中美电影中“花木兰”形象的文化探源

论文总字数：37526字

摘 要

1988年，美国迪士尼公司拍摄了卡通电影《木兰》，上映后票房大捷。同时，使得中国传统人物花木兰这一形象闻名世界。2009年中国拍摄了真人版电影《花木兰》，也取得了巨大的成功。由于中美两国存在地区文化差异，电影中展现的花木兰形象有所不同。本论文旨在研究两部影片中花木兰人物形象的异同。两部电影中不同的木兰形象反映了中美文化的差异，从文化根源上看，中国文化强调了“孝”“妇德”和“民族英雄主义”。但美国文化是为了促进个人自由，追求自我价值和个人英雄主义。本文将对中美电影中花木兰形象的异同进行比较和探讨，并对其产生的原因进行分析。最后，理解文化差异可以提高跨文化交际的文化敏感性，加深人们对母文化的自我认知和对西方文化的理解，我们国家应该关注文化多样性并且重视对本国文化的保护。

关键词：花木兰形象；文化根源；比较；原因

Content

1.Introduction 1

2.Literature Review 1

3. The Origin of Cultural Root 2

3.1 Chinese Cultural Root 2

3.2 American Cultural Root 4

4. Hua Mulan’s Image in Chinese and American Movies 7

4.1 The Similarities of Mulan’s Image 7

4.2 The Differences of Mulan’s Image 8

5. The Causes of the Similarities and Differences of Hua Mulan’s Image 11

5.1 The Causes of the Similarities 11

5.2 The Causes of Differences 12

6. Conclusion 14

Works Cited 16

1.Introduction

Movie, as an art form, is not an act of pure entertainment, business, which contains abundant cultural content and is an intuitive carrier of culture. A nation"s culture can be incisively and vividly reflected in its films.Due to the differences of regional cultures there are some differences of the images between Chinese movie and American movie. The thesis discusses the differences and similarities of Hua Mulan’s images in two movies. This thesis makes a comparative analysis between the two movies from different culture of China and the United States. At the same time, it also inspires people to enjoy the cultural sensitivity, enhances their awareness of other culture, so as to guarantee trans-cultural communication effectively. With the close contact, in modern times, the cultural security is of great concern. Our country should take action to resist the cultural invasion and cultural colonization. The Chinese should carry forward its good culture in the process of absorbing the essences of other nations’ culture.

2.Literature Review

Mulan Ballad is the Chinese original version of Hua Mulan, a long and narrative poem, which is one of the most outstanding ballads in North Dynasty. The language of Mulan Ballad is brief and unaffected. The ballad tells a story that a girl called Hua Mulan who disguised herself as a man took the place of her father to join the army. Hua Mulan is an ordinary person but her behaviors give us a deep impression. Hua Mulan is full of braveness and the spirits of sacrifice. Hua Mulan had been in the army for twelve years. Chinese traditional cultural connotations and values can be found in the ballad. Mulan Ballad is considered as the original edition in both American and Chinese movies. Many plots and characters are adapted from Chinese traditional legend.

The Woman Warrior rewrites the story of Hua Mulan’s legend. The Woman Warrior is written by Maxine Hong Kingston, who is an ethnic Chinese writer. The book was published in America in 1976. It rewrites the legend of Hua Mulan in the second chapter. The writer uses the image of Hua Mulan and makes a big variation of the original one. Americans begin to understand the image of Hua Mulan and be fond of this character by her book. American movie, Mulan, has been deeply influenced by this book. In the American movie, the image of Mulan is different from Chinese traditional one. The personality of Mulan is in accord with the core of this book. And the book has the influence on the arrangement of plots of American movie.

