An Analysis on the Cultural Function of Films from the Perpective of the Commercialization of Chinese Films

N. º 2019100600 An Analysis on he Cul u al Func ion o Films om he Pe spec i e o he Comme cializa ion o Chinese Films Zhou Jiayin Disse ação de Mes ado em Ciências da Comunicação O ien ado a: P o esso a Dou o a Ma ia I ene Apa ício Se emb o, 2021 Abs ac In 2019, China eleased his i s ha d science ic ion1 ilm by Hollywood s anda ds, which is an impo an s ep o he explo a ion o he de elopmen o Chinese comme cial ilms. Much o he li e a u e on his ilm is de o ed o he analysis o i s isual e ec s o o compa ing i o Nolan's In e s ella (Ch is ophe Nolan, UK & USA, 2014). A he same ime, mos documen s ocus oo much o he “science ic ion” label o his ilm, sepa a ing i om non-sci- i comme cial ilms. Fo he Chinese ilm indus y, which is s ill in he ini ial s age o de elopmen , linking his epoch-making ilm wi h he p e ious ilms on he oad o Chinese ilm de elopmen is bene icial o he explo a ion o he u u e ilm de elopmen . The ocus o his disse a ion, a e linking hese ilms, is o explo e he ela ionship be ween comme cial ilms and cul u e, aising ela ed ques ions, such as: wha a e he ac o s ha a ec he sp ead o ilms o e seas, o how does he ilm a ec he cul u al sel -con idence o he coun y he belongs o? The ules ep esen ed by hese ela ionships may be one o he conside a ion me hods o he explo a ion and p edic ion o u u e ilm de elopmen . On he basis o explo ing he ela ionship be ween comme cial ac o s and cul u e as he goal, he expe ience summa y o he co ec pa h, ways o a oiding making de ou s as well, in he de elopmen o he Chinese ilm indus y may be a e e ence o o he coun ies o ilm g oups in he wo ld. Keywo ds: Comme cial Films; in e cul u al communica ion; Chinese ilms; Hollywood; Kung Fu; 1h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Ha d_science_ ic ion Acknowledgemen s I would like o ex end my hea el hanks o a hos o people, wi hou whose assis ance he accomplishmen o his disse a ion would ha e been impossible. Fi s and o emos , I am deeply indeb ed o my supe iso , P o esso Doc o Ma ia I ene Apa ício o he pa ien guidance du ing he w i ing o his disse a ion as well as in he cou se o my mas e deg ee s udies and o he aking p ecious ime o om he schedule, eading my disse a ion ca e ully du ing he w i ing, o e ing me aluable sugges ions and enligh ening ins uc ions, which con ibu e o he comple ion o my disse a ion as well as in he cou se o my mas e deg ee s udies. I am also g a e ul o many o he p o esso s, whose aluable ins uc ion and enligh ening lec u es ha e bene i ed me a g ea deal and ha e highly inspi ed me in my c i ical hinking and s udy du ing he mas e deg ee cou se. I am also g a e ul o all my classma es and iends who ha e gi en me gene ous suppo and help ul ad ice in he pas wo yea s. Las bu no leas , big hanks go o my belo ed amily who ha e always been helping me ou o di icul ies and o e ing me cons an encou agemen h oughou he whole pe iod. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUTION............................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER ONE: FIRM ONE COUNTRY’S CULTURE IN THE WAY OF CINEMA ........................................................................................................................................7 1.1 Basic conce ns on in e cul u al communica ion............................................... 7 1.2 The Wande ing Ea h and he de ensi e pos u e o cul u e.............................. 8 1.3 Na a i e based on cul u e a he mac o le el.................................................13 1.4 Na a i e based on cul u e a he mic o le el..................................................16 CHAPTER TWO: THE CULTURAL EXPORT IN THE ASPECT OF COMMERCIAL FILMS.............................................................................................. 18 2.1 Two g adien s o he e ec s in he p ocess o expo ing cul u e.................... 18 2.2 The h ee dimensions o in e cul u al communica ion.................................. 21 2.2.1 The basic dimension - People............................................................... 21 2.2.2 The second dimension - Social iden i y................................................ 28 2.2.3 The hi d dimension - Pu pose.............................................................. 30 2.3 Limi a ions o he "Kung Fu" elemen and a new way ou ............................. 32 2.3.1 The essen ial objec i e o Kung Fu and all he o he cul u al elemen s32 2.3.2 The explo a ion beyond Kung Fu......................................................... 34 CHAPTER THREE: ADVANCED DISCUSSION ON THE JOINT VENTURE FILMS.......................................................................................................................... 37 3.1 Join en u e ilm pe spec i e om The G ea Wall...................................... 37 3.2 Symbols o ilms............................................................................................. 40 3.3 O ien alism in The G ea Wall........................................................................44 3.4 The Th eshold E ec .......................................................................................46 3.5 Halo e ec and “seek no el y”....................................................................... 53 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................60 Filmog aphy................................................................................................................. 61 Re e ences....................................................................................................................62 1 INTRODUTION The eason why I chose his subjec is ha due o he guidance o neolibe alism, globaliza ion has been inc easing since he 1990s. And his change in he wo ld pa e n became he g ea es change in he pos wa e a. A he same ime, he ilm indus y is also emb acing many o i s digi al echnology e olu ions, c ea ing a lou ishing de elopmen o he ilm exp ession space and he ilm language, which g ea ly s eng hens he uppe limi o he ilm comme cializa ion. The e o e, he con ex o globaliza ion combined wi h he highly digi alized ilm indus y made he consume socie y become he mains eam o mos coun ies. This is no only an oppo uni y o e e y coun y in his e a, especially he eme ging na ions in he ilm indus y, o p omo e i s own economic de elopmen , bu also an impo an way o coun ies o sp ead hei cul u e ab oad. The e o e, I hink ha in addi ion o ca ing abou he a is ic alue o he ilm i sel , we should also pay a en ion o he g adual enewal o he ole o he ilm in he high-speed socie y and he guiding di ec ion o he ilm ma ke . Because o he in luence o he digi al age, ilms a e now ha ing a sub le cul u al impac on many people in a coun y. I ep esen s alues, ways o hinking, o ideology. The e o e, he ocus on his aspec o i enables he ilms o become a be e messenge be ween na ional cul u es. Wi h he abo e backg ound in mind, his disse a ion a emp s o add ess a ques ion ha is conce ned wi h he sea ch o he ules ha exis be ween he comme cial ilms and na ional cul u e. Some o he s udies in he li e a u e ha e sugges ed he possible connec ion be ween he wo, bu hey ha e a ely been explo ed in dep h. In his disse a ion, we y o analyze some ypical cases o ind he ules and ela ions o in e ac ion be ween he comme cial ilms and na ional cul u e. Objec i es o he s udy In his disse a ion, I will ake China, he wo ld’s second-la ges ilm ma ke , as an example, o explo e se e al aspec s o he impac o a s ong o eign cul u e on 2 ano he coun y’s inhe en cul u e in he con ex o globaliza ion and i will ake se e al ilms as main cases o analyze such as The Wande ing Ea h,In e s ella , He o (Zhang Yimou, China, 2002), as well as how can a de eloping coun y like China main ain i s own cul u al ilm de elopmen po en ial unde he dual impac o economy and cul u e in he ilm indus y, so ha he local ilms can be expo ed o o eign coun ies wi hou being des oyed by o eign ilms, and hen based on his hei ilms can “seek common g ound while ese ing di e ences” wi h all he o he ilms om di e en cul u al backg ounds in he globalized wo ld. This may also be a e e ence o o he coun ies in he wo ld ha wan o de elop local cul u e wi h he ool o ilms in a consume socie y in he new global con ex . Con ibu ion o he a ea o s udies’ knowledge On he one hand, summa izing he ules o he ilm ma ke in his new e a can p o ec and enhance he de elopmen o local ilm cul u e and adi ional cul u e, so ha he coun y’s so powe - cul u e can be u he packaged in he ilm indus y. Fo example, Wang Chuansong w o e: I Nolan’s ilms ha e ul illed hei cul u al mission in a c oss-cul u al con ex , hen inding a way o educe he “cul u al discoun 2” by making up o cul u al di e ences in disguise is he main opic o Chinese ilms in a c oss-cul u al con ex ...... Chinese ilms mus ind a balance poin in line wi h he cul u e o o he coun ies on he basis o p omo ing i s own cul u e. Only om his balance poin can hey uly en e he wo ld cul u al communica ion o de . (Wang, 2017, p.141) The disse a ion will imp o e on hese esea ches o make he me hods and ules o he communica ion o ilms among coun ies mo e conc e e. And I may e en play a ce ain ole in p edic ing he u u e de elopmen o one’ coun ies’ domes ic ilms. 2Cul u al discoun is an impo an heo y pu o wa d by Ame ican media economis Colin Hoskins. He belie es ha cul u al p oduc s will ine i ably su e di e en deg ees o loss and de alua ion due o huge cul u al di e ences when hey b eak h ough cul u al bounda ies and sp ead ac oss coun ies and e hnici ies. 3 On he o he hand, i supplemen s he achie emen s o some in es iga o who ha e esea ched he Chinese ilm ma ke and he global ma ke , so ha mo e people can unde s and he signi icance o he ilms which a e bundled by comme cial and cul u al elemen s in China, he Uni ed S a es and o he coun ies. A he same ime, om he comme cial ilms in China in ecen yea s, we could see he possible ways o some coun ies o ilm g oups o de elop hei own ilm and cul u al indus ies, and make good use o he ilm ma ke in coun ies such as China in he new e a. Me hodology The me hodology used in his disse a ion o s udy his issue is s ill mainly an analysis o ilms, bu also an