The Revelation Of Documentary Films To Construct Chinese Cultral Image

The increasing TV-oriented cultural communication between Chinese and foreign countrieshas made Chinese documentary films an active role in international stage, and it own a barrageof award in the world. During its50years’ development history, Chinese documentary filmshave got a great deal of international attention and present a picture of prosperity, which makesdocumentary an important part of national soft power as well as one of the most effective toolsfor modeling and spreading national image. Therefore, it becomes the public’s concern to figureout how documentary spreads under the trans-cultural environment.This thesis focuses on A Bite of China, one current most famous food-themed documentary inChina. The author conducts the study on the basis of theory research and practice research interms of national image home and abroad. It defines the notion of national image, and putsforward the concept that national image reflects one country’s comprehensive strength and is areproduction of the sovereign state as well. In this thesis, all the examples are taken from thedocumentary A Bite of China, and the research is conducted under the guidance of trans-culturalcommunication theory. In terms of research methods, content analysis and case study are widelyadopted in the paper. The documentary A Bite of China plays an indelible role on modelingChina’s national image mainly in the following aspects: Firstly, it shows an internationalperspective in selecting the topic and makes the story local ones; Besides, the narrative caters tothe need of global audience and highlights characters over food; Furthermore, the world-classproduction makes the documentary close to life and accessible under different culturalbackgrounds. This thesis studies the current development condition of Chinese documentary andanalyzes some trans-cultural communication strategies on modeling national image. In the end ofthe thesis, the author appeals to “seeking the same ground” in creating native documentary andmore support from government to promote native documentary to a higher level towards theworld stage.