A Cultural Discourse Analysis to Chinese Martial Arts Movie in the Context of Glocalization: Taking Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero as Cases

Abstract

This study is oriented to do Chinese cultural discourse analysis via examining two Chinese Wu-Xia (martial arts) movies. Specifically, the study explores the construction of glocalization, cultural hybridization and cultural discourse embedded in the two transnational Chinese martial arts movies, i.e. Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Zhang Yimou’s Hero (2002). The film product is an audiovisual representation of a certain of national culture, ideology and society. Chinese martial arts film is this kind of cultural product that embodies Chinese sociocultural and philosophical values. The research aims to explore the connections between filmic discourse, culture and society. A combined analytical framework that integrates glocalization concept, cultural hybridization and cultural discourse approach is constructed. By comparative analysis, the main finding of the study reveals that Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) presents a high degree of cultural globalization and hybridization, while Zhang Yimou’s Hero (2002) has relatively a low degree of cultural globalization and hybridization but embodies a high degree of Chinese locally authoritarian culture. This implies that a successful filmic production with strong national features need to organically hybridize global-local culture in proper when it enters globally cultural competition. On the one hand, it should have locally cultural identity; on the other, it should also show a kind of universally cultural values accepted by other cultures.