analysis o his o ical de elopmen s, h ough which he in e ac ion be ween ilms and socie y is obse ed in o de o ob ain a possible ule. This ule will be pa ly applied o he ilm unde analysis as a hypo hesis, o obse e i s applica ion. Th ough he ele an bibliog aphic esea ch in his a ea and he li e a u e e iew, his disse a ion will s udy he unique cul u al alue and egional philosophy hidden in he ilm being analyzed, and hen unde s and hei ole in cul u al communica ion be ween coun ies, such as be ween China and he Uni ed S a es. A he same ime, based on he analysis o Eas e n and Wes e n cul u al elemen s, some accu a e su eys and s a is ics will be quo ed o analyze he de i a i e e ec s o cul u al in luences on hei espec i e socie ies. Con en s 1. The Wande ing Ea h (Guo Fan, China, 2019). A new miles one in Chinese cinema. As an in oduc ion, i con ains an analysis o he dis inc i e Eas e n alues and Chinese philosophy in he ilm. The ilm is adap ed om a no el by he w i e Liu Cixin, who is amous o his sociological and philosophical hinking in his enowned se ies The Th ee Body P oblem. Rega dless o whe he i is The Wande ing Ea h o 4 The Th ee Body P oblem, i is a mani es a ion o enhancemen o he China's so powe as a de eloping coun y. F om a na ional pe spec i e, China began i s e o m and opening up in 1978 and joined he WTO in 2001. The economy has imp o ed signi ican ly. Bu , since he de elopmen o cul u e usually depends on he guiding ole o he economy, he e-de elopmen o Chinese ilms is nea ly 10 yea s behind a e he economic ise, and so a , i doesn’ ha e a g ea in luence in he wo ld. And wha is wo se is ha he Hollywood ilms ha e a domina ing in luence on he Chinese ilm ma ke . The e o e, he main poin in his pa will be ha o ind he eason why The Wande ing Ea h could be a possible way o de ense China’s own ilm ma ke , and o ind he signi icance o p o ec ing one’s coun y’s domes ic ilm ma ke . And o achie e he goal, some analysis on he The Wande ing Ea h as well as he In e s ella will be conduc ed. The analysis gene ally desc ibed he collision o he Eas e n and Hollywood philosophy: om Ch is ophe Nolan o Liu Cixin. The discussion includes he “cul u al uncon idence” be o e he ise o Chinese local pop cul u e and comme cial ilms, which has always been a shadow o he coun y's so powe de elopmen . Hollywood's cu ing-edge ilm echnology and unique alue packaging skills make i occupy he spi i ual li e o many young people. Wang Chuansong w o e: A e his ea men (o Hollywood), bo h local and o e seas audiences can gain a p o ound and i id unde s anding o he ma e ial cul u e, ins i u ional cul u e and spi i ual cul u e o Ame ican cul u e in he ilm. (Wang, 2017, p.106) This sec ion con ains he explo a ion o Hollywood in he Uni ed S a es as he wo ld’s domina o o comme cial ilms and he Chinese ilm indus y as one o he challenge s. The analysis o he hidden cul u e and alues in he ilms o he wo pa ies ends o seek common g ound while ese ing di e ences, and explo e how one coun y combines i s own na ional alues o o m i s own gen e unde he impac o Hollywood. 5 he way o pass he na ional cul u e, social hinking and alues w apped in science ic ion o ma ial a s and o he comme cial elemen s, in ellec ual p ope y, and popula cul u e o he whole wo ld is he only way o China's ilm indus y. 2. Based on he esul s o he abo e discussion and analysis, we i s conclude ha in o de o sp ead cul u e ab oad we should i s y o p o ec ou own cul u al ma ke . So ha ou own cul u e canno lose i s way o de elopmen when some in luen ial o eign cul u e en e s. Only on his basis can we be quali ied o expo ou cul u e. This sec ion ocuses on he analysis o he sp ead o Chinese Kung Fu cul u e on ilms. A he beginning o he analysis, his pa pu s o wa d some hypo he ical concep s, such as he s udy o h ee dimensions ha may be encoun e ed when ilms a e sp ead o e seas, which o a ce ain ex en de e mine he e ec i eness o in e cul u al communica ion ab oad. In his sec ion, Kung Fu cul u e is chosen o analysis because i is a a e and classic case o China, which is weak in so powe , o success ully sp ead Kung Fu cul u e ab oad. The case mainly includes h ee s a s who ha e made unmis akable con ibu ions o he Kung Fu cul u e: B uce Lee, Jackie Chan and Je Li. The disse a ion will so ou hei backg ounds, con ibu ions and Kung Fu philosophy. Th ough his case, he sec ion will analyze his his o y in he con ex o he ilm, as a way o in u n es he hypo hesis p esen ed a he beginning o he sec ion. In his way, he ideas in his sec ion on he me hods and p ocesses o o eign cul u al expo a e u he s eng hened. 3. A e he analysis o Kung Fu ilms in he p e ious pa and he e i ica ion and explana ion o he hypo he ical heo y, i is possible o see he ad an ages o his communica ion me hod while no ing i s limi a ions. Based on he esul s o he second pa , he hi d pa is a complemen o he second pa . And he complemen aken in second pa is de eloped by he analysis o join en u e ilms. Unde he discussion he e, i is easie o unde s and how he join en u e ilm makes up o he abo e-men ioned limi a ions. A he same ime, in he case s udy o The G ea Wall 12 ou s anding poin s o his mo ie is ha i success ully links amily a ec ion wi h human des iny. Fo he p o agonis Coope sa ing his own daugh e equals sa ing he human wo ld, and his op imal solu ion o his Ame ican na a i e me hod is indeed ied o indi idual he oism, because in his way he con adic ions a e concen a ed o a oid he heme being gene alized, which also allows he audience o easily b ing emo ions in o a pa icula cha ac e . And his cha ac e is usually being modeled as an eli e like in many Hollywood mo ies who is enci cled in an “ins i u ionalized sys em”(He e we can unde s and i simply as a social g oup o people who a e used o ixed hinking, who do no wan o change he s a us quo, e en i he s a us quo is w ong) ha needs o be b oken by he eli e. In In e s ella , he “ins i u ionalized” o dina ies wouldn’ allow spending on space explo a ion. Ne e heless, i is he eli e who b oke he ins i u ion sa ed hem. And we may ha e o analyze his case. I we only do he ela ed discussion abou i s mo i o disas e ilm and do no in ol e some o he Ame ican cul u e o he ime being, i is a “conc e iza ion” o e en s ha ha e no happened in eali y. Then he alue o de e mining he choice o mos people by he beha io o a sole he o is pa ly included in he Ame ican comme cial blockbus e wi h huge box o ice, and i has become he only solu ion o he hypo he ical disas e in he Chinese ilm ma ke . I is inapp op ia e, nei he because o he choice be ween indi idualism o collec i ism, no be ween G ea Man Theo y4o People's His o y5, bu because o he choice’s “uniqueness”. I means we need mul iple choices when we ace he hypo he ical disas e . This disse a ion ends o belie e ha b eaking he “uniqueness” o impo ed ilms on di e en ilm mo i s can be a de ensi e pos u e o one coun y’s cul u e and so powe . Like in his case, China i sel has o p oduce a ilm wi h i s own solu ions based on i s own cul u e. A he same ime, being equi alen o ilms wi h he o eign in asion cul u e, like he Hollywood, he ilm eam conduc s a comme cial blockbus e o he same mo i wi h i s own cha ac e is ics (like The Wande ing Ea h 4h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/G ea _man_ heo y 5h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/People%27s_his o y 13 is o he same ilm mo i wi h In e s ella ), so ha he ilm can be popula among as many people as possible o he coun y, o a ac hei own people’s a en ion, making hem be awa e o ha in on o he hypo he ical disas e , hey can ha e he solu ion o The Wande ing Ea h ins ead o ha o In e s ella . Wha we look o wa d o ge ing in his way is o gain a choice o a solu ion belongs o ou na ion based on ou cul u e and alues o a hypo he ical o me apho ical p oblem and con lic poin in he na a i e o his ilm. And his choice could p obably seem o be inco ec o he momen since in eali y di e en pe iod needs di e en choices, bu a leas i is de ini ely a way ha can’ be abandoned. In his way, i could lead o a p omising esul s, namely, subconsciously making one's own coun y belie e in one's own coun y's cul u e, and one could di ec ly wi ness he “implemen a ion p ocess” o one's own coun y's alues a he le el o comme cial ilms (in o he wo ds, one can see how he alues o his coun y a e pu in o p ac ical applica ion when acing he hypo he ical o me apho ical p oblem), du ing which he na ional con idence is widely sha ed among he people o he coun y. I ’s impo an o he posi i e cycle o he de elopmen o cul u e. A e all, “people a e he c ea o s o cul u e, and cul u e is he shape s o people”6. 1.3 Na a i e based on cul u e a he mac o le el The e o e, The Wande ing Ea h in his science ic ion heme shows o he i s ime an al e na i e o Ame ican pe sonal he oism, making Ame ican alues no he only solu ion o he di icul ies ha people appeal o, ha is, China's own alue o ien a ion. To be mo e speci ic, in he wo ilms when acing he di icul y (disas e ), The Wande ing Ea h o e ed a way o solu ion, which is mo e collec i is ic, and his migh be a sui able way o he Chinese ins ead o he Ame ican solu ion in on o he hypo he ical disas e . And in his way, i could be called “b eaking he uniqueness” as men ioned abo e. 6 K ause and Rosas (eds.). “Economic, Social and Cul u al Righ s, Do d ech : Ma inus Nijho , 1995, p.230-231” 14 Thus, based on his backg ound, in he mo ie we can see ha he e a e se e al ypical s o ylines: 1. A e p oblems occu ed o he ea h engines, he p o agonis 's eam esponded o he Uni ed Ea h Go e nmen 's call o suppo he epai o ea h engines. They wen h ough a lo o ha dships bu e en ually we e old ha due o “sa u a ed escue”, coun ies o he han China had al eady a i ed and es a ed he engines. 