By Luciana Lu Hong
HKU Journalism and Media Studies Centre

Introduction:

It is an indisputable fact that films serve as a potent medium that evokes emotional appeal and leaves an indelible impact on the audience. As an emerging medium form, films possess not only artistic and aesthetic value but also the function of cross-cultural communication. In the globalized world, contemporary American films no longer serve solely as a money-making tool for the film industry but have been endowed with cultural attributes. Likewise, Hollywood films have spread cultural norms and ideologies. The emergence of “Chinese Elements in American Films” as a cultural phenomenon can be traced back to the early days of the film industry and has evolved over the centuries. Especially since the beginning of the new century, with increased opportunities for exchange and cooperation between China and the United States in various fields, as well as the rise and rapid development of the Chinese economy, the highly profitable film market in China has naturally caught the attention of American filmmakers. Therefore, the representation of Chinese elements in contemporary American films holds significant importance in elevating the international status and recognition of Chinese culture. An increasing number of American films featuring various Chinese elements are presented to audiences worldwide, including Chinese viewers. 

This essay aims to analyze the presentation and misinterpretations of Chinese elements embedded in contemporary American films.

Hollywood sign. Arthur: Thomas Wolf.  Source: commons.Wikimedia.org

Literature Review:

Domestic:

Studies in Chinese literature on the use of and misinterpretation of Chinese elements in American films highlight the importance of handling cultural authenticity, promoting the international presence of Chinese cinema, and shaping a balanced representation of Chinese culture that respects cultural differences while emphasizing universal cultural values.

In the literature related to the interpretation and analysis of the presentation of Chinese elements in films from a cultural perspective, Wang Fang (2012) points out that the internationalization of Chinese elements is synonymous with the internationalization of Chinese culture. In the process of internationalization, the Chinese need to handle the issues of nationalization and ethnicity correctly, in order to prevent a shallow understanding and utilization of Chinese elements and culture, Wang wrote 

Su Hongyuan and Li Qi (2009) interpret that in the era of globalization, we should adopt an open attitude towards Hollywood’s “Chinese-style” films, absorbing beneficial experiences from Hollywood’s film production, and promoting the international presence of Chinese cinema. 

The rapid rise of the Chinese film market has led Hollywood to increasingly value Chinese elements for the sake of financial prospects, which also affects China’s cultural security. Scholars wrote that it is  naive to assume that Hollywood films are actively promoting excellent traditional Chinese culture to the world, as there are still misinterpretations of certain Chinese elements in the films. Instead, Hollywood utilizes Chinese elements to propagate American values, aligning with their usual tactics. (Zhang 2012)

In terms of film culture, Yin Hong and Xiao Zhiwei (2001) compare the Chinese elements that have appeared or been portrayed in American films since the 20th century with the past. They point out that China should participate in shaping its image based on objectivity and authenticity, highlighting its unique characteristics. While respecting cultural differences, they also emphasize the need to find universal cultural values. Rao Shuguang (2008) emphasized that Chinese films need to have cultural awareness and a sense of cultural responsibility, infiltrating and reshaping film culture, making Chinese films a strong force in shaping and spreading Chinese elements.

International:

The depiction of Chinese culture and its elements in American films can be contextualized within the discourse of Orientalism, according to international research on this topic Orientalism is a phenomenon where the East is depicted through the lens of the West (Silalahi 2018). The theory of Orientalism suggests that Western culture has largely constructed and imagined the image of the “East” and interpreted it as the “Other” (Said, 1978). Gina Marchetti (1997) points out that American films, since their early days, have used Chinese elements to create a sense of mystery and exoticism to cater to Western audiences’ imagination of Eastern culture. Marchetti also states that Hollywood films often depict China as a dangerous and mysterious country, and Chinese people are frequently portrayed as the “Yellow Peril,” threatening Western civilization. These portrayals reflect Western prejudices and anxieties towards China over the past century. This has been instrumental in shaping the perception of the audience based on Western stereotypes without witnessing China directly (Silalahi). The concept of stereotyping has been discussed in post-colonial studies where scholars such as Edward Said and Homi Bhabha presented theoretical frameworks discussing how stereotyping can be conceived as an ideological action. In this regard, it has been expounded that stereotyping is a social phenomenon that not only affects the object which is being stereotyped but also the creator. Besides, stereotypes are communicated and created through signs and language, which are used for constructing the social reality. On this note, it can be stated that modern society has engaged in maintaining social order by categorizing certain groups and classifying them as “Others” (Arie 2020). This ideological action is rooted in assumptions, ideas, and beliefs that are used for defining the “Other.” American films have used the phenomenon of stereotyping to represent Chinese culture and propagate a threatening as well as negative image of Chinese people.

