Cartoons, Cultural Context

The thesis constructs a historical narrative of Chinese animation films. Through different individual case studies, the author analyzes the transformation of Chinese animation films at different historical moments and within a variety of cultural environments. The goal is to assess the achievements and problems in the production of the genre and thus offers solutions from an aesthetic perspective.The thesis includes a prologue (a theoretical mediation of research objectives) and a depiction of the lineage of Chinese animation films, followed by an examination of the presence of fantastic historical memories in the genre (with a focus on themes, choices of material, and forms of representations), an analysis of works that sustain and appropriate tradition (with a focus on individual case studies and a definition of audience), and a study of existing problems and challenges in the domestic market. The author strives for in-depth and objective analysis that combines history and theories.