2. When in o med by he Uni ed Ea h Go e nmen ha e en i he engine was now epai ed, i was oo la e. The ea h has no ime o escape Jupi e 's g a i y. In despe a ion, he p o agonis eam hough ha people could ligh up pa o Jupi e 's hyd ogen wi h he ea h's oxygen ha had been aken away and use shock wa e o push he ea h away om Jupi e . Howe e , jus like he “communi y wi h sha ed u u e o mankind” alue o he mo ie men ioned ea lie , he plo o he mo ie he e is a anged in a di e en di ec ion om he s anda d Hollywood plo , ha is, while he p o agonis eam was ying o conduc he plan, hey we e old ha be o e hey came ou o he solu ion o sa ing he Ea h, some Is aeli scien is s had al eady p oposed his me hod, and hey also p o ed ha i could no be done. 3. Be o e he p o agonis eam knew ha his me hod was no easible, hey ied e e y means o implemen his me hod o he equa o ial ea h engine. Bu a e ge ing he e, hey ound ha hei manpowe was no enough o igni e he engine. The e o e, wi h he consen o a F ench liaison in he Uni ed Ea h Go e nmen , he emale s uden Duo Duo in he eam made a oice o he escue eams in all di e en coun ies a ound he wo ld on he global b oadcas , asking hem o suppo he e. Many escue eams in despai , a e hea ing Duo's call, decided o choose hope oge he o sa e hei common home- he Ea h. Then e e yone o di e en na ions ied hei bes o push he “pe cussion pin” o igni ed he equa o ial engine. A he same ime, in he in e na ional space s a ion Pei Qiang, an as onau , wi h he help o his Russian colleague, was able o use his engine lame o sac i ice he space s a ion o igni e Jupi e . This is he esul o he join e o s o he people o he wo ld. When acing he hypo he ical disas e , The Wande ing Ea h assume ha i a e he eams om all o e 15 he wo ld who sa ed he Ea h, no jus one eam om a ce ain coun y. This na a i e can be a e y classic in e p e a ion o he “communi y wi h sha ed u u e o mankind” on he sc een, showing he heme ha people in all coun ies a e he oes in he ace o his disas e . Mo eo e , one o he mos ambi ious na a i es in he mo ie is he 2500-yea long- e m s a egy o mankind o p opel he en i e plane o he new galaxy, which seems o be di e en om he Hollywood na a i es. This may also be he pa ha can mos a ouse he empa hy o Chinese audiences. In China, which is deeply a ec ed by he Con ucian cul u al c ea ed by Con ucius. Almos all adi ional cul u e and alues come om Con ucianism7, which is a sys em o hough and beha io o igina ing in ancien China. “A ached o he Land and Unwilling o Mo e” (A adi ional Chinese idiom, simila o he nos algic p o incialism) is one o he impo an concep s. I depic s he Chinese people's special eelings o he land - we and he land unde ou ee a e insepa able. The e o e, ins ead o he Hollywood escape ship plo like in he ilm In e s ella , in The Wande ing Ea h he concep o escaping wi h he “land” is ac ually a kind o o ien al unique me hod. As men ioned abo e, as a mo ie ha a emp s o be equi alen o a Hollywood comme cial ilm, he The Wande ing Ea h’s main pu pose is o le audiences in his coun y see he ealiza ion o hei coun y’s cul u e and alues on he sc een. Only based on his i is possible o ca y ou cul u al ou pu in he nex s age. The e o e, he disse a ion he e in his con ex is mo e willing o summa ize his poin in his way: In he p ocess o he in e cul u al communica ion among coun ies, i he ex e nal cul u e, o we could say he cul u e om ano he coun y, and alues a e oo s ong on a ce ain p oposi ion, hen on he equi alen mo i he pu pose o he ilms o he coun y wi h ela i ely weak cul u e in luence is bes no o ush o conduc ou pu , bu o gain he la ge-scale ecogni ion as much as possible o he ci izens o i s own coun y, which could be consumed as a de ensi e ac ion. This also de e mines ha a ilm wi h his pu pose canno be a ilm o some ce ain small g oups. I needs o use he exis ing cul u al consensus o he people o he coun y ( o 7h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Con ucianism 16 example, in his disse a ion, he cul u al consensus o Chinese can be he Con ucianism o collec i ism) on his p oblem a i me consensus, like he case o he The Wande ing Ea h. In e ms o o m, in o de o include mo e people g oups, a leas unde hese ci cums ances i is gene ally bes o include cul u al s ance in a ious comme cial elemen s. Fo example, The Wande ing Ea h is an a emp o ha e he cul u al s ance o he In e na ionalism, and hen he ilm buil a u u e spaceship as a comme cial elemen , and inside his spaceship you can see he aces o people om di e en coun ies in he wo ld. Acco ding o Zhang: In he 1990s, he wo ld s uc u e has unde gone he mos d ama ic changes in he pos -wa e a. The end o globaliza ion led by neolibe al ideology has become inc easingly ob ious, and he g adually o med consume socie y has made economic de elopmen a hegemonic. (Zhang, 2012, p.1) The e o e, in e a o globaliza ion, he comme cial alue o mo ies also ep esen s i s “hegemony” o a ce ain ex en . He e he alue only e e s o money. 1.4 Na a i e based on cul u e a he mic o le el As men ioned abo e, he exp ession o he in luence o he communi y wi h sha ed u u e o mankind con ained in he ilm is a mac o exp ession o he ealiza ion o his na ional consensus. Howe e , he mic o na a i e is he backg ound o he en i e s o y, so i may no be as in ui i e as he mic o exp ession. The e o e, d i en by he pu pose o allowing mo e people o each a consensus and make i su icien ly “comme cial”, exhibi ing he unique cha ac e is ics o he coun y ha i s people a e amilia wi h, such as daily li e, common landma ks, amilia sen ences and o he mic o-le el exhibi ion, is a mo e in ui i e way o sho en he cogni i e dis ance be ween he audience and he mo ie. I is wo h no ing ha since China has 17 no made a “Hollywood blockbus e ” be o e, his mic o exp ession is e y s aigh o wa d in he ilm The Wande ing Ea h. This s aigh o wa d app oach is e en a bi oo " ulga ". Fo example: 1. A he beginning, he mo ie showed he li e pic u es o people al eady li ing in he dungeon unde he ea h engine. E en in he unde g ound ci y, he e is s ill a Chinese-s yle class scene, in which s uden s a e eading aloud he junio high school ex books ha Chinese s uden s a e all amilia wi h. 2. When he mo ie was eleased in 2019, i was on he i s day o Chinese New Yea , and people in he mo ie also played adi ional New Yea songs and pe o med a ious adi ional New Yea pe o mances. These “seems oo ulga ” scenes which showed o he audiences ha “He e is China” a e due o he ac ha in he comme cial blockbus e ield and in he same con ex as Hollywood science ic ion mo ies, people including Chinese audiences ha e ne e pu he image o “China” and “science ic ion blockbus e s” oge he on he sc een. I was somehow ha d o hem o be linked isually and o be imagined. I 's no like in he amous Hollywood di ec o Nolan's in e s ella ha i ha dly needs “hin ” o p o e ha he e is he Uni ed S a es o his is Ame ican scien is s because unde he in luence o Hollywood, science ic ion has almos become an Ame ican label. So wha he disse a ion wan s o u he exp ess he e is ha unde a ce ain heme in he con ex o he ilm, o enhance he cul u al in luence o he coun y’s ilms, especially hose in a “cul u al de ense pos u e” could gi e up some o he ilm’s a is ic o expe imen al ambi ion, and mo e di ec ly use unde s andable images o show hese mic o ea u es o con inuously allow he audience o accep he s eng hening o he connec ion be ween he coun y and his ype o ilm a he psychological le el. The link be ween he coun y and he a ge label migh need a numbe o s eng hening be o e i ’s o med. Among hese mic o ea u es, landma ks a e he mos common. In Hollywood supe he o mo ies, ci ies such as New Yo k, Los Angeles, and San F ancisco a e o en used di ec ly o indi ec ly as “ he key poin s ha de e mine he des iny o mankind”. The e o e, whe he i is ha d powe o so powe , hese ci ies and he coun y whe e 18 hese ci ies a e loca ed will be like some commodi ies which a e p e e ed by he people o he wo ld. The Wande ing Ea h also uses he landma k app oach, o we could say o show a special place o a coun y, bu i is wo h no ing ha his app oach has bene i ed om he coun y's adjus men o ilm censo ship policies. In ano he wo d, The Wande ing Ea h would no ha e been able o use he coun y’s ci y as he landma k in he ilm. Acco ding o he p e ious ilm censo ship policy, i may be di icul o images like F ozen Beijing o F ozen Shanghai o appea on he sc een, la gely because i damages he appea ance o he ci y. Bu in ac , whe he i damages he appea ance o he ci y depends on he backg ound in oduc ion o his change o look o his ci y on he sc een and does no necessa ily depend on he pic u es i di ec ly p esen s. The wo ozen ci ies on The Wande ing Ea h a e jus wo o all he ci ies des oyed in he wo ld, and in a sense, i we compa e he ci ies o human beings hese ozen ci ies a e ac ually he oes who sac i iced hemsel es. The wo des oyed ci ies a e also he “monumen ” o hose who sac i iced hemsel es in he s o y. In his way Hollywood is no a aid o show he des oyed ci y o i s coun y, since i b ings audiences psychologically some label o he ci y as “he o” o “key poin ” and he bene i s o s eng hening he imp ession o a leading ole o he coun y. And om his we see a good case in which he coun y’s policy was able o suppo i s own cul u al indus y. CHAPTER TWO: THE CULTURAL EXPORT IN THE ASPECT OF COMMERCIAL FILMS 2.1 Two g adien s o he e ec s in he p ocess o expo ing cul u e In he p e ious chap e , we explo ed he ole o ilm in p o ec ing. The Chinese cul u e, especially h ough he China’s exp ession o building a communi y wi h 19 sha ed u u e o mankind in The Wande ing Ea h. The p ocess o es ablishing a clea s and poin and symbol o he na ion’s own cul u e, is also he ini ial p ocess o expo ing he cul u e. The e o e, based on he p emise ha China’s own cul u e has been ini ially p o ec ed, his chap e ends o explo e he u he ole o ilms. in he s age and p ocess o sp eading he cul u e. Bu in ac , he ex e nal ou pu also oughly con ains wo g adien s, which we could see as wo achie emen s o he esul o expo ing: he i s g adien is being able o ac i ely educe some ex e nal s e eo ype. I e e s o a si ua ion when his coun y hasn’ gained he igh o become powe ul enough o speak o i s own cul u e, bu al eady been assumed by o he coun ies in he wo ld some inaccu a e de ini ions, o a s e eo ype wi h a s ong subjec i e iew. As a phenomenon ha is gene ally encoun e ed wo ldwide, i also ine i ably occu s in China, which is s ill a de eloping coun y. Like he image o Fu Man Chu and Cha lie Chan ha we would alk abou in he ollowing discussion. Ne e heless, i migh be somehow a good example o s udy owing o i s ela i ely as and concen a ed changes and e olu ions du ing ecen decades. The second g adien is he abili y o expo cul u e, so ha o he coun