Screening China
China in Popular Geopolitics, 2000-2009
J. Steffen Braastad
Master of East Asian Studies
EAST4590 (60SP)
Institutt for Kulturstudier og Orientalske Språk
Universitetet i Oslo
Autumn 2010
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Screening China
China in Popular Geopolitics, 2000-
J. Steffen Braastad
Master of East Asian Studies
EAST4590 (60SP)
Institutt for Kulturstudier og Orientalske Språk
Universitetet i Oslo
Autumn 2010
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010
ii
Master of East Asian Studies
ii
Table of Contents
Innholdsfortegnelse
Abstract ...............................................................................................................................................................i
- Autumn
- Introduction Table of Contents ...............................................................................................................................................ii
- Theoretical Framework
- Cinematic Geography
- Popular Geopolitics
- Globalization or Transnationalization
- The Impact
- Selecting a Sample
- Screening Asia..................................................................................................................................................
- The Regional Context...................................................................................................................................
- China by China
- China in the Western Imaginary
- Popular Geopolitics surrounding China in top-grossing movies 2000-2009
- The Selection
- The Magic Kingdom
- Kung Fu Panda
- Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer................................................................................................
- Juno
- China being China
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
- The Dark Knight
- Rush Hour
- The Departed
- America's China
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
- Autumn Master of East Asian Studies - Mission: Impossible III iii - Rush Hour
- Synthesis
- Transnationalism
- Exploring the Culture
- Reception in China
- Why is China benign in pop-culture?...........................................................................................................
- Summing it up..................................................................................................................................................
- Problems with the study..............................................................................................................................
- Future studies
- Conclusions
- Bibliography:....................................................................................................................................................
- Filmography:
- Appendix
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010
Introduction
Giant robots on a rampage through the Pudong-area of Shanghai. Chinese government officials purchase stolen microchips on the black market to fit in their nuclear missiles. An American and a Chinese cop cooperate to save the day. Humanity is saved on giant arks built in the Chinese Himalayas.
The China we have been able to visit from the comfort of a movie theatre in the period 2000-2009 is clearly multifaceted. I first realized this was a topic worth exploring after seeing those Chinese-built arks save humanity in the disaster movie 2012. This movie, which from a critical standpoint is quite awful, surprised me with China saving the day. Was this something brand new? Was China not an enemy in the stories told by Hollywood?
I remembered TV-shows, such as 24 , where Chinese were the enemies. I thought of video-games, such as the Fallout- series, in which the world is suffering in the aftermath of a nuclear war between China and the US. I thought of the newest album by the Guns N' Roses called Chinese Democracy.
With a fast-growing economy, an increasing geopolitical weight, China's geopolitical importance is growing – and is discussed in more articles, essays, books and research papers than could possibly be discussed here. However, how that transfers into popular geopolitical discourse is something that hasn‘t been explored in depth.
Throughout researching this paper, the gut feeling of most people I have discussed it with is that China on film must surely be a hostile and negative entity – as were my own expectations when starting out the research. The findings are that it's not. Indeed, China can be a savior nation. This essay aims to show that the popular geopolitics of globally popular movies is overwhelmingly positive to China.
The first hypothesis going into this study is that China is not China. To say it clearer: This hypothesis claims that there is no clear hegemonic discourse when it comes to
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010 how China is represented in pop-cultural texts. This proved partially wrong. Far from a simplistic, one-sided view of China, where China is always presented with a single milieu, through a single lens, China is presented in quite different ways in all the movies present. However, the general tone the geopolitical China is described with is positive – thus a non-threatening view of China seems to be a hegemonic discourse.
The second hypothesis is that the representations of China would be negative and threatening. This too was disproven. Indeed, the period might, as hinted at easily be labeled a Sinophile period as far as the sample is concerned.
The third hypothesis is that there would be a qualitative difference in portrayals of China that mirrored the qualitative differences in the movies themselves. That is, a critically acclaimed movie would more nuanced portrayals of China than a critically panned movie. This hypothesis has been disproven. There is no evidence in this study that portrayal of China is linked to the critical acclaim a movie receives. Typical blockbuster movies, with a thin script, shallow characters and bad acting might easily have nuanced representations of China, while Oscar-winners might easily not.
