Reassessing Chinese Ecocinema as an Ecological Medium: A Systematic Literature Review (SLR)

Shi Yilin, Nurzihan Hassim, Zhou Yang

Abstract


Since the 1990s, Chinese ecocinema has garnered significant attention from practitioners and researchers across various fields in China. It showcases traditional Eastern aesthetics alongside regional social and cultural characteristics, while injecting a core philosophy of green and sustainable development into Chinese cinema. However, scholarly discourse has long tended to view Chinese ecocinema merely as a carrier of ecological themes rather than as an ecological medium in its own right. This conceptual limitation resulted in dilemmas in the research paradigm, artistic practices, and film creation. To address this, this study utilizes a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to screen and organise literature from the past decade. The findings reveal that; 1) Research on Chinese ecocinema is transitioning from the textual analysis of ecological themes toward the study of films’ ecological media attributes; 2) An ecological media perspective can more effectively explain the cross-media communication phenomenon surrounding Chinese ecocinema; and 3) The localisation of Chinese ecocinema must be coordinated with global ecology through the holistic framework of media ecology. Ultimately, the study aims to reposition Chinese ecocinema from the lens of media ecology. By examining its ontological dimension we regard ecocinema as a material and cultural apparatus capable of intervening in regulating, and altering the relationship between humans and nature.

 

Keywords: Chinese ecocinema, media ecology, media philosophy, film ontology, systematic literature review.

 

https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2026-4203-26


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References


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