ies can accep some elemen o he cul u e o his “ce ain coun y” o a ce ain ex en . Mo eo e , in his g adien , i may e en cause some g ea e impac on some o he coun ies, like when one o hese o eign coun ies’ cul u al sel -p o ec ion capaci y is insu icien as we men ioned in he i s chap e , hen he cul u e o his “ o eign coun y” will be in luenced excessi ely by ou “ce ain coun y”. In his disse a ion, his “ o eign coun y” could be China, and he “ce ain coun y” could be Ame ica and he Hollywood. The de elopmen o comme cial ilms in China is la gely based on he de elopmen o imi a ion o Hollywood models. Fo example, al hough he ilm Wol Wa io 2 (Wu Jing, China, 2017) is a pa io ic ilm o Chinese abou he Chinese a my o e seas. Because o he pa io ism, he ilm eaped a huge box o ice income, becoming he numbe one ilm a box o ice in China wi h $874 million. Bu such a Chinese pa io ic ilm is on he Hollywood model in e ms o s o y and na a i e s uc u e. I s s o y is simila o he Rambo: Fi s Blood Pa II (Geo ge P. Cosma os, USA, 1985). As o he na a i e s uc u e: 20 In he la e 1970s, a Hollywood na a i e s uc u e called he h ee-ac s uc u e was con i med in Sid Field's book Sc eenplay: The Founda ions o Sc eenw i ing in e ms o echnical heo y, and he h ee-ac s uc u e became he basic s uc u e o Hollywood ilms. And Wol Wa io 2 ollows exac ly his h ee-ac s uc u e o Hollywood. (Han, 2018, p. 19) This imi a ion s a ed om he i s Chinese comme cial ilm He o and has con inued un il now. The di ec eason o adop ing he Hollywood model om he pe iod o He o was ha “S a ing om he ea ly 1990s, he Chinese ilm ma ke was sh inking and he e o m o ilm managemen was p og essing e en mo e slowly.” (Zhang, 2013, p. 2) The undamen al eason is he lack o accumula ion o expe ience and he need o ime o de elop since “A e he yea o 1949, a socialis planned economy was in oduced, and comme cial ilms los hei basis o exis ence. Since hen o a e y long ime, hey ha e been ex inc in mainland China.” (Zhang, 2013, p. 2) And a e he ilm He o, “Kung u Cybo g (Je e y Lau, China Hong Kong, 2009) was modelled on Hollywood ilms such as Mu an (John Bud Ca dos, USA, 1984), T ans o me s and Blade Runne (Ridley Sco , USA, 1982) [...] Fu u e X-Cops (Wong Jing, China, 2010), which is an imi a ion o Hollywood's The Te mina o (James Came on, USA, 1984) [...] The ea men o he plo o C azy S one (Ning Hao, China, 2006) is a copy o Mission Impossible (B ian De Palma, USA, 1996)” (Zhao, 2013, p. 5) Fo nea ly wo decades, Chinese comme cial ilms ha e had a ha d ime making some impac in e ms o s o y and na a i e s uc u e, and ha e bo owed much om Hollywood. As an a emp o b eak his si ua ion, Guo Fan, he di ec o o The Wande ing Ea h, exp essed his conce n in an in e iew a e he ilm's elease ha “By oday Hollywood will g adually u n he Chinese ma ke in o a Hollywood ma ke [...] The mos impo an hing we need o do now is o imp o e he indus ializa ion o Chinese ilms and ind ou own “pen and pape ” as soon as possible, o he wise in ano he en yea s, when Hollywood lea ns o make ilms ha Chinese people like, we Chinese ilmmake s will no ha e he ad an age in ou own 21 coun y.” (Guo, 2019, p. 32) F om his poin o iew, di ec o Guo Fan is inclined o ake he ilm The Wande ing Ea h as an impo an s ep in s eng hening i s sel -p o ec ion capabili y. 2.2 The h ee dimensions o in e cul u al communica ion When discussing he ealiza ion p ocess o hese wo g adien s, we can in oduce he " h ee dimensions", which a e he h ee h esholds in he p ocess o cul u al ou pu in e ms o ilms. The analysis o hese h ee dimensions is done mainly h ough he his o y o China's changing p ocess on he Hollywood sc een. I mainly includes i ual images such as Fu Manchu and Cha lie Chan, as well as eal images such as B uce Lee, Jackie Chan and Je L. The i s dimension is he people. This dimension is mainly abou he image o people displayed on he sc een, and his image mainly con eys an imp ession, including empe amen and abili y. The second one is he social iden i y. The main ocus is on u he explo a ion o he people on he sc een, such as he image o socie y ha his image ep esen s. And he hi d one is he pu pose. This is a kind o summa y based on he i s wo, such as he alues ep esen ed by his image. As s a ed abo e, his disse a ion conside s hese dimensions as a kind o judgmen , each o which is a h eshold in e ms o cul u al ou pu and ep esen s h ee di e en le els. This chap e hopes o s udy he ule and unc ion o hese dimensions. We will un old hese concep s as we s udy some cases. 2.2.1 The basic dimension - People 2.2.1.1 The con ex o one case s udy o Kung Fu 28 ilm was s ill in he adi ional image o a g ace ul gen leman wi h a beau i ul ace, and his image was like he image o Cha lie Chan. Bu B uce Lee’s body is clea ly mean o be shown o Hollywood o see, o coun e Hollywood's p ejudice agains Chinese. By using he Ame ican iden i ica ion o “muscula masculini y” o ebuild he digni y o Chinese. The B i ish schola Ch is Be y commen ed on he poli ical signi icance o B uce Lee's physical display: B uce Lee's p esen a ion o his body as a weapon o win he s uggle be ween na ions and be ween aces has been la gely seen as a ic o y o he opp essed in China. (Be y, 2014, p. 94) 2.2.2 The second dimension - Social iden i y In he discussion abo e, we see how China e-shaped i s image. A leas , i changed he Chinese image on he sc een o Hollywood. F om his we may be able o see he second dimension b ough abou by i , ha is, he issue o “social iden i y”. This dimension is sligh ly obscu e, no as in ui i e as he "people". Fo example, al hough B uce Lee, Jackie Chan and Je Li all ep esen a powe ul image o Chinese people, he Kung Fu hey seem o use is basically indis inguishable, and hei images in gene al seem o be he same. Wha is no in ui i e is he social iden i y hey ep esen , he kind o Chinese people hey me apho ically ep esen in eal li e. The p o agonis s o B uce Lee’s Kung Fu ilms a e cynical bu ci ilian-s yle na ional he oes, physically ough and highly skilled in Kung Fu. The comedic s yle o Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu ilms mee s he aes he ic needs o mode n people, and his ilms a e all abou en husias ic, esponsible, medioc e bu he oic ci ilian he oes wi h medioc e ma ial a s skills. Jackie Chan accele a es he sp ead o ma ial a s in he wo ld, and om he oles he o en plays as police o ice s and sec e agen s, his Kung Fu is mo e o a common social a ibu e, assuming his social iden i y o main aining he law and o de o daily li e. Je Li, on he o he hand, shocked he wo ld wi h his ilm Shaolin Temple, which se o a end o ma ial a s. His Kung Fu ilms po ay a e ined 29 mas e o u ban mas e wi h supe b ma ial a s skills. His ilms in e p e ed Kung Fu medi a ion, and his Kung Fu ep esen s an iden i y o Buddhis mas e , assuming a kind o social esponsibili y o soo he and s eng hen people’s spi i ual wo ld by ex e nal Kung Fu assis ance. The h ee people’s Kung Fu ilms sp ead he ue social iden i y o ma ial a s, because he concep o Kung Fu is no only skill ul ma ial a s, bu also includes a socie y o med by hose who p ac ice ma ial a s, which has been p ese ed in Chinese his o y along wi h ma ial a s, and he na u e o his socie y is collec i is , and i is simila o he Japanese samu ai socie y, which ep esen s he idea ha e e yone is a he o and e e yone has he obliga ion o se e he collec i e. The social iden i y dimension could be oughly unde s ood as he combina ion o he “people” and he ilm elemen s a ached o he “people”. And i we ake Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu ilms ha a e men ioned abo e as ou example: Jackie Chan as an indi idual in he ilms, he is an image o a Chinese who can do Kung Fu on he sc een. Mos o he Hollywood ilms he has s a ed in con ain elemen s o police, sec e agen s, and o dina y ci izens. And as Chen has summa ized in his essay: To sum up, Jackie Chan has wo ypes o oles in Hollywood ilms: police and ci ilian, especially he o me . Fo example, he inspec o in Rush Hou (B e Ra ne , USA, 1998-2007), he gua d in Shanghai Noon (Tom Dey, USA, 2000), he Hong Kong police o ice in The Medallion (Go don Chan, USA, 2003), he sec e agen in The Spy Nex Doo (B ian Le an , USA, 2010) and so on [...] The police image has opened a window o Jackie Chan’s “second handshake” wi h Hollywood. (Chen, 2013, p. 79) On his basis, Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu image akes on a social iden i y. And he ole ha a Chinese who knows Kung Fu in socie y is ha o a medioc e ci ilian he o who main ains social s abili y. Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu ilms a e one o he impo an ca ie s o shaping he iden i y o Kung Fu p ac i ione s, and he iden i y o hese people is also he main con en exp essed in B uce Lee’s and Je Li's Kung Fu ilms. Among hem, Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu ilms ha e bo h inhe i ed and inno a ed oles in shaping he cul u al image o Kung Fu, inhe i ing he bene olen hea o ma ial 30 a is s and c ea ing sc een ma ial a he oes in mode n socie y, which a e ecognized by he wo ld and play an impo an ole in he social posi ioning o Kung Fu. (Zhao, 2009, p. 4) The image o Kung Fu police o Kung Fu agen s po ayed in Jackie Chan’s Kung Fu ilms has shaped a new he o o he wo ld, which is he medioc e ci ilian he o men ioned abo e. Al hough di e en coun ies, na ions o egions in he wo ld ha e he oes o hei own, and each wo ships a di e en image o he oes, he eelings o he oes a e he same. In he his o y o de elopmen o ma ial a s be o e mode n imes, ma ial a is s we e synonymous wi h he oes, and Jackie Chan’s ilms show he eelings o he ma ial a is s on he sc een and le he wo ld app ecia e he magical ma ial a s o China by shaping his image h ough ilms, and he wo ld is amazed and ascina ed by hem a he same ime. O e all, Jackie Chan’s ilms ha e been one o he bes mediums o de elop he social iden i y o Kung Fu om he ea ly 1980s o he p esen . In addi ion o Jackie Chan, he p ac ical signi icance o B uce Lee’s and Je Li’s Kung Fu ilms o he de elopmen o he social iden i y is ha hey no only c ea e hei own image as Chinese, bu also comple e he social signi icance o Chinese people and Kung Fu o eal li e, cla i ying hei posi ion in he socie y o he mul i-e hnic cul u es in he wo