Beyond these three hypotheses, this paper will claim to draw three grand conclusions:
For the field of popular geopolitics, it will show that quality of art does not equal quality of discourse. For the following, a discourse is judged to have a high quality if it's nuanced. For the study of the geopolitical discourse surrounding China, it will show that at least in some arenas, China was approached in a nuanced manner in the first decade of the 21st^ century. Thirdly; it will claim that these findings are due to the forces of globalization and the economic rise of China.
Literature on how China has been represented in the west is mostly limited to how Chinese are represented. There are the ubiquitous references to Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan. Other studies focus more on how China is represented by more 'reputable' sources, e.g. Peng's study of American newspaper coverage of China
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010 Kong, Macau and Taiwan, thus the depictions of the Chinese diaspora will not be addressed. Furthermore, with a focus on the state, rather than the individuals, ethnic stereotypes will likewise be consigned to the periphery of this analysis. As such, Fu Manchu or Charlie Chan like characters would be outside of this papers field of vision. However, the long existence of overseas Chinese characters in popular culture, including books and movies, highlights the often boundary-less way in which ideas of the Chinese have been (re-)created.
In the global box office hits of the last decade, how is the idea of the Chinese nation presented? As such, it becomes vital, not to explore the idea of nationhood, but rather the idea of China as a geopolitical state. Is there a single strong strand of China presented in these movies? Is it presented in a positive or negative manner, or one completely neutral? This paper will claim that all of the above are true.
That pop-cultural representations can have an effect on real life has been proven in several studies; most recently Evan W. Durnal demonstrated that the so-called CSI- effect is real. This effect has been seen in courtrooms over the last decade, and manifests itself in the higher expectations of jury members, as well as the higher sophistication of criminals. Both come as an effect of TV-shows depicting hi-tech investigations, for instance acquiring full DNA-profiles in the matter of seconds. As such, DNA as evidence is often over-emphasized, at least in US courtrooms with a jury (Durnal 2010).
A similar effect could be present in how we meet other countries, as individuals, businesses and governments. As such it is important to assess critically how other countries and places are portrayed in popular culture. It both reflects prevailing ideas, and might in itself create new ideas.
As far as the presentation of countries in movies is concerned, two main strands of academic enquiry present themselves. One, the line of thought associated with cinematic geography concerns itself with ―how social and cultural meanings are intertwined with space, place, scale and narrative‖ as Chris Lukinbeal, one of the main researchers on the topic, put it (2004, p.248)
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010
However, different in their goals these might be, the end result often ends up being similar. This paper will draw on both ideologies in order to see how China is (re- )presented on the Silver Screen, and how this relates to the geopolitical understandings of the day.
This paper will claim cinematic China takes three sometimes distinct sometimes overlapping forms. One is ―The Magic Kingdom‖. This is the China existing outside of reality – one in which geopolitics are mostly ignored. Moreover, China is exoticized and othered – it is vastly different.
A second form is the assertive China. Seen in movies such as 2012 and Rush Hour 3 , this China is an actor on the geopolitical stage – for good or for bad. It neither resides on a separate plane, nor is it an impotent global stage where the action can take place.
The third form is both the least political, but also, in some ways, most telling form China is portrayed. That is as a neutral international scene. Far from being an exotic place, China is just a scene where action takes place. China becomes a symbol for the global, rather than the exotically different, specifically Chinese. This can be seen in e.g. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen , where the action scenes taking place in Shanghai might as well have happened in any modern city.
The last two categories could also be defined by the policy they wish the US will have towards them, with the movies depicting a more independent China following a more neoliberal approach, while the movies depicting China as nothing more than a global location, tend to pursue a more Jacksonian policy of projecting American might onto foreign lands.
These categories can of course be further divided. The second one in particular, will be analyzed based on the whether China is seen as a force for good, a force for evil or simply a neutral country on the international stage.
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010 Theoretical Framework
This paper will, through using discourse analysis as a method, see how China is perceived in modern western popular geopolitics. As such, it behooves us to examine the history of the idea of popular geopolitics in general, and more specifically, how movies have been used to examine the subject. However, we also need to take a more general look on the wider field known as cinematic geography.
