Abstract: In the era of “image reading,” it is inevitable to adapt a printed biography for the screen. A biopic is not merely the medium transformation of the corresponding printed version, but has developed a unique style of biography. In the biopic Golden Times, the multiple perspectives and the estrangement technique the film employed both feature the unique representation of the real world in the movie. Nonetheless, this apparent faithful representation is in fact partially “on-site” truths on the premise of blocking those “off-site” ones. The selected “on-site” truths in the movie shape Xiao Hong’s image, reflecting the secular inclination of Xiao’s image representation as influenced by the mass culture.

Key words: biopic; Golden Times; estrangement effect; multiple perspectives; mass culture

Liu Tao is a doctoral candidate in Department of Chinese at Zhejiang University. His research interest is literature studies. He is the author of “Truth , Reality, Thought, and Pragmatism: On the Literary Theorist Wang Yuanxiang’s Academic Style” (2014) and “Writing Love in the Post Youth Era: A Review of Ding Jie’s New Novel Huddling” (2011).