ld. This is how his chap e unde s ands he meaning o he social iden i y o Kung Fu. 2.2.3 The hi d dimension - Pu pose In ou discussion o The Wande ing Ea h in he i s chap e , we no ed ha as he i s Chinese ha d science ic ion ilm, i p ima ily sp eads an idea o collec i ism, which a emp s o make assump ions in he ilm abou building a communi y wi h sha ed u u e o mankind. And we can see his concep o collec i ism as he ilm’s pu pose. Compa ed o The Wande ing Ea h,In e s ella is a ilm wi h a di e en pu pose unde he same ilm mo i - disas e . In In e s ella , he p o agonis Coope shows an eli is empe amen ha is di e en om ha o he gene al public, 31 speci ically when he majo i y o human beings do no wan o make g ea changes o hei exis ing li es in he ace o disas e s, Coope opposes he ine ia o hinking ha he gene al public has. And he ine ia o hinking is ha he public do no wan o seek change, which we will also men ion in hi d chap e . So, as an indi idual, Coope shows a spi i o esis ance. This spi i o esis ance is one o he mani es a ions o indi idual he oism, and i is o en ound in Hollywood supe he o ilms. While a he same ime, i also appea s in many Kung Fu ilms, such as Je Li’s Shaolin Temple. In Shaolin Temple, he spi i o esis ance becomes he pu pose o he ilm, and his is pa ly in line wi h he indi idual he oism. This may also make Kung Fu ilms ha e a highe a ing and a b oade in luence in he Uni ed S a es and he wo ld han o he ypes o Chinese ilms. Acco ding o Tian and Chen: In 2014, he esea ch eam o he Chinese Na ional Academy o A s esea ched on he “Feasibili y o Chinese Film O e seas Ma ke Compe i i e S a egies" conduc ed a ques ionnai e on "Fo eign Audiences' Aes he ic Accep ance and Consump ion T ends o Chinese Films". The esul s showed ha : Among he Chinese ilms liked by he in e iewees, he mos selec ed is He o (Zhang Yimou, China, 2002), he second is Rumble in he B onx (S anley Tong, China, 1995), he hi d is Fis o Fu y (Lo Wei, China, 1972), he ou h is Fa ewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige, China, 1993), and he i h is Shaolin Temple (Chang Hsin Yen, China, 1982). Among hem, B uce Lee, Jackie Chan and Je Li a e among he op h ee who a e well-known, among which Je Li has he highes ecogni ion in No h Ame ica. (Tian & Chen, 2018, p.126) Excep o "Fa ewell My Concubine", he o he ou o he abo e i e ilms a e all Kung Fu ilms. Jus like he nex dimension, he “pu pose” based on hese wo dimensions, hese comme cial ilms o en ca y mo e o less he mission o expo ing and sp eading cul u al, changing he image o he coun y, o igh ing o he igh o speak o i s own cul u al elemen s. As men ioned abo e, he Shaolin Temple in 1982 is essen ially showing a spi i o esis ance. The p o agonis played by Je Li li ed in ancien China. A ha ime, he coun y was domina ed by e il men and became 32 di ided. He and o he people’s amilies we e being pe secu ed by hose wicked people, he whole ilm con eys a spi i ha opposes di ision, longs o uni y, and hopes ha e e yone in he wo ld can li e a good li e. Up on ha , wi h such cha ac e is ics, he goal o he ilm e lec s ha he Kung Fu b ough by he Chinese has a empe amen and ea u e o esis opp ession and meanwhile bene i s o dina y indi iduals. The same ea u e also appea ed in he He o in 2002. This kind o empe amen and ea u e is close o he needs o Hollywood comme cial ilms. This cul u al symbol has g adually been pa ially accep ed by he Ame ican comme cial ilm indus y. In subsequen ilms, we can see he eme gence o elemen s o Chinese Kung Fu om ime o ime, such as The Ma ix (Wachowskis, USA, 1999), Kill Bill (Quen in Ta an ino, USA, 2003), Mulan (Ba y Cook and Tony Banc o , USA, 1998), and The Fo bidden Kingdom (Rob Minko , USA, 2008) and Kung Fu Panda (Ma k Osbo ne and John S e enson, USA, 2008). To a ce ain ex en , his achie es he second g adien o ex e nal e ec s, ha is, cul u al ou pu , so ha o eign coun ies can accep his elemen o he cul u e o a ce ain ex en . Based on he abo e, we can oughly obse e how he h ee dimensions o ex e nal ou pu a ec he sp ead o he elemen o Chinese Kung Fu. The deg ee o comple ion o hese h ee dimensions also p edic s and de e mines how a he wo g adien s could each unde ce ain ci cums ances. 2.3 Limi a ions o he "Kung Fu" elemen and a new way ou 2.3.1 The essen ial objec i e o Kung Fu and all he o he cul u al elemen s In many cases, he cul u e o a coun y will also change dynamically wi h he de elopmen o na ional s eng h, he p og ess o esea ch on i s own his o y, and he change o ideology. This disse a ion belie es ha one's own coun y should ha e 33 ce ain "so e eign y" o e he cul u al elemen s ha i has p oduced o ha ha e no been sp ead ab oad, and he ini ia i e o change and upda e i should s ill be e ained wi hin he coun y ins ead o becoming an elemen ha belongs o o he s and a e con olled by hem. This sec ion will y o explain his poin o iew by explo ing he limi a ions o Kung Fu. The cul u al elemen o Kung Fu, as desc ibed be o e, i s ise is a phenomenon o being en us ed wi h a mission a a c i ical and di icul momen . Fo Chinese ilm indus y, which has unde gone he Cul u al Re olu ion, he only hope was b ough by B uce Lee in he se en ies and eigh ies when so powe was weak. Somehow, his e u ns o he key wo d a he beginning o his chap e , which is s e eo ype. One o he pu poses o ou cul u al expo is o en ich he image o ou coun y and become mo e au hen ic and conc e e, so ha misunde s andings will become less and less. Like B uce Lee used his Kung Fu image o squeeze ou a pa o he Chinese Fu Manchu image a ha ime. Coinciden ally, ha pe iod was he pe iod o no maliza ion o diplomacy be ween China and he Uni ed S a es. Acco ding o Zhang’s disse a ion, in he 1950s and 1960s, he Uni ed S a es had long imposed an economic blockade and poli ical isola ion on China, while in he 1970s, wi h a se ies o diploma ic ac i i ies such as Nixon’s isi o China, Sino-US ela ions began o no malize, ade be ween he wo sides de eloped conside ably, and cul u al communica ion g adually became equen . (Zhang, 2015, p. 21) Al hough he ilm didn’ ha e a di ec impac on his, i was undoub edly bene icial o he u he elimina ion o p ejudice among he people. Wi h he de elopmen o he imes, jus like he ad ancemen o ilm echnology, he elemen s o cul u al symbols con ained in he con en s o ilms also need o be imp o ed. The elemen o Kung Fu also needs o be imp o ed and enewed. In he pas decade o so, some Chinese ilms ha e o e used his elemen o Kung Fu, imi a ing ilms like C ouching Tige , Hidden D agon and He o, o using Kung Fu o ca e ing o he wo ld’s o ien alism (Chen, 2013, p. 82) as we will alk abou i in he hi d chap e , bu none o hese ilms ha e gained enough in luence. The e is a ce ain decline o his elemen o Kung Fu. In he hi d chap e we will analyze he decline o Kung Fu ilms and a he same ime 34 analyze how The G ea Wall made a change and imp o ed he elemen o Kung Fu. 2.3.2 The explo a ion beyond Kung Fu In addi ion o he ac o s men ioned abo e abou he elemen o Kung Fu, ano he ac is ha a e Jackie Chan, Je Li and o he in e na ional Kung Fu supe s a s g adually e ea ed, he elemen o Kung Fu showed a clea decline. Acco ding o s a is ics, he en highes -g ossing o e seas mo ies (all o hem a e Kung Fu mo ies) we e dis ibu ed in he yea s om 1992 o 2009. A la ge pa o his decline is e lec ed in his aspec : Kung Fu in Jackie Chan and Je Li’s Kung Fu ilms a e s o ies in bo h mode n and ancien socie ies, so i is easy o become popula ilms. A e hem, he e a o “Kung Fu” almos all e ea ed o ancien imes, which no only caused aes he ic a igue, bu also made he image on he sc een mono onous. Like he case o B uce Lee, a oiding ha he image becomes mono onous is on accoun o a oiding misunde s andings and s e eo ypes. So, a e his, new cul u al elemen s a e being sea ched. Bu whe he i can achie e he sel -de ense unc ion desc ibed in he i s chap e is s ill a p oblem. The ilms o he han Kung Fu ilms a e basically limi ed o comedy ilms, oman ic ilms. This pe iod o ime, a ound 2000 o 2010 also coincides wi h he popula i y o Hollywood's A a a (James Came on, USA, 2009), Incep ion (Ch is ophe Nolan, UK & USA, 2010), he Ma el Uni e se se ies and so on. The esul s o “2011-2012 Chinese Mo ie Audience Su ey Repo ” desc ibed in he i s chap e a e no su p ising. In his pe iod, he Kung Fu elemen can only play a p o ec i e ole on a small scale, and China aces he isk o being occupied by Hollywood om he cul u al o ma ke aspec s. Facing his si ua ion, in acco dance wi h he poin o iew o he i s chap e in he disse a ion, he s andpoin should be s abilized i s on comme cial ilms, ha is, in e nally, ilms o equi alen hemes o o eign ilms like he Hollywood ilms 35 should be made o coun e balance he cul u al inpu . Ex e nally, i is necessa y o ind a pa h ha can comple e " he h ee dimensions" as much as possible. Fo ins ance, a e he pe iod o ough nea ly 10 yea s o Chinese ilm indus y, he new explo a ion o he new blockbus e mode has been concen a ed a ound 2018, including he science ic ion ilm The Wande ing Ea h (2019), he anima ion ilm o he adi ional my h Nezha (Jiaozi, China, 2019) and he wo wa ilms Wol Wa io s 2(Wu Jing, China, 2017) and Ope a ion Red Sea (Dan e Lam, China, 2018). These ou mo ies consecu i ely b oke China's box o ice eco d. And hey a e he second ime ha China explo es he combina ion o i s own cul u e and ilms since B uce Lee's Kung Fu ilms. Howe e as o ou pu p ocess, hese ilms ailed o achie e a b eak h ough in he h eshold o he " h ee dimensions". Na u ally, he o eign box o ice was no good, and i was di icul o o m new cul u al elemen s o cul u al expo , because hese ilms a e Chinese e sions o Hollywood ilms, o example, Wol Wa io 2 is c ea ing a Chinese e sion o Rambo, and hey a e no essen ially c ea ing new cul u al elemen s, bu ying o eplace some o he Hollywood elemen s wi h Chinese images. A big pa o he eason is ha hese ilms a e o he domes ic ma ke . And as he i s chap e said, as a kind o de ensi e ac ion, and also as an impo an way o enhance na ional con idence. Thus, hey do no showcase and package hei own cul u al elemen s like The G ea Wall ha we will alk abou in he hi d chap e . A p oblem a ises he e, ha is, some imes a ilm made is expec ed o achie e a ce ain cul u al sp ead, bu some con en s o