Books by Ian Aitken

This book explores the ways in which the British official film was used in Malaya/Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong from 1945 to the 1970s. Aitken uncovers how the British official film, and British official information agencies, adapted to the epochal contexts of the Cold War and end of empire. In addition to an extensive introduction, which touches on a number of critical issues related to the post-war British official film, the book provides an account of how the tradition of film-making associated with the British documentary film movement spread into the region during the post-war period, and how that tradition was contested by a ¿Colonial Office¿ tradition of film-making. The volume concludes by covering the rise of television in the region within the context of developing post-colonial authoritarian states in Singapore and Malaysia, and the continuation of colonial authoritarianism in Hong Kong.

This book suggests ways forward for a new series of studies in cinematic realism, and for a new form of film theory based on realism, stressing the importance of the question of realism, both in film studies and in contemporary life. -- .

Students and lecturers in film studies -- .

Described as the 'lost genre', the tradition of documentary film making in Hong Kong is far less known than its martial arts films. However documentary film has always existed in Hong Kong and often trenchantly represents its troubled relationship to itself, China and the west. Including the period of colonial film-making, the high points of television documentary and the tradition of independent documentary film-making, this book is the first to present a comprehensive study of this lost genre. It explores the role of public-service television (including representations of the massacre at Tiananmen Square) and presents critical analysis of key films. Based on original archival research, it will be an invaluable resource for students and academics who work in the fields if film studies, colonial studies and Hong Kong cinema.