Depictionswithinamovieofeitherfilmmakingorfilmwatchingarehardlynovel,butthedramaticexpansionofthereachofthemetacinematicintocontemporaryChinesecinemasisnothingshortofremarkable.ToG.AndrewStuckey,theprevalenceofmetacinematicfeaturesformsthebasisofadiscourseonfilmarisingfromthefilmsthemselves.Suchadiscourse,inturn,outlinestheboundariesofthepossibleforfilminChinaasaestheticorsociopoliticalpractice.Metacinemaalsodrawsourattentiontothepresenceoftheaudience,peopleactivelyrespondingtoafilm.Inelucidatingtheaffectiveresponseselicitedbythemetacinematicmodeintheviewers,Stuckeyarguesthatmetacinemareflectswaysofbeingintheworldthataudiencesmaytakeupforthemselves.
ThefilmsstudiedinthisbookaredrawnacrossthefullspectrumofChinesefilmsmadeinmainlandChina,HongKong,andTaiwanduringthe1990sand2000s,fromaward-winningconceptualartfilmstopopularcrowdpleasers,blockbusterstolow-budgetproductions,anddocumentary-stylesocialrealistexpos�rojectstostudioassembly-lineinvestments.TherecurrenceofthemetacinematicacrossthisbroadrangeofworksisindicativeofitsrelevancetoChinesefilmstoday,andtheanalysisofthesediverseexamplesallowsustogaugethecultural,social,andaestheticimplicationsofChinesecinemasasawhole.