he ilm ha need o make he audience esona e wi h he na a i e o he ilm such as he emo ion o expe ience o he cha ac e s in his ilm, and also need a ce ain cul u al backg ound o unde s and, bu o a domes ic p oduce , i migh no be easy o unde s and he cul u al needs o o eign coun ies. Zhang said in his disse a ion: The eason lies in he ailu e o sol e he p oblems o di e ences and in eg a ion o di e en cul u es, esul ing in cul u al discoun s... hey can ouch he pas expe iences and sec e desi es in he hea s o local audiences, bu i is di icul o be unde s ood by 36 Wes e n audiences who a e no well awa e o Chinese social his o y and cul u e. Coupled wi h language ba ie s and ansla ion di icul ies, i is di icul o hem o accep elemen s om he ilm. Since audiences canno unde s and, hey canno ha e emo ional esonance, and i is di icul o gene a e in e es in wa ching i . (Zhang, 2013, p. 98) In o de o sol e his p oblem, we migh ind a model ha could be used as a e e ence, ha is, join en u e ilms (Co-p oduc ions). Al hough he join en u e ilm is a kind o comp omise, some o his changes o he ilm elemen s may make local audiences uncom o able, bu i is indeed a leas a he p oduce le el ha he op imal solu ion o cul u al con lic s and con adic ions has been discussed and gene ally sol ed, so ha i migh bene i s he ilm’s ma ke income i s by gaining mo e audiences o e seas and based on which, he cul u al elemen s could be sp ead mo e b oadly, especially o he pa whose so powe is empo a ily weak, such as China in his case. He e quo es Zhang: The wo comme cial blockbus e s The Mummy 3 (Rob Cohen, USA, 2008) and The Ka a e Kid (Ha ald Zwa , China & USA, 2010) co-p oduced by China and he Ame ica, wi h he help o Hollywood's global dis ibu ion ne wo k and pe asi e ma ke ing channels, soon sp ead globally. Among hem, "The Ka a e Kid" won 2.4 billion RMB o China’s o e seas box o ice (abou 37 million USD). Howe e , in 2011, al hough 23 p oduc ion companies in China launched 52 ilms (including 50 co-p oduced ilms) o 22 coun ies and egions, because none o hem we e co-p oduced wi h Hollywood, he o al o e seas box o ice d opped o 2.024 billion yuan, which is no as good as he box o ice eco d o one single ilm "The Ka a e Kid". (Zhang, 2013, p.99) In his way, in he nex chap e , we would con inue wi h he discussion o join en u e ilms o explo e mo e possibili ies o ca y ou cul u al dissemina ion as well as o ind a be e mode o cul u al communica ion among di e en coun ies. 37 CHAPTER THREE: ADVANCED DISCUSSION ON THE JOINT VENTURE FILMS 3.1 Join en u e ilm pe spec i e om The G ea Wall In he p e ious sec ion we showed he e ec o comme cial ilms in in e cul u al communica ion and he h ee dimensions hey ha e o go h ough by explo ing mainly he Kung Fu ilms. Howe e , we also no ed ha he di e ences be ween cul u es can make a blockbus e less in luen ial o e seas. One o he solu ions o comme cial ilms whose main pu pose is he box o ice is o s a wi h he capi al, ha is, use o e seas capi al o d i e o e seas publici y. Wo king wi h Hollywood, which is expe ienced in global publici y, one can lea n abou hei app oaches. Wang alked abou he cha ac e is ics o Hollywood in he disse a ion: Hollywood mus p esen i s dis inc i e cul u al ai s o audiences a ound he wo ld in o de o achie e he desi ed communica ion e ec . Unlike Eu ope and Eas Asia, which ha e long and illus ious his o ies, he Uni ed S a es has a simple and sho his o y, so Hollywood ocuses on p o iding audiences wi h an Ame ican cul u e wi h he ollowing cha ac e is ics. The i s one is high- ech [...] Second, simplici y and s aigh o wa dness [...] Thi d, he i al impo ance o indi idual he oism. (Wang, 2017, p.129) This chap e a emp s o add o he issues le in he second Chap e by a case s udy o The G ea Wall, he join en u e ilm be ween China and Hollywood, he cen al poin o which is o explo e possible solu ions o he obs acles encoun e ed in in e cul u al communica ion o ilms om he pe spec i e o join en u e ilms. The ilm The G ea Wall, a Sino-US co-p oduc ion di ec ed by Zhang Yimou and 44 idea ha symbols ha e wo aspec s o composi ion, namely, ha he ‘signi ie ’ and he ‘signi ied’ a e opposi ely uni ied. The signi ie + he signi ied = he symbol. (Huang, 2017, p. 166) The signi ie he e in ou case is abou he conc e e sound, a pic u e such as he abo e-men ioned bamboo, a sky lan e n o a wa ch, while he signi ied is a psychological concep , such as he abo e me apho s. F om his poin o iew, symbols need o ha e me apho s and meanings, and he absence o me apho s o he lack o clea me apho s may make a pic u e o a sound ha dly cons i u e he meaning o he symbols, and a leas in comme cial ilms i canno be conside ed as a comple e elemen packaging p ocess, his disse a ion belie es ha symbols can be conside ed as a commodi y in comme cial ilms, and he elemen s dissemina ed in he ilm a e by and la ge packaged in o hese symbols. In his disse a ion, we a gue ha he symbols can be conside ed as commodi ies in comme cial ilms, and he elemen s ansmi ed in he ilms a e la gely packaged in o hese symbols. 3.3 O ien alism in The G ea Wall O ien alism11 is an imagina ion o he Wes e n wo ld abou he ancien Eas , as sugges ed by Edwa d Said. He poin ed ou ha he O ien is almos a Wes e n in en ion, a place o s ange expe iences ha has su ounded people's memo ies and ho izons since ancien imes, ull o oman ic legends and exo icism. "O ien alism" has a unique de elopmen p ocess in he con ex o Hollywood in he Uni ed S a es. The Fu Manchu and Cha lie Chan men ioned in he second chap e a e ac ually in he low poin o he en i e O ien alis pe iod, and hese wo images cons i u e he ea ly ep esen a ion o O ien alism in he ilms. The mono ony image o he Eas in his con ex is e y likely o p e en no mal communica ion be ween cul u es. In he pos -wa pe iod, especially in he “pos -B uce Lee” pe iod, O ien alism g adually 11 h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/O ien alism#:~: ex =In%20a %20his o y%2C%20li e a u e%20and,and%20a is s% 20 om%20 he%20Wes . 45 e u ned o i s no mal posi ion o in o he wo ds, he image o O ien alism g adually began o be en iched. I is wo h no ing ha , in he con ex o globaliza ion, O ien alism is no only cons uc ed by Hollywood, bu some Chinese di ec o s ha e begun o sel -O ien alize and add elemen s o i . Yu and Lin explain "Sel -O ien alism" as ollows: "Sel -O ien alism" means ha o ien alis s ake he logic o Wes e ne s in discussing he O ien as a e e ence and s a ing poin , solidi ying and essen ializing he beha io and discou se exp ession o "O ien alism". (Yu & Lin, 2015, p. 8) The main mani es a ion o sel -O ien alism is he ans o ma ion o elemen s om he pe spec i e o he O ien als o he Wes e ne s, in o de o con o m o he ine ia o he inhe en O ien alis de ini ion o he Eas . This kind o ac i i y in ol ing bo h sides is ac ually mo e conduci e o he expansion o he in luence o he ilm, and e en o a ce ain ex en can u n he opposi ion in o in eg a ion and coope a ion be ween bo h sides. Fo example, he case we ha e chosen he e is The G ea Wall, a join p oduc ion be ween China and he Uni ed S a es, which is a ypical example o such ac i i y in p ac ice. Bu in ac , as Said said, “ he Eas ” is an in en ion, because i is so a om he eal Eas . Ne e heless, as a as he ilm is conce ned, we migh be able o ind no way o show he eal Eas o he Wes di ec ly h ough ilms. Cul u al discoun s a e ine i able in he p ocess o he communica ion o e seas, and he in ensi y o he discoun s depends on how many e o s a e made by bo h sides, such as he use o O ien alism and sel -o ien alism men ioned abo e o shape he image in ilms in o de o educe discoun s. Raymond Williams desc ibes "image" as an a i ac o public imp ession ha is c ea ed o appeal o he public a he han o ep oduce eali y; i implies a deg ee o alsi y in which eali y does no co espond o he eal image. (Wang, 2018, p. 148) The p ac ice o O ien alism in cinema con i ms his s a emen o Raymond Williams. I should be added he e ha his "un eal" image (Fo example, he sel -O ien alized image is an un eal image) is less necessa y in he ilms ha do no a emp ex e nal and o e seas publici y. Like in The Wande ing 46 Ea h, i wen wi h he de ensi e pos u e as men ioned in he i s chap e , and has no sel -O ien alism in i . The G ea Wall is a ilm wi h a numbe o such o ien alis ans o ma ions o concep ual enhancemen s, and hese c ea ed elemen s a e mos in ui i ely imagined by o e seas audiences ou side o China: he winding and majes ic G ea Wall a he bo de , he eli e a my s anding a a en ion on he G ea Wall, he black gunpowde hidden inside he G ea Wall, he ancien singing paying ibu e o he dead soldie s, hese elemen s a e symbols ha a e mo e in line wi h he wo ld's pe cep ion and imagina ion o China a he ime o Song Dynas y12. Wha is depic ed inside he ilm is an image o huge eudal machine, an a my ha se ed he o ali a ian powe o gua d he bo de s o he empi e, and an in en ion o black gunpowde ha shocked he wo ld. These imagina ions o he Eas ha e led people om o he pa s o he wo ld coming he e. The wo wes e n me cena y soldie s in he ilm a e he embodimen o his mys ical an asy, and hey b eak in o China wi h a pe spec i e ha belongs o he Wes e n wo ld, an a angemen like his eally alls in o he na a i e s uc u e o O ien alism and ca e s o he expec a ions o he Wes e n audience's ision. 