Anderson .C.S. published Mulan’s legend and legacy in China and United States. This book argues that, instead of being considered a model character at the first dissemination of her story, Mulan has evolved into an ideal heroine during a lengthy process of storytelling and retelling. The ethical and moral values that her image embodies reflect a collection of the virtues found in a typology of heroines in premodern Chinese culture. The sketchy portrayal in the "Ballad" enables varied interpretations of the ethics implied by the character and her unconventional behavior. One conceptualization takes Mulan as the exemplification of the martial tradition applied to both men and women in the northern literature in premodern China.Another interpretation underscores the Confucian idea of filial piety to justify her unusual actions.In another view, Mulan"s story reveals that a female protagonist can be cherished for her talents beyond the domestic sphere. All these readings between the lines have contributed to the character"s iconic image; her name has become synonymous with "heroine" in Mandarin, and history is known in almost every household in China.

This thesis makes a comprehensive study of differences and similarities of Hua Mulan’s Image in Chinese and American movies. It can be conducted in the following aspects: differences and similarities of Hua Mulan’s Image in the movies; cultural roots contributing to differences and similarities of Hua Mulan’s Image etc. The study suggests when we learn something from different countries we should pay much attention to the different cultures and our nation also need to attach importance to the cultural security.

3. The Origin of Cultural Root

3.1 Chinese Cultural Root

Movies are the carriers of culture. It is important to discuss the cultural support behind the works when people want to understand the movies and characters better. As a Chinese typical movie, Hua Mulan contains profound cultural root. In Chinese cultural system, collectivism and Confucian culture occupy a decisive position. Meanwhile, male chauvinism is the character of that time.

3.1.1 Collectivism

In ancient times, collectivism is an important part of culture in China. Chinese collectivism means that individual should be attached to the whole society. The core content of collectivism was the patriarchal clan system in the traditional culture. The family has a close connection with the whole country. As is known to all, in China, Confucian culture is the unity of heaven, earth, and human. And the individual is only a part of the unity, so the behavior of the individual must follow the collective. So, the Chinese abide by "filial piety" "benevolence" "righteousness", we tend to sacrifice for others and the collective.

The Chinese version Mulan is more responsible for the political responsibility of the country for her family. She starts from the great sense of the nation and pays her own attention to the world and the great sense of the country. This can be called collectivism. When Mulan was trapped in the valleys because of the treachery of the army, She said: "For the peace of the country, we should fight bravely!"She also sacrificed her true love for the peace of her country. This is the portrayal of Chinese traditional national collectivism. National collectivism emphasizes the importance of the collective and the country. Every hero should act in the interests of the collective, and sacrifice himself when necessary.

3.1.2 The Fealty, Loyalty and Harmony

Confucian culture plays a crucial role in Chinese daily life. Confucianism is established by Confucius in the Spring and Autumn period. The cultural support of Confucian culture includes the fealty, loyalty, harmony and so on. The core of Confucian culture is benevolence, which is the highest moral category of Confucianism. Fealty, a typical Chinese characteristic, means that everyone should respect for one’s parents and ancestors. Filial piety is regarded as an important virtue in Chinese culture. Even though there are different kinds of religious beliefs in China, filial piety is still the shared character to the Chinese.

Hua Mulan replaces her father to join the army, which depicts the quality of the fealty in the movie. What’s more, when facing the enemy, Hua Mulan and the soldiers are all pay no effort to the loyalty. Absolutely, the spirit of harmony can be seen foremost. All of the characters are looking forward to the peace and harmony in that dynasty. Everything they had done or the war is to attain peace. In the end of the movie, Wen Tai marries the princess from Rouran Khaganate for the peace and the harmony. These plots can help people understand the image of Hua Mulan from the Chinese cultural support.

3.1.3 Male Chauvinism

Thousands of years ago, in ancient China, the male has been always the head of the feudal society. Men were always the head of the country and family. In Confucian culture, women are inferior to men. People were influenced by this culture and they all believed that, so male have more rights than female and get more respect. No matter in family or in society, men discriminate against  the ability and status of the women. Women were just like subordination to the men. In the movie, the women cannot be admitted by the army. And we can see that Mulan tries to pursue the equality between male and female. In the background of male chauvinism, Hua Mulan wants to break up the old ideas and to pursue the equality slightly. In the movie, the feminism behind her is in the embryonic stage.