Research Method:

This paper employs literature research and case analysis to conduct an in-depth analysis of how American films make use of and misinterpret Chinese elements. By reviewing relevant research reports, journals, books, and other literature, this paper explores the research status and achievements of other scholars regarding Chinese elements in American films, providing theoretical support and references for further research. Additionally, I will select some representative contemporary American films that involve Chinese elements as case studies for in-depth analysis. This will allow for an exploration of the presentation, significance, and impact of Chinese elements in these films. 

Presentation of Chinese Films in Contemporary American Cinema

The exact number of American films featuring Chinese elements is not explicitly stated in any sources, but it is evident that a significant number of Hollywood films incorporate Chinese culture, actors, and settings, especially as the Chinese market has grown in importance to Hollywood. The incorporation of Chinese elements ranges from the use of Chinese characters and settings to the integration of Chinese cultural symbols and narratives. 

For instance, the film “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which won the 2023 Oscar for Best Picture, is a movie that combines various cultural elements, including a significant use of Chinese elements and culture. The main character of the film is a middle-aged Chinese woman, and her family background and cultural traditions are closely tied to China. Many scenes related to Chinese culture can be seen in the film, such as traditional Chinese family life, Chinese cuisine, and the celebration of Chinese traditional festivals. Furthermore, the film heavily draws inspiration from Chinese traditional culture in terms of visual effects and action scenes. The directors incorporate martial arts elements from Chinese classical martial arts novels, presenting breathtaking action scenes and elevating the visual effects of the film to a new level. In the plot development, the directors cleverly incorporate Chinese philosophical concepts such as Taoism’s principle of governing by non-action, and Confucianism’s emphasis on benevolence and filial piety, integrating them into the film’s themes. Through the organic combination of these Chinese elements, the film presents a unique portrayal of a diverse universe, allowing the audience to experience both science fiction adventure and the historical charm of Chinese culture.

Screenshot of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Source: YouTube, A24 studio.

Elizabeth Kerr, a professional film writer who is a native of Canada and has lived in Hong Kong since 2004, said: “Making it a Chinese woman and letting the character lean into that Chineseness is probably what made the film a hit because your family traditions are different than mine. And a Chinese woman and her relationship with her daughter will be very different than, a white woman and her daughter, a black woman and her daughter, a lesbian and her daughter, all these things. ”

The use of Chinese elements also greatly boosts box office revenue. The appearance of Chinese elements and Chinese faces in blockbuster Hollywood films, even if only for a moment, makes Chinese audiences more eager to “support the box office” by going to the cinema. Taking “Iron Man 3” as an example, the brief appearance of Chinese film star Fan Bingbing was specifically designed by Hollywood for Chinese audiences, undoubtedly enhancing the film’s box office in China. Similarly, in “Zootopia,” the adorable news anchor Panda was a pleasant surprise created by Hollywood specifically for Chinese viewers. The film grossed 223.9 million yuan on its first day of release in China, with box office earnings reaching 155 million yuan in the first three days. From March 4 to April 10, the film earned US$285 million at the North American box office and a total of US$527 million worldwide, with China accounting for 44% of the earnings. All these examples demonstrate Hollywood’s attention to the Chinese market.(IMDb)

Misinterpretation of Chinese Elements in Contemporary American Films and the Reasons Behind It

However, some conscious misinterpretations of Chinese culture often exist in contemporary American cinema. Conscious misinterpretation refers to the deliberate distortion and alteration of Chinese culture by Western filmmakers during the creative process (Cheng 2019). They might include adding superficial symbols representing China or ignoring the authenticity of Chinese culture while trying to cater to audience demands. In such cases, Chinese elements in the film are often distorted or weakened, or incorrectly integrated into the storyline. 