3.4 The Th eshold E ec A his poin , he disse a ion also wan s o look a he essence h ough he phenomenon. In ac , The G ea Wall could ha e been made wi hou being a high-concep ilm pe se, o wi hou such a simple Hollywood classic mo i (mons e s). I could ha e added some dep h o he con en , bu di ec o Zhang Yimou keep i simple anyway. Wang alked abou Hollywood ilms in his disse a ion: Unlike Asian and Eu opean ilms, he s o ies in Hollywood ilms end o be simple and he in e ac ions be ween people end o be mo e s aigh o wa d, a cha ac e is ic ha 12 Song Dynas y (A.D. 960 - 1276) h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Song_dynas y 47 is e y di e en om he sub le y o Asian and Eu opean cul u es and makes Hollywood ilms easie o enjoy. (Wang, 2017, p. 130) As a i h-gene a ion Chinese di ec o , Zhang Yimou has excellen wo ks wi h dep h like Red So ghum, and o he i s ime, he made his ilm ex emely simple, g ea ly lowe ing he h eshold o wa ching his ilm, wi h he huge ame o Hollywood ilm s a s, making o eign audiences i s accep he exis ence and se ing o he ilm, keeping hem om esis ing, and hen he use his bes e o s o “sell” hese cul u al symbols, making hem mo e easily accep ed by o e seas audiences. As we men ioned he h eshold, we could ge a be e unde s anding o his h ough he h eshold e ec , which could be also men ioned as he Foo -in- he-doo echnique13, which e e s o a compliance ac ic ha aims a ge ing a pe son o ag ee o a la ge eques by ha ing hem ag ee o a modes eques i s . In ac , The G ea Wall i sel is mo e signi ican han he con en . As men ioned abo e, symbols a e like commodi ies in comme cial ilms, and The G ea Wall happens o be a collec ion o comple e O ien alis symbol sys ems ha ha e appea ed in o he O ien alis ilms be o e, and in his join en u e ilm, di ec o Zhang Yimou has ga he ed he symbols oge he as much as possible in a new a angemen , which gi es o e seas audiences he oppo uni y o econs uc in hei minds he Chinese image in hei minds. (Huang, 2017, p. 168) I also has he signi icance o using i s s a us as a join en u e ilm o con ey ha Chinese cul u e is open and ole an and willing o accep o he ou s anding cul u es om a ound he wo ld. In he ilm, he G ea Wall i sel ep esen s he in en ion o de end he empi e agains o eign a acks, and he i s ime he G ea Wall ga es a e opened passi ely because o he a ack o he mons e Tao Tei. This seems o con i m he idea ha he opening o he G ea Wall is ha m ul, bu he second opening o he G ea Wall ga es implies coope a ion, wi h wa io s om he Wes e n wo ld. Bo h sides we e a i s suspicious and dis us ul, wi h he Chinese emale gene al Lin (also p o agonis ) elling William ha "we a e di e en ". In he end, when he indi idualism o William and he collec i ism o 13 h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Foo -in- he-doo _ echnique 48 Chinese soldie s collided and me ged, he wo sides began o y o unde s and each o he and o compensa e o hei own sho comings wi h each o he 's poin s. The emale gene al Lin exp essed he meaning ha "We a e he same". In his way, he meaning o he G ea Wall is concei ed as a de ense agains g eed, no agains he beau y o u h. In addi ion, he ilm does no shy away om some nega i e phenomena in he de elopmen o Chinese socie y, such as he g eedy and igno an Song empe o , who hid behind he h one because o he siege o he Tao Tei in he p e ious momen , bu immedia ely became a ogan once he saw he ein o cemen s coming, as well as he sycophancy o he minis e s a ound he empe o , all o which o eshadowed he g adual demise o Chinese eudal socie y. Al hough he ilm uses Tao Tei, he enemy ou side he G ea Wall, as a symbol o g eed, i does no neglec o conside he human na u e o g eed in he o m o eudal socie y. The Tao Tei is a symbol o human g eed, signi ying he punishmen o human g eed. The me cena ies ep esen ed by William came all he way o China because hey co e ed Chinese black gunpowde ; he de ained William's pa ne s ook he ho ses and black gunpowde because o g eed, and be ayed hei ellows. Because o g eed, he minis e s a ound he empe o wan ed o b ing he Tao Tei o he capi al, in o de o ask ewa ds om he empe o , bu i a ac ed mo e Tao Teis and b ough ex inc ion o he empi e and he people. All hese show ha he g eed o human na u e has no disappea ed wi h he p og ess o mankind. This po ayal o he g eed o he Tao Tei and he g eed o human na u e can ac ually be conside ed a kind o an i-o ien alism, which con eys a message h ough he po ayal o he common e il in human na u e, ha no ma e wha ci iliza ion i comes om, i will e en ually e u n o he discussion o he common humani y o mankind, and in his ega d, bo h Eas and Wes need o be wa ned. This ilm-based ad ocacy ep esen s he econcilable di e ences as well as commonali ies be ween he Eas and he Wes . This common opic made he ilm mo e accessible o a wide ange in he wo ld, and in his way he ilm’s h eshold is lowe ed. In his way, he ilm's h eshold is lowe ed. F om his pe spec i e, e en hough The G ea Wall has been de-Chineseized and ins ead i Hollywoodized as much as possible o comp omising easons, and meanwhile 49 lowe ing he h eshold, he ilm s ill succeeds in packaging a lo o Chinese cul u al elemen s beyond hese h esholds, which is he unc ion o he h eshold e ec and has achie ed di ec o Zhang Yimou's eal goal - o c ea e s ong symbols o Chinese cul u al elemen s o he wo ld. And a he same ime, his "Hollywood" ilm, in u n, becomes less Ame ican and indi idualis ic wi h he addi ion o he Chinese side. In con as , The Wande ing Ea h has a much highe h eshold. Zeng and Zhang alked abou he collec i ism in The Wande ing Ea h, which could be a huge h eshold: The p inciple o collec i ism ejec s and condemns he pu ing o indi idual in e es s abo e na ional and collec i e in e es s, and does no allow indi idual in e es s o nega e na ional and collec i e in e es s... The ac ha only hal o he global popula ion, 3.5 billion people in he ilm ha e mig a ed unde g ound shows ha a he c i ical momen o human su i al and he con inua ion o ci iliza ion, all people should pu he in e es s o humani y i s , subo dina e indi idual in e es s o collec i e in e es s, and maximize he p o ec ion o collec i e in e es s. (Zeng & Zhang, 2019, p. 60) A he beginning o he ilm, he di ec o akes he ini ia i e o ell he audiences ha he i s wa e o human c isis b ough abou by he Ea h’s ac i e cessa ion o au obiog aphy will kill and inju e many people, be o e he i s c isis humans will decide h ough a lo e y which pa o he people can en e he sa e dungeon o ake e uge. This sac i ice se in he ilm is he only way o he immedia e su e ing o he ex inc ion o he human ace, bu his s aigh o wa d and speci ic “T olley issues14” will ine i ably be e y di icul o audiences o accep . In In e s ella o 2012 (Roland Emme ich, USA, 2009), he ilms ha e a oided he eme gence o such p oblems, such as in In e s ella , he human ace i sel is slowly dying, he main eam is jus going o gamble on hope, e en i hey ail, i won’ ha e in luence o human a e. In 2012, mos people do no e en know o do no belie e ha he disas e will 14 O T olley P oblem h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/T olley_p oblem#:~: ex =The%20 olley%20p oblem%20is%20a, o%20sa e%20a% 20la ge %20numbe .& ex =Opinions%20on%20 he%20e hics%20o ,imma e ial%20 o%20 he%20abs ac %20dil emma. 50 come be o e i ac ually happens, hey do no know he li e-sa ing ship was sec e ly buil be o e he disas e happened. “T olley issues” like his a e igno ed, and he e o e i ’s no easy o ha e con o e sy ou side o he ilms. The Wande ing Ea h was announced a he beginning o he “T olley issues” ha seemed eal and cold-blooded, which o some people made hem esis a he beginning, equi alen o inc easing he ini ial h eshold, so ha he es o he con en inside The Wande ing Ea h may be di icul o hem o accep because o his ini ial h eshold. A his poin , a hough de i ed om his concep is p esen ed o us. Tha is, how would The Wande ing Ea h change i i we e no a local Chinese science ic ion ilm, bu like The G ea Wall, a Hollywood-led join en u e ilm? Fo example, wi h ega d o he h eshold issue explo ed in his sec ion, we imagine ha he p o agonis o The Wande ing Ea h is eplaced by an Ame ican Hollywood supe s a , and ha he s o y mo es away om he ilm’s o iginal plo , which is: he p o agonis eam is one o he many eams who y o sa e he wo ld, and he he oes who sa e he wo ld a e ac ually he escue eams o a ious coun ies a ound he wo ld and he Uni ed Ea h Go e nmen who o e s ul ima e suppo o he escue plan. Thanks o all coun ies, mankind inally sa ed hemsel es in o a new plo : he Uni ed S a es o Ame ica’s eli e, ou p o agonis do no app o e o he cu en plan, and he makes his way h ough disas e and dange o he ea h engines, uses i o igni e Jupi e , acciden ally pushes he plane away, and hen sa es he wo ld. This change can make he h eshold o The Wande ing Ea h lowe , speci ically because om he pe spec i e o he second dimension o he second chap e , he social di ision o labo and social iden i y e u n o ha Ame icans lead he plan, which is a common heme o comme cial ilms, so ha he one o he new e sion o The Wande ing Ea h would no be so agg essi e. A e all, acco ding o Bai and Li in hei s udy, 17.3% o he English e iews on he In e ne we e nega i e “Sings he p aises o he Chinese; O e emphasizes pa io ism; Sac i ices he in e es s o he people; Re lec s China’s global ambi ions; Conceals cul u al supe io i y”. (Bai & Li, 2021, p. 75) I , as men ioned abo e, hese changes b ing down he h eshold o he ilm o some ex en , hen pe haps o he elemen s o he ilm will be mo e easily accep ed. Fo 51 example, he p o agonis eam seems kind o medioc e compa ed o some adi ional Hollywood ilms. We al eady know he eason, ha is, The Wande ing Ea h ends o con ey he in o ma ion he mankind can uni e oge he , o build a communi y wi h sha ed u u e. Howe e , i means ha he p o agonis eam canno ha e abili ies ha exceed hose o o dina y people, and he p o agonis eam is jus one o all he eams who y o sa e he wo ld. This concep and elemen could be good. Howe e , i he ilm i sel is ha d o accep because o he ela i ely high h eshold, his elemen may no be accep ed as well. Like I said, he concep o being one o all he escue eam could be medioc e. Wha is easy o be accep ed is s ill he concep om some Hollywood ilms, making audiences be eli e. In he In e s ella , Nolan se a c uel scena io o human beings ha may exis a e many yea s: The Ea h’s ecological des uc ion is se ious, dus s o ms ampan , c ops coinciden ally die, he quali y o human li e se iously de e io a ed. In such an en i onmen , humans shu down NASA, esul ing in as onau s like Coope becomes a me s, and e en he ex books o U.S. moon landing we e banned om public, and all because sho -sigh ed humans ake o g an ed ha he mos impo an hing a he momen is o p oduce ood, a he han explo e he uni e se. The ine ia o hinking was s ill pe asi e a ound Coope , e en a e his son had go chance o ge in o college bu was de e mined by his eache s ha he should become a a me ins ead o enginee . Mu phy's eache also said “We need o each ou kids o abou his plane , no ales o lea ing i .” As i u ned ou la e , i was by lea ing he plane ha humans e en ually egained