The Spread And Influence Of Hollywood Movies In China (1897-1937

As a popular form of entertainment in early 20 th century Chinese society,"watching American films" was not only an entertainment pastime,but also an input of cultural values wrapped in images.The popularity of Hollywood films in China had both economic and cultural connotations,and its dissemination influenced people’s lifestyles and rhythms to a certain extent,promoting the transformation of Chinese society from traditional to modernized.Based on the cultural phenomenon of the spread of Hollywood films in China from1897 to 1937,this paper attempts the development of Hollywood films in China from a chronological perspective and discusses their cultural impact on Chinese society from a co-temporal perspective.It is organized in three aspects: the background of Hollywood films in China,their development,and their interaction with Chinese society.The first part introduces the background of Hollywood films in China and their development trajectory in China.American films were imported to China on a large scale at the same time as opportunities,policies and cultural attraction were related,and after the initial market attempts before the war,Hollywood films occupied the Chinese market after the First World War.The second part examines the ways and contents of Hollywood’s promotion in China.Starting from the three links of distribution,promotion and screening,it outlines the basic vein of Hollywood’s operation and cultural dissemination methods in the deep Chinese film market.The third part analyzes the characteristics of Hollywood film distribution in China,focusing on the reception of Hollywood films in China and their cultural impact on Chinese society.Hollywood films spread in China by means of capital means,content and technology overlapping,is a commercial operation for profit,but as a cultural product itself,it directly or indirectly presents Western culture and experience to the Chinese people.Hollywood films have an unprecedented ability to shape Chinese people’s cognition,update their lifestyle and traditional ideas,and so on.In the period of the transition from old to new,Chinese society presents contradictory and complex mentality in the face of the Western heterogeneous culture mixed with Hollywood.