Cinematic Geography
The larger field of cinematic geography concerns itself with ―how social and cultural meanings are intertwined with space, place, scale and narrative‖ (Lukinbeal 2004, p.248). In recent years, the distinction between what's seen as 'reel' and 'real' has become increasingly blurred within this field – which can be seen through how politicians increasingly use pop-cultural and cinematic references to frame their discourse. And this does not only go for Reagan and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger. The photo shoot of George W. Bush announcing ―Mission Accomplished‖ in Iraq is a good reminder of this. Landing on an aircraft carrier seemingly far at sea, with a speech timed for the best possible light, the whole event was staged, shot just off the coast of San Diego. Comparisons with 80s hit movie Top Gun were unavoidable. When 'real' events are shaped like this, it becomes difficult to set ―'real' and 'reel' as binary oppositions or as a socio-spatial dialectic in a world of unlimited simulacra‖ (Lukinbeal 2004, p.207). This view of the real-reel relationship points to an anti-essentialist, post-structural view of discourses. With everything being representations, all representations are as important.
Seeing presidential speeches in light of 80s hit movies, hints at one role movies might have in geography. When the distinction between the real and the represented becomes increasingly blurred, we can turn to cinematic geography to make sense of how this cultural territory is mapped. Visual media can thus be seen as the social cartography (Bruno 1997) to how meaning is (re-)created and identities formed.
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010 Lukinbeal and Zimmermann's 2004 article ―Film Geography; A New Subfield‖ points forward to 4 future trajectories of film geography research. They do this through analyzing several key texts within recent years' film geography, and then analyzing The Day After Tomorrow through these frameworks.
The Day After Tomorrow is a movie they acknowledge as not being ―... a very ―good‖ movie in the classic sense of narration, filming editing and montage...‖ (p.321). It depicts an apocalyptic event in which sudden climate change drastically alters the face of the earth.
Firstly, they point to geopolitics, and how the movie comments on current affairs, and shapes people's opinions. As such movies cognitively map the geopolitical imaginary. Secondly, they point to cultural politics, and how movies try to pass off what is cultural as natural. Film geography is more than simple, disassociated readings of (pop)-cultural texts, rather it is
―Inquiries of cultural documents that reveal hegemonic tensions within meaning creation, appropriation and contestation. The binaries given in The Day After Tomorrow are not ontologically ―given‖ or static objects awaiting inquiry; they are living testaments to a specific era's cultural political dialogue.‖ (Lukinbeal & Zimmermann 2004, p.318)
Thirdly, they look at globalization. This includes the predominance of Hollywood both in production, and in cinematic conventions, the use of doubling, i.e. using one geographic location as a stand in for others, exemplified the competition between Morocco and Tunisia as shooting-grounds for north-African or orientalist scenes and the rise of film tourism. Thus, globalization, when studied through the lens of film geography, denotes strengthening cultural, economical and political currents in the modern world of film making (p.319-320). Finally, there is the question of representation and mimesis. This concerns itself with the extent to which movies are seen as real. As an example they point out how several scientists saw a need to point out that The Day After Tomorrow depicted events wholly impossible – and how that received a comparatively larger section of the news than questions over the Bush- administrations meddling with scientific results for ideological gains. This shows that
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010 Indeed, political leaders often utilize pop-cultural memes in their own discourse. A good example is how Ronald Reagan, through his role as president of the USA, formulated much practical geopolitics. However, his discourse was often highly influenced by the popular geopolitics of the day: Thus the Soviet Union became the ―Evil Empire‖, referencing the Star Wars saga. In his role as a political actor, he, in the words of Massumi; ―catalyzed processes already at work in society. He was the Great Inducer, the national actor-cum-stage director who called a country to action in pursuit of the lofty lure of post-war unity. The amputation written into this script was the ‗wound‘ of Vietnam. The all-too-visible rig was TV‘‘ (quoted in Carter & McCormack, p.233). In other words, his political discourse was so successful in many ways because he appropriated the tools more often used by pop-cultural media. Thus he straddled the line between what is seen as 'real' and what is seen as 'reel'.