i s li e. This na a i e is a ela i ely common one in Hollywood, and i is a con as be ween he “medioc e” and “eli e”. “Medioc e” he e does no exac ly e e o a medioc e social iden i y, bu mainly ep esen s he ine ia o hinking bound o i . In In e s ella he majo i y o people is bound by his ine ia, and hey seemed o be “Boiling og15” in he en i onmen on Ea h. Coope , he p o agonis , is he opposi e o his medioc i y. He condemns he eache who says he U.S. moon landing was a ake, no only because as an o dina y indi idual, Coope ’s wi e los he chance o be ea ed because mankind abandoned mos o he explo a ion o ad anced echnology, including some 15 h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Boiling_ og 52 medical ea men , bu also because as a o me eli e pilo , he says “we a e explo e s, pionee s, no ca e ake s", exp essing his dissa is ac ion wi h his policy o s eady demise. La e , P o esso B and could no sol e he p oblems in his g a i a ional equa ions e en he spen o y yea s on i . O cou se, in he Ame ican cul u e o indi idual he oism, Coope was he ul ima e mys e y sol e . He lea es behind he adi ional pe cep ions o he pas , en e s he space, and inally c ea i ely passes he da a o his daugh e by swinging he hands o he wa ch. I is h ough hese da a om he black hole, Mu phy sol e he p oblems o he g a i a ional equa ions, and success ully sa e he humans on Ea h. In e es ingly, in he ilm, i is Coope who has he c ea i e hinking o success ully make humans ou o he ha sh Ea h en i onmen , and i is Coope who sa ed hose medioc e people deeply a ec ed by he ine ia o hinking. F om his poin o iew, Nolan seems o gi e us a small i ony: Al hough he ine ia in he adi ional mode o hinking has c ea ed he basic pe spec i e o ou unde s anding o he wo ld, i also inc easingly becomes he uling economic, poli ical, and especially in ellec ual and cul u al hinking shackles. Coope ’s di e en hinking and his s ong sel -con idence and pe sonal abili y make him ou o he shackles, becoming an eli e, and in a sense, i is ac ually ano he o m o supe he o ilm, and h ough his con as o medioc e and eli e, he e is a g ea e emphasis on he abili y o he indi idual in his meaning. And in The Wande ing Ea h, he e has also been a simila human’s choice o ace disas e s wi h In e s ella . One o he di e ences is ha he me apho o The Wande ing Ea h is mo e ob ious, and he o he di e ence is ha he pe son who makes his choice in In e s ella is he p o agonis Coope , while he pe son who makes his choice in The Wande ing Ea h is he en i e human ace. Bu in ac , hese p oposi ions in he wo ilms a e bo h essen ially abou human na u e, and al hough he e a e di e ences be ween di e en cul u es, he e a e also many commonali ies. Howe e , he “ h eshold” magni ies hese di e ences, making some exo ic elemen s a e no easily accep ed. Some imes when he h eshold is lowe ed and he audience accep s he gene al di ec ion o he ilm, he small di ec ions inside may be easily 53 accep ed. P obably o The Wande ing Ea h i is possible o educe he a gumen o “sac i icing he in e es s o he people o e lec ing China's global ambi ions”. F om he no el The Wande ing Ea h, as well as his au ho Liu Cixin's o he wo ks: he ilogy Th ee Body P oblem, Liu Cixin's wo k ends o add ques ions ha a e s ill being deba ed abou among ou socie y o e oke hinking abou humani y. F om he Chinese pe spec i e, hese elemen s o ques ions added in o he ilm a e on he same le el wi h o he ilms a ound he wo ld, and he lowe ing o he h eshold may be mo e conduci e o sp ead hese e lec ions and elemen s. O cou se, o The Wande ing Ea h, “lowe ing he h eshold” could be one o he comp omised solu ions, and we could y o explo e o he ways ou . 3.5 Halo e ec and “seek no el y” The halo e ec 16, e e s o in people’s pe cep ion in he in e ac ion wi h o he s, he o he pe son’s pa icula ou s anding cha ac e is ics, quali ies will co e a pe son’s co ec unde s anding o his pe son’s o he quali ies and cha ac e is ics. This phenomenon o illusion is called he “halo e ec ” in psychology. Fo example, o many Ame ican audiences, he Kung Fu ilms o B uce Lee, Jackie Chan and Je Li cons i u e he Chinese wo ld o hei expe ience, he wo ld o ma ial a s. These Kung Fu ilms ha e had a la ge sha e o ans. In he 21s cen u y, hese ac o s ha e aded om ilm indus y and new s a s ha e aken o e hei wo k. Fo example, C ouching Tige , Hidden D agon and He o a e he signs o he beginning o he new gene a ion. Al hough hese new Kung Fu ilms ha e new cul u al elemen s and na a i e backg ounds, in he case o He o, i is much less accessible han in he case o Jackie Chan. In he ilm He o, compa ed o he easy o unde s and ilms o Jackie Chan, which a e mos ly based on he in e p e a ion o ma ial a s, he p o ound cul u al exp ession in he new gene a ion ilms is mo e 16 h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Halo_e ec 60 2002. Chinese ilm also needs o go mode n (like he case o The Wande ing Ea h), ins ead o speaking as an ancien o a long ime o say wha he di ec o o p oduce wan o exp ess o mode n socie y, and also, maybe in he u u e he Chinese ilms indus y could escape he o e whelming dominance o Hollywood and become able o de ine O ien alism by i sel . In ha case, his new, sel -de ined and mode n O ien alism may be ano he Chinese elemen ha c osses he h eshold o in e cul u al communica ion o be accep ed by he audience o he wo ld a e he elemen o Kung Fu. I migh ha e he oppo uni y o become ano he success ul case and empla e o he cul u al unc ion o ilms in addi ion o he case o Kung Fu, which could ha e a posi i e e ec on he u he s udy and p ac ice o his unc ion in coun ies a ound he wo ld. CONCLUSION This disse a ion is mainly based on some Chinese comme cial ilms and hei de elopmen his o y. As s a ed a he beginning o he disse a ion, his disse a ion a emp s o ind pa e ns om he analysis o hese cases. These ules a e mainly abou he connec ion be ween comme cial ilms and in e cul u al communica ion. The main pu pose o looking o hese connec ions is o ha e a be e unde s anding o comme cial ilms in his e a o in o ma ion whe e he in luence o ilms is inc easing and he in luence sp eads as e and as e , especially he cul u al in luence o comme cial ilms. A he same ime, he seemingly simple cul u al elemen s in comme cial ilms will ha e many sub le e ec s on ou socie y, which may be easily o e looked in in e cul u al communica ion. The disse a ion mainly analyzes and esea ches h ough h ee chap e s. The esea ch p ocess is p omo ed mainly h ough he analysis o he ilm, he in e p e a ion o pa o he his o y and li e a u e, and o iginal a gumen s abou he ilms. Fi s o all, he ilm The Wande ing Ea h is in oduced in he i s chap e o discuss he cons uc ion o domes ic so powe . The main indings a e as ollows: 61 Comme cial ilms and he in luence i can b ing a e o g ea impo ance o he p o ec ion o one coun y’s cul u e. In in e cul u al communica ion, cul u al elemen s need o achie e some poin s o p o ec he ilm and na ional alues o one’s own coun y. Nex , in Chap e 2, h ough he ex e nal dissemina ion o Chinese Kung Fu ilms, we ound ha based on he p emise o ce ain p o ec ion o ou coun y’s cul u e and alues, i we wan o expo cul u e o he ou side wo ld, we will gene ally unde s and he h ee dimensions, and he wo le els o e ec i achie es. Finally, we ha e seen a iable me hod o expo ing cul u e o he ou side wo ld, bu a he same ime i has i s limi a ions. On his basis, in Chap e 3 we u he analyze he o m o join en u e ilms, and mainly disco e he main easons why join en u e ilms can ha e a s onge cul u al in luence, including he packaging o symbols and he applica ion o h eshold e ec s. A he same ime, h ough u he analysis and compa ison o ilms, we ha e s eng hened ou u he unde s anding o he easibili y o in e cul u al communica ion. In conclusion, his disse a ion belie es ha i is necessa y o ind he ole and unc ion o comme cial ilms in in e cul u al communica ion and he way hey conduc i . The scope o his s udy is limi ed, mainly based on some landma k ilms in China as a s a ing poin , combined wi h Hollywood ilms o compa ison and esea ch. In ac , a wide ange o compa isons and case s udies be ween di e en cul u es should be ca ied ou . In his way, he ela ionship and ules based on he exis ence o cul u e and ilm can be mo e accu a ely desc ibed. By his means, he impac o ilms a home and ab oad is easie o be o eseen, and i is o g ea signi icance o he cons uc ion o he coun y’s so powe and he heal hy communica ion o wo ld cul u e. Filmog aphy A a a (James Came on, USA, 2009) Blade Runne (Ridley Sco , USA, 1982) Cha lie Chan in he Chinese Ring (William Beaudine, USA, 1947) C ouching Tige , Hidden D agon (Ang Lee, China, 2000) 62 Fa ewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige, China, 1993) Fis o Fu y (Lo Wei, China, 1972) Fu u e X-Cops (Wong Jing, China, 2010) He o (Zhang Yimou, China, 2002) Incep ion (Ch is ophe Nolan, UK & USA, 2010) In e s ella (Ch is ophe Nolan, UK & USA, 2014) Ka a e Kid (Ha ald Zwa , China & USA, 2010) Kill Bill (Quen in Ta an ino, USA, 2003) Kung u Cybo g (Je e y Lau, China Hong Kong, 2009) Kung Fu Panda (Ma k Osbo ne and John S e enson, USA, 2008) Mission Impossible (B ian De Palma, USA, 1996) Mulan (Ba y Cook and Tony Banc o , USA, 1998) Nezha (Jiaozi, China, 2019) Ope a ion Red Sea (Dan e Lam, China, 2018) Rambo: Fi s Blood Pa II (Geo ge P. Cosma os, USA, 1985) Red So ghum (Zhang Yimou, China, 1988) Rumble in he B onx (S anley Tong, China, 1995) Shaolin Temple（Chang Hsin Yen, China, 1982） The Fo bidden Kingdom (Rob Minko , USA, 2008) The G ea Wall (Zhang Yimou, China & USA, 2016) The Ma ix (Wachowskis, USA, 1999) The Mummy 3 (Rob Cohen, USA, 2008) The Te mina o (James Came on, USA, 1984) The Wande ing Ea h (Guo Fan, China, 2019) Wol Wa io 2 (Wu Jing, China, 2017) Re e ences Bai Li ang & Li Peng ei (2021). A Co pus-Based S udy o English Repo s on The Wande ing Ea h. Haikou: Hainan Uni e si y. 63 Bo dwell, Da id (2009). The Way Hollywood Tells I . (B. Ke, T ans.). Nanjing: Nanjing Uni e si y P ess. (O iginal wo k published 2006) Chen Linxia (2013). “O ien alism” Pa icipa ed by O ien als in an In e cul u al Con ex . Beijing: The Jou nal o The Cen al Academy o D am Chen Xuguang (2019). 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