely in various discourse analyses. ‘Discourse’ used here refers to a broad sense of ‘discourse’, including oral, textual and visual semiotics narrated in media, such as film. 

The four concepts are temporality, relationality, selective appropriation and causal emplotment.

First, temporality simply suggests that narratives are constructed in time and space. Second, relationality emphasises that a narrative cannot make sense as an isolated event. Individual events or elements within an event depend on each other for an overall interpretation. The configuration of these elements, including events, characters, linguistic items, layout and imagery, can frame or reframe the meaning of a particular narrative. Third, selective appropriation refers to decision-making with regard to including or excluding, foregrounding or backgrounding, underplaying or downplaying of narrative elements. Lastly, causal emplotment suggests that events can be emplotted in an intelligible order to form opinions and attitudes. Therefore, narratives are not simply a list of propositions. Instead, causal emplotment can give significance to independent instances, because it enables us to account for why things happened and happened in the way that a given narrative suggests they happened. 

In terms of temporality, it is very difficult for the audience to know when exactly Republic is set as the entire documentary takes place in the confines of the hutong, and more specifically, Li Eryang’s room. Despite being filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic whereby China had widespread lockdowns and restrictions, this is not evident in the film. Instead, we are transported to the time and space of the Republic that appears to transcend multiple time periods. For example, Li Eryang is seen talking about political beliefs and agendas of Mao Zedong, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, while the music played within the Republic spans from the Beatles to electronic dance music (EDM). In an interview with Jimmy Tianxiang Wang (with translation By Anchi Lue), Director Jin Jiang describes that the subjects of his documentaries are often those who have chosen to leave conventional society to live a life of their own. Perhaps in this way, Republic represents a haven for those who feel ostracized from society in a universal sense, and therefore regardless of time period.  

The events and elements within the documentary frame the meaning of the narrative when we look at the concept of relationality. In particular, we see the relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the name of the community, “Republic”. In the very first scene, we are introduced to Li Eryang who describes how the name of this community came to be. He describes that when discussing the People’s Republic of China, the name simply came to them. They called out “long live the People’s Republic of China… long live the great unity of the people around the world!” and decided that “Republic” was a fitting name. Later in the film, Li Eryang describes how he had previously been in a trance, confined by some framework in the past that had no freedom of speech. It seems that now Li Eryang is trying to create a new ‘Republic’ that holds space for freedom of speech and ideation. In the same interview, Director Jin Jiang completely denies the idea that the Republic community are “lazy”. Instead, he describes them as ‘a group of enlightened individuals who see through the restrictions of conventional society and decided to break free’. 

The selective appropriation in this film is intriguing. Firstly, it is shot in a documentary style as if the audience is a fly on the wall, and in the aforementioned interview, we learn that Jin Jiang spent an extended period of time living and filming in the confines of the Republic space that measured a mere six metres squared. Jin Jiang explains that he kept the camera rolling to capture any events authentically and so as not disrupt reality. In addition, he added any techniques later during the editing stage. One example of this selective appropriation cleverly shows us the fate of the Republic. In the beginning, Li Eryang’s room is buzzing with activity, with smiling faces and a kaleidoscope of colour. There are calls of “welcome home!”, speaking with gratitude and an abundance of food (Li Eryang says that “food just comes”). Jin Jiang explains that Li Eryang hoped that the Republic would be self-sufficient, however in later scenes we see that there are less visitors and more talk of debt and money issues. Jin Jiang and others in the Republic actually pooled money together to pay the rent when Li Eryang could not afford to. To demonstrate this decline, Jin Jiang includes more silent scenes, sometimes with Li Eryang alone in his room, in the latter half of the film. There is less colour and light in these scenes, and less optimism in the conversations, and eventually we see Li Eryang leaving the Republic during the day to try and make money. In this way, the filming techniques and selected scenes reflect Jin Jiang’s conclusion that “idealism is a great challenge when practical matters need to be solved”.

Closely related to this is causal emplotment. Jin Jiang describes in the aforementioned interview that he is drawn to film the lives of those who have been ostracized due to his own experience of feeling like an outsider. Having moved from the countryside to a city, Jin Jiang felt discriminated against by his peers and even teachers. In a way, it is as if he is trying to tell his own story through Li Eryang and the Republic. That is, there is more depth to the perceived chaos of the living conditions and community therein. It is as if Jin Jiang is trying to showcase that this group of people are not what society believes them to be (i.e., lazy), but rather, intelligent human beings that are seeking spiritual fulfilment. Ultimately, his goal is to present a China that is often unseen and misunderstood. He wishes to showcase this new perspective on the youth of China so that society can therefore come to understand them. In this way, the hints to the constraints of conventional society (e.g., through mentioning money problems and lack of freedom of speech) are carefully framed in the context of the Republic. That is, while freedom of speech exists here, money problems prevent this community from flourishing.

This is simply an overview of the main features of each concept. We hope that through watching the film you can find some more clues in the conversations, body language, camera work and plethora of memorabilia in Li Eryang’s room. 

(October 2024)

Dr. Caitríona Osborne is Lecturer/Assistant Professor at the Irish Institute for Chinese Studies, University College Dublin.

Dr. Qi Zhang is Assistant Professor at the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies (SALIS), Dublin City University.