The first widely cited work using popular geopolitics as a framework was done in a 1993 article by Joanne Sharp. Sharp explored the idea of popular geopolitics through examining how Reader's Digest presented Cold War topics, from US military power, through the danger of a Nuclear War, to how Russia was constructed. The study, followed up in a 2000 book, found clear collusion between the official discourse and the representations in the magazine, highlighter by how the Soviet Union was vilified, and patriotic feelings toward America were glorified (Sharp 1993, 2000).
Indeed, historically Russia constitutes a great example of popular geopolitics. Hollywood‘s portrayal of Russia and Russians during World War 2 was marked by a Russophilia, while the Cold War era saw a clear Russophobia (Power & Crampton 2005, p.195).
Movies have also been studied through the lens of popular geopolitics. One of the key film-series analyzed, particularly by Klaus Dodds, is the James Bond-series. A series which he claims is a late imperial fantasy of the British Empire (2003, p.132). The focus on the series is in part due to its international setting and global popularity, but more importantly, due to its longevity, which gives ample opportunity to see how global political shifts are dealt with – most clearly perhaps seen in 2002s Die Another Day , where hot issues of the day such as the rogue state of North Korea and
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010 terrorism are dealt with (Dodds 2005, pp.270-271, Dodds 2006). However, just as much as Die Another Day can be seen as taking geopolitical developments into account, the later backlash it experienced in South Korea due to perceived offensive portrayals of the Koreas, might just as well be seen as comparable to Hollywood's problem dealing with geopolitical realities (Chung 2007, p.75). It is clear that the real-reel distinction has strong effects on how movies are read.
Die Another Day has also been used to analyze audience reaction through discussions on IMDb, a movie database by Klaus Dodds in a 2006 article. Whereas most popular geopolitics is written from the standpoint of individual readings, Dodds tries to show how audience reactions and the wider interpretive community can be gauged using IMDb, and how its members seem to converge on certain shared interests, even though they might disagree on interpretations or importance (p.120). The study clearly shows how scholars might branch out from discourse analysis to audience research – and through that opening the field of popular geopolitics further. However, as Dodds shows links between the movie and real-world geopolitics to be the least discussed area (p.124), discourse analysis, for now, seems the best way to study popular geopolitics.
That is what Dodds used in a 2003 article, comparing 1963s From Russia with Love with 1997s Tomorrow Never Die. Through analyzing how the Balkans are depicted, he discusses how overseas locations apart from the US and the UK, are most often presented as devoid of any political system or public officials of their own (p.135- 136), and as such can be seen as the touristic site-seeing proposed by Bruno (1997) – a reading many of the movies explored in the main part conforms to. This reading, coupled with the traditional orientalism Dodds sees at play when dealing with the Balkans, leads him to the conclusion that Bond-movies inform, and sustain post- imperial cultures (2003, p.148). This depolitication of place is found in movies dealing with China as well, as will be shown in later chapters.
Two of the chronologically later Bond movies, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and Die another Day (2002), both deal directly with East Asian international relations. In Tomorrow Never Dies James Bond co-operates with a Chinese intelligence agent to
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010 on the real world. Thus, 911 was widely seen as cinematic; ―It was like a movie‖. Indeed, terrorism-movies leading up to 911 gave the general public, and the policy makers, a framework through which it could analyze and react to the events of that day (2005, p.193). In other words; popular geopolitics is used by people to easily divide the world into manageable blocks, with invested meaning, often above any critical questioning (Dodds 2000, p.80).
These different forms popular geopolitics takes, either as causes or effects, were summed up as; ―[...] in an intertextual relationship with other geopolitical knowledges. They reflect, reify, explain, author, support, undermine and challenge hegemonic geopolitical discourses.‖ (Power and Crampton 2005, p.195) In other words, these texts are not isolated, but rather should be seen as part of wider discourses.
Post-911 several movies have been released dealing with the so-called War on Terror, either allegorically or directly. In a 2008 article, Klaus Dodds looks at 4 action-thrillers all portraying facets of the War on Terror. A clear single strand is not present. While some of the movies portray extra-territorial extra-judicial Killings as a necessary evil, thus following the Jacksonian tradition in US foreign policy, others criticize torture and detention of terrorism-suspects.
The problem with Dodds study is that although he notes that less jingoistic movies, such as Lions for