These misinterpretations may be driven by audience preferences or the need to cater to certain ideologies or political propaganda. Regardless of the reasons, conscious misinterpretations directly impact the quality and dissemination of film works and may have adverse effects on audiences’ understanding of and perceptions of the spreading and development of Chinese culture.

“​​If everything you learned about black people comes from the movies or everything you learned about gay people comes from the movies or Chinese people comes from the movies, you are in big trouble,” said Kerr. “And it is an ongoing perpetuating historical cycle that needs to be broken to make anything better to ditch, to lose the laundry worker, to lose the math, to lose the gangster who only knows kung fu and who doesn’t use guns because he’s Chinese, so he knows kung fu.”

Filmmakers sometimes deliberately distort the image of Chinese people to align with their own ideologies or political propaganda needs. (Ma 2012) For example, some Western films tend to portray Chinese people with stereotypes and negative depictions, emphasizing the exotic and mysterious aspects, thereby intentionally smearing Chinese culture. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, an increasing number of Westerners became curious about the rapidly rising ancient China but couldn’t truly grasp the essence of Chinese culture. In the 1968 film “The Blood of Fu Manchu,” an evil and peculiar Chinese image appeared. For a long time in the 20th century, this yellow-skinned image was deeply ingrained in the minds of Westerners, satisfying their curiosity. (Sunardi 2021). It wasn’t until the 1960s when the strong figure of Bruce Lee appeared on Hollywood screens that the image of weakness and evil began to change. While some Chinese female images in the promotion of Chinese culture were portrayed as sexy and catering to males, the iconic symbol of the qipao accelerated the stereotypical impression of Chinese women. Even today, some Chinese women wear qipao to represent the identity of Chinese women in formal occasions.

Screenshot of “The Blood of Fu Manchu” Source: YouTube, HD Retro Trailers

During almost the same period as Fu Manchu, Hollywood created another well-known representative character familiar to American audiences—Charlie Chan, a gentle and witty detective. Different from the first-generation Chinese immigrants, Charlie Chan, a second-generation born in America, received an education in Western culture. On the surface, the evil Chinese image underwent a transformation, but in reality, this character was created as a kind and harmless “Other,” still fulfilling the desires of Americans to stereotype Chinese people as being different from mainstream Americans. (Ma 2012)

Another thematic trope found in the landscape of American cinema is the narrative of migration. This can be traced back to the 20th century when an increasing number of Chinese immigrated to the American subcontinent in pursuit of a better life.  Several films in the late 19th century and early 20th century such as “The Toll of the Sea” (1922), “Shanghai Express” (1932), “The Joy Luck Club” (1993), “The Mask of Fu Manchu” (1932) had documented the cultural contestation between China and America, that propagated the notion of the ‘yellow peril’ that demonstrated the prejudice of the West towards East Asian people and the fear emanating from the increasing number of Chinese migrants in the United States (Sunardi 2021). This was further propagated by a stereotypical representation of Chinese people in American cinema, where they were portrayed as arrogant, uncivilized, mysterious, yellow-skinned, villainous, and threatening. However, the object of negative discrimination and prejudice demonstrated by American filmmakers towards Chinese culture and people can be said to have evolved. Nonetheless, even recent films such as “Crazy Rich Asians”, an American romantic comedy directed by Jon M. Chu in 2018 to some extent perpetuate a stereotypical conception of Chinese culture.

Despite the recent emphasis on “diversity” and “inclusivity” in the United States, the portrayal of Chinese-American characters in film and television works remains conservative and introverted. Even today, Chinese-American characters are often depicted as academically excellent but socially awkward. Their families are usually involved in running Chinese restaurants, small supermarkets, or laundromats, and are portrayed as having a strong controlling mother and elderly relatives speaking in peculiar dialects. From Ang Lee’s 1991 film “Pushing Hands” to the 2022 Pixar animated film “ Turning Red,” this pattern of constructing Chinese-American families seems to persist. Even the film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is no exception, as the portrayal of the female protagonist largely continues some stereotypical expectations of Chinese women in Western society such as her job, and her accent of speaking English.. This outdated pattern only allows the audience to see the external features of Chinese images while ignoring the internal diversity and complexity of Chinese culture and individuals.

