On The Image Of China In The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club is an American film directed by Wayne Wang based on AmyTan’s best-selling novel of the same name. Amy Tan is also one of the twoscriptwriters. The film has made great success. The image of China that is shown inthis film appears to be a tragic place where people, especially women, can never getjoy or luck. This paper tries to study the constitution of the image and the factors thathave influenced this process.This thesis is composed of five parts. The first part is a brief introduction to theargument, the relevant literature review, the new perspectives, the significance andthe structure of this thesis. The second part is the first chapter: the stereotypedimages of the Chinese people shown in words and storyline. Through analyzing thethe words of and storyline about the Chinese people, the author exposes thestereotyped images of the Chinese people represented in the film and their sources.The third part is the second chapter: the exotic land of China shown in the scenes.Through analyzing a series of scenes, the author unfolds the exotic image of Chinashown in the film and explores its historical sources. The fourth part is the thirdchapter: the distorted China in hierarchical relationships. Through analyzing theChinese culture reflected by film, the author inquires into the constitution of thedistorted image. The last part is the conclusion, which sum up the analysis and drawsits conclusion: the image of China as exotic Other is formed under multipleinfluences aiming at meeting the Americans’ collective imagination of China and itsculture.