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  4. Vol 6, Issue 4, 2025

A Study on the Poetic Expression of Chinese and Foreign Co-Produced Documentaries

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DOI: 10.23977/mediacr.2025.060413 | Downloads: 6 | Views: 132

Author(s)

Jianxin Diao 1, Huai Wang 2

Affiliation(s)

1 School of Journalism, Tarim University, Alar, Xinjiang, 843300, China
2 School of Journalism and Communication, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Yubei District, Chongqing, 401120, China

Corresponding Author

Jianxin Diao

ABSTRACT

Long-term documentary research and practice have revealed that documentaries possess two inherent qualities: poetic and narrative. Poetic expression requires reducing narrative elements, while forming a complete narrative chain necessitates diminishing poetic expression. There indeed exists a tension between the narrative and poetic aspects of documentaries, yet this does not imply their being mutually exclusive contradictions. Narrative encompasses stories and plots, where narrative strategies, structures, and forms may fail to resonate with some audiences, whereas poetic elements can evoke their imagination of "poetry and distant horizons," sparking emotional resonance. Thus, there might exist a tacitly compatible "secret space" between the two. Through exploring the possibility of their mutual compatibility, it is discovered that Sino-foreign co-produced documentaries utilize poetic expression to reveal deeper truths obscured by daily logic through imagery, metaphors, or fragmented narratives. By employing rhythm, music, and visual metaphors, they awaken audience emotional engagement and effectively tell China's stories through threefold approaches of shared understanding, mutual appreciation, and cultural integration.

KEYWORDS

Poetic Expression, Chinese and Foreign Co-Produced Documentaries, Narrative, Poetics, Cross-Cultural Communication

CITE THIS PAPER

Jianxin Diao, Huai Wang, A Study on the Poetic Expression of Chinese and Foreign Co-Produced Documentaries. Media and Communication Research (2025) Vol. 6: 114-123. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2025.060413.

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