The Absent Presence Of Chinese Elements In Kung Fu Panda

The increasing number of Chinese elements in Kung Fu Panda is an encouraging sign of the rise of a great nation. Meanwhile, it is fatal to be unrealistically optimistic. The thesis explores the tool role that Chinese elements play in the movie, which reflects U.S. new tendency of economic, political and cultural strategy towards China, thus provokes meditation about the positively-oriented image of China.In the first place, as economy is concerned, Kung Fu Panda can be seen as a successful sample for Hollywood to rush gold in China through its strategy of Copinism, Sinophile tendency and grafting in the wave of globalization. In this movie, Hollywood attempts to please Chinese audience in Chinese way by borrowing Chinese cultural elements, decorating and selling back to China. In view of Hollywood economic expansion towards China, Chinese movies need to work on exploring the nationalization of Chinese elements, carrying forward national culture and form advantages in international competition.In the second place, taking political strategy into consideration, U.S. strategy of political invasion is hidden deep in the mechanism of"Chinese elements and American production". Many political metaphors of the Cartoon characters can be traced in the movie, since Hollywood is one of the most important channels to spread American mainstream ideology. When more and more Hollywood movies marked with distinct Chinese elements are being accepted by world audience, especially Chinese audience, only through fighting for equal power of discourse can those Chinese elements get rid of the miserable fate of being taken advantage of.Finally, as regards American cultural strategy towards China, the movie operates as a part of U.S. whole strategy: making audience become the objects of American cultural expansion and colonization in the carnivalized visual feast. It is a dangerous signal that Chinese elements are draining, ideas and values are imperceptibly influenced, which are being replaced by so-called"Universal Values"advocated by the United States. Chinese should be cautious about American micro cultural invasion. It is the urgent mission for Chinese movies to know well the reality, inherit traditions and try to influence the world for the dignity of China. To sum up, the Chinese elements in Kung Fu Panda function as a mere tool for Hollywood, or U.S. as a whole to incorporate China within its ideology, with a Sinophile gesture. The U.S. grafts and transforms the Chinese elements, then sells them back to China, through which Chinese people fall into prey of American colonization and expansion in new era. It is unwise for Chinese to be unrealistically optimistic. Rather, the more feasible means lies in the study of underlying mechanism and finding apt and specific ways to take the challenge.