“Up until recently, every Chinese person was okay,  a mathematician. They were into math. They were the geeky kids who couldn’t do gym class. The image of the retiring, quiet, demure, serving, and this is male fantasy, subservient Asian women, Chinese women, that’s only recently been kind of eliminated,” said Kerr. “Everybody was just kind of very bland and flat. That happens a lot. Hollywood likes to throw somebody in who looks the part. Okay, get me an Asian person, get me a black person, get me a Latino person, and get me a flaming gay character so that we can see that they are different from the lead. But they’re not really given a chance to be that and demonstrate what makes them who they are. That’s a big thing these days and that needs to stop.”

Analysis of the Reasons for Misinterpretation of Chinese Elements in Contemporary American Films

The essence of conscious misinterpretation lies in cultural recipients using their own cultural values and cognitive frameworks to interpret and understand foreign cultural works, allowing their own cultural connotations to blend with heterogeneous cultures, resulting in new cultural understandings and experiences. (Zhang 2019)  Edward Said attempted to explore the Western perspective in the field of postcolonial theory, involving issues of subject/object and self/other in his book “Orientalism.” Those in the position of the “Other” will have no right to represent or express themselves and can only be represented by the “Subject,” according to Said. The imagination of Oriental things is essentially based on the dominance of Western ideological consciousness, fantasizing an Oriental world from an unquestioned Western central position, Said 

In terms of cultural expression, American style often attracts audiences through humorous and exaggerated techniques, while Chinese culture tends to prefer a more restrained and harmonious approach to captivate viewers. Take the Chinese dragon as an example, its image should be solemn and sacred, but in the animated film “Mulan,” Mushu the dragon exhibits a Western sense of humor, and the warriors in the film engage in conversations filled with wit. These narrative choices create a light-hearted and enjoyable atmosphere throughout the movie. Another example is the “Kung Fu Panda” series, which also revolves around humor and exaggeration. Po’s humorous and witty personality, along with the frequent occurrence of “embarrassing moments,” further enhances the humor of the animation. These narrative arrangements can be seen as deliberate attempts by American animation studios to replace seriousness and solemnity with humor, and can also be viewed as a conscious misinterpretation.

However, this reinterpretation is actually a means of cultural export, aiming to transmit mainstream American values to other cultures and shape its own cultural image in the process. (Xu 2009) “Mulan” and the “Kung Fu Panda” series of films may appear to promote traditional Chinese culture on the surface, but in reality, they incorporate the values and ways of thinking from mainstream American society by leveraging the superficial “Chinese attire,” creating a new cultural product that combines elements from both China and the United States. 

Professor Jason Coe, a full-time lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, specializing in transpacific and Asian American film and media, said: “As China opens up as a film market, Hollywood studios also seek to cater to these audiences. This also is part of a wider study of orientalist representations in cultural productions, wherein scholars argue that representations of the ‘orient’ or Asia actually illustrate through opposition how Western audiences wish to perceive themselves.”

To some extent, this approach enables cultural recipients to achieve cultural innovation and form new cultural awareness and understanding, Coe said.

 “This is also true of what some might consider being ‘positive representations,’ such as martial arts masters, spiritual wisdom, or traditional myths as seen in ‘Kung Fu Panda’ as well as ‘Shang Chi’ and ‘The Legend of the Ten Rings’,” said Coe. “As long as films can make money using certain types of conventions, including with Chinese audiences, filmmakers will use them.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be stated that the American cinematic landscape has represented Chinese culture and Chinese people in a peculiar manner, reflecting the lack of understanding, biases, and conscious misinterpretation of Chinese elements for profit-oriented reasons. It can be said that Hollywood filmmakers have adopted an Orientalist perspective in depicting Chinese culture, elements and people in their cinema. This tradition of using stereotypes for Chinese and other East Asians can be traced back to the 19th century cinema and it still pervades the present-day Hollywood industry. This has been discussed regarding contemporary films, such as “Mu Lan” and“ Everything Everywhere All at Once” which documents how stereotyping of Chinese people takes place in American films. Even though the stereotyping is not as brutal in terms of portraying Chinese characters as villains or threats, the strain of model minority myth and yellow peril can be observed in an implicit manner. Hence, it can be asserted that the evolution of Hollywood in portraying Chinese elements is changing but there still exists a dichotomy between the East and West wherein the former is depicted through the lens of Orientalism.

Advisor: Cindy Sui