Professor Chen Tao,  Associate Professor in the School of Liberal Arts at Renmin University of China, was the keynote speaker for the first China’s Grand Strategy lecture.

The lecturer introduced a brief history of the Chinese rock & roll music and its cinematic representations, investigating its cultural transformation from four perspectives: rebellious youth, Beijing space, the Tree Village Statement, and the documentary impulse.  Prof Chen showed several iconic movies that represent the  “Chinese rock youth” in different eras and explored the diversified film representations under the influences of three forces: the Chinese system, the market demand, and the western world.

It was a great occasion for our students to understand the cultural transformation of Chinese society from a unique, and often overlooked, perspective.