The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, translated by Michael Berry. [Global Times]

 

In A History of Pain: Trauma in Modern Chinese Literature and Film, Berry focuses on six specific historical events in modern Chinese history, such as the Nanjing Massacre (1937) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) and examines how they have been represented in film and fiction.

"History is forever lasting. The materials, thoughts and transfer of society captured in historical periods through film make Chinese films incredible and more than 'things we should know about China,'" he said.

Currently, Berry is working on a monograph that explores the US as it has been imaged in Chinese film, literature and popular culture from 1949 to today.

Different from many books that examine how Hollywood has created images of China, Berry's work discusses how China is creating an image of America through cinema, fiction, comic books and other popular mediums.

"It will show the readers, especially American readers, how their own country's image has been invented and transformed by the rest of the world," Berry said.