In the 1980s, a new type of central character emerged in contemporary Chinese films - angry and alienated youth. Filmmakers treated youth as a separate category and showed them in urban situations behaving in unconventional and socially rebellious ways.

In the last twenty years of the twentieth century, China underwent profound transformations, of which the changing situation of youth was particularly striking. In a society where conventionally age had been respected, the prominence of youth and their new autonomy were conspicuous. Young Rebels in Contemporary Chinese Cinema analyzes the construction of youth culture in 1980s China by examining young rebel films in terms of three areas: products (rock `n' roll music), belief (or lack of it) and mode of behavior. The book also contextualizes these films by tracing the relationship between changes in politics and changes in film from the 1950s to the present, with particular reference to the altered cinematic portrayal of young adults in the 1980s.

Dr. Xuelin Zhou is currently Senior Lecturer and undergraduate advisor in Department of Film Television and Media Studies at the University of Auckland.