3.2 American Cultural Root

Generally speaking, American cultural support consists of individualism, freedom and democracy. Americans prefer to the achievements. They pay more attention to individualism and heroism than collectivism. The Declaration of Independence wrote “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights”. Therefore, Americans struggle to protect personal interest, freedom and equality. The heroism and feminism can be seen as the representative of American spirits. Feminist movement is to achieve the freedom and equality of women.

3.2.1 Individualism

In western societies, it is more important to emphasize that each individual is unique, and that there is an essential difference between the individual and the other. American individualism appeared with the arriving of Mayflower. Individualism is the principle of Puritan. At the beginning of the country, Americans produced the cultural character of individualism. In American westward movement, this kind of American spirit got strengthened, which gradually become the common spirit in American society. With the development of society, individualism has gradually evolved into the core of American culture.

Disney"s Mulan did not follow the original version in portraying characters and building the story, but rather realizing personal value in their own way , found their own social status of women. This is a typical American way of thinking, valuing personal values and valuing individual rights. Western culture understands that nationalism is the heroism of the ancient Romans and utilitarianism in modern times. As an immigrant country, the United States has been advocating individual struggle, attach importance to the realization of personal value. In the movie, Mulan has the courage to seek for her personal value and love, and finally, she succeeds in both of them.

3.2.2 Heroism

Heroism is also a product in American culture. American individual heroism represents the primitive freedom. This spirit appeared in the early immigration to the United States. Because of the defense psychology of the new immigrants to the unknown environment, the expectation of hero become their psychological appeal. Later, the "westward movement" provided a deeper and more expansive soil for individual freedom, and people realized the value of individual freedom and then strengthened this belief. The Americans’ worship of heroism arose from the sense of crisis to the unknown space that the early immigrants had.

The American cartoon movie is full of heroism. In the American version, personal consciousness is everywhere. The cartoon is rich in time and American color. It seems to be a famous story about ancient China, but it actually overturns the tradition and makes a difference. At first Mulan joined the army for her father"s father, and then she found herself in the military life and found a suitable way of life. The western love for the country is based on heroism and utilitarianism, while the film shows strong personal heroism. Disney"s Mulan may no longer be the hero in our traditional idea, but through her, we may see an image of the United States, a modern woman who is not afraid of setbacks, sticks to realize herself. The heroism can be seen from this plot. Americans try to pass on the American dream to us all: the ordinary can achieve their goals by working hard.

3.2.3 Feminism

Feminism is to end the sexism, sexual exploitation and sexual discrimination and to promote the equality between males and females. Feminism’s aim is to pursue the freedom, equality and rights of females. In the feminist movement, women are as equal as men, and women have the equitable society and rights. They are encouraged to pursue the equality of life, education and occupation.

In America, women have fought for their rights for many years. In 1792, the publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects written by Mary Wollstonecraft is the mark of the first American feminist movement (Fu 2014). In her book, she challenges the traditional concept that the existing of women is to please men and suggests male and female should have the same and equal rights on education, job and politics.

In this movie, the image of Mulan is the symbol of feminism. The movie shows the feminism by telling us that women can win respect and achieve personal value. In American society, people tend to turn Hua Mulan into a lively and cheerful image who always challenges the rules, instead of the traditional image in Mulan Ballad .For example, Hua Mulan passed the matchmaker"s exam by writing answers on her arm. Although Mulan is eager to win glory for the family, she didn"t want to lose herself in the process and tried to win in her own way. In Chinese memory, Mulan"s image is perfect. She is not only a female hero, but also a perfect daughter. In Mulan Ballad, after the war, she returned to home Mulan and became a girl.Only in this way, can Mulan"s life be perfect. In the American version, when Mulan"s gender was exposed, she even admitted that she joined the army not only to replace her father but also to realize her value. In the process of shaping the image of Hua Mulan, the American version is more integrated into the equality thought and feminism, which is quite different from the traditional Chinese gender system.

4. Hua Mulan’s Image in Chinese and American Movies

4.1 The Similarities of Mulan’s Image

Chinese movie has something in common with American movie, because the two movies are based on the legend of Mulan ballad, the image of Hua Mulan in the two films is essentially similar. There are two main similarities. First of all, two movies portray a woman with male characteristics. Hua Mulan is brave, outstanding and intelligent. In addition, Mulan"s image has female characters in both Chinese and American films.

4.1.1 Masculine Character

The two movies both portray an image that Hua Mulan is brave, outstanding and intelligent with masculine characteristics. The two images are similar in the masculine character. In the two movies, Hua Mulan is shaped as a woman with masculine character.

Hua Mulan replaced her father and dressed as a man. Hua Mulan’s living habits are like the men. In the army, her expressions and behaviors are like men, casual and direct. The habits of her eating and sleeping are the same as her comrades in army. In the training, Hua Mulan works hard and is always strict with herself.

Masculinity can be found in Hua Mulan’s character in both movies. She is a brave woman. Hua Mulan has two primary characteristics, one is firmness, the other is persistence. In both movies, Hua Mulan never wants to give up when facing hardships and dangers. Although the training is strict, Hua Mulan never complains about this. She always has a strict demand on herself.

The image of Hua Mulan is a brave woman. In American version, Mulan saves the great captain Li Xiang by single. In Chinese film, When Wen Tai is trapped in the enemy, she still saves him without any fear. What’s more, the movies try to portray a brave, intelligent and outstanding woman with masculine character.

4.1.2The Femininity

In these two movies, because Hua Mulan is a woman, the two images absolutely have the character of the femininity. American and Chinese movies both give Hua Mulan a kind of feminine charm. Although Hua Mulan was dressed like men, she still has some feminine characteristics inside. The feminine charm is reflected not only in the external appearances and behaviors, but also in the internal temperament.

In the external appearance, although Hua Mulan’s appearances have some differences between American and Chinese movies, the appearances of Hua Mulan are shaped to the beauties and full of feminine quality and womanliness.

In view of the internal temperament, love stories have been added into the two films. In the American movie, Mulan and Li Xiang fall in love with each other. In the Chinese movie, Hua Mulan is fond of Wen Tai. Through the two movies, the femininity can be seen easily from Hua Mulan’s love. In Chinese movie, Hua Mulan’s inner world is depicted in a subtle way. When she killed the enemy in the battle for the first time, she had an emotional struggle. The fragility of woman is exposed to the audiences. When she thought of companies who are dead, she feels heart-broken. All these plots could reveal her femininity.

4.2 The Differences of Mulan’s Image

Because of the different cultures and values between America and China, there are certain differences of Hua Mulan’s image in the two movies.The images’ appearances are different. In the Chinese movie, the collectivism can be found obviously from Chinese movie, but the individualism is attached to the American image. Feminism is stronger in American movie than Chinese movie.

4.2.1 Appearances

According to the different tastes of the beauty, the two movies shape two different Hua Mulan. From the appearances, the differences can be found obviously. In the American movie, Mulan has a typical western look.First of all, in terms of image, Mulan is the collective imagination of the western beauty in the west, which is the typical beauty in the western vision, which is actually quite different from that of the Oriental beauty. Disney"s Mulan was flat, a pair of thin eyebrow phoenix eye, thick lips, and the color of skin is wheat color of skin, even after the makeup, Mulan has no difference with the Japanese geisha. This image can express the typical American spirits including independence, freedom, individualism, and etc.

However, in the Chinese film, Zhao Wei plays the role of Hua Mulan. She is a representative Chinese beauty who has two big eyes with double-fold eyelids, oval face, white skin, big eyes, wearing a military uniform is valiant and heroic. Her gestures and expressions show the feeling of gentleness and softness unintentionally. People can see the character of Chinese traditional women from Hua Mulan, such as forbearance and compromise.

4.2.2 Collectivism vs. Individualism

Collectivism or individualism involves how an individual deals with the relationship between himself and other people; the relationship between himself and the whole society. Collectivism-oriented society stresses the collective interests, while individualism-oriented one focuses on the personal interests.

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