20Hz is about the history of underground rock music in Shenyang. Shenyang, located in northeastern China, where I am from, experienced economic decline caused by policy changes, like many other industrial cities in the country. These shifts had real, material impacts on the built environment of Shenyang, and had a heavy hand in shaping the ways people chose to live, express themselves, and make use of the space around them.

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Twenty Hz shows not only the historical but also the spatial and economic picture of Shenyang. The making of Twenty Hz was largely responsible for my discovery and interest in urbanism. The debut screening of Twenty Hz was accompanied by live music and performance.

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    In the mid 90's, Shenyang faced a transformation. The tide of laid-offs and the opening of the market cracked down on traditional industry. On the other hand, it brought information from the outside world. External shocks combined with internal changes were extremely disruptive for the people at the time, which was coincidently met with the rebellion of the young people. The underground music in Shenyang flourished particularly well in this environment, and triggered the whole cultural ecology there, just as Xiao Han mentioned in the documentary : it was a scene similar to a mass movement.

 

Although "20 Hz" is a documentary of music, in fact, what I wanted to say is about the city. Underground music was an entry point of the topic, reflecting the city's culture and society. Documentary is a way of getting involved in the topic. When I was in the context of this city, I found that making documentaries forced me to go deeper and deeper. Gradually, the panorama of the city appeared in front of me. I didn't try to answer any of these questions. I just wanted to show this picture and think about the city under its surface.

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九⼗年代中后期，沈阳面临转型，下岗潮和市场的开放打击了传统产业，另⼀方面又带来了西方的一些资讯。外部的冲击加上内部的转变，对于当时的⼈们来说是极具颠覆性的。这种颠覆性恰恰又和年轻⼈的叛逆相结合，导致沈阳的地下音乐变得特别火热，联带的是整个九⼗年代沈阳的文化氛围都⽐较好，就像萧寒在⽚子⾥面提到的 : 那是⼀种类似群众运动的景象。

 

虽然《⼆十赫兹》是⼀部⾳乐纪录片，但是我想要说的是城市。地下音乐作为切入点，其发展脉络映射了这个城市的文化和社会。纪录⽚是一种介入的方式，当我在这个城市的其中⼀条脉络里的时候，我发现纪录迫使我越走越深；逐渐地，这个城市的全景就呈现在我眼前了。我并没有尝试去回答任何问题，本意是想要呈现这些画面，去尝试挖掘⼀个城市表象之下的暗潮。