How Chinese culture is reflected differently in Western films and the reasons behind

Absztrakt (kivonat)

The aim of my thesis is to use knowledge of film studies and film semiotics to analyze how Chinese culture is reflected in different films, especially Western films. The goal is to find out the differences in the cognition and appreciation of Chinese culture and Chinese aesthetics between Chinese and Westerners as well as the reasons behind this. I am going to begin with the definitions and features of film semiotics, the history of film semiotics, as this will be a semiotic analysis based on the selected films. And I am going to analyze four films: The Last Emperor, Farewell My Concubine, M. Butterfly and Mulan(1998) in terms of film language, the characters, plot design, core meaning of the film and discuss the potential reasons behind the phenomenon. I am going to analyze why these films are considered successful and why they are popular in the West or in China. I am also going include analysis of the performance of oriental aesthetics in different film. In addition, I’m also going to analyze a failure case to create a clearer and more intuitive comparison. The the main research method would be content analysis. I have chosen this topic because I am highly interested in film studies and film making. And the fact that I want to study on this field to develop my skills of writing. As a Chinese student, I have chosen to work on a topic that is specifically China-related, so that I can continue my research and work in this field in the future. Therefore, I chose to narrow the topic down and discuss Chinese culture in Western films. Film is one of the most common ways for people to learn about culture of other countries and Chinese culture has played an significant role in the world therefore it is important to find out why Chinese culture is presented differently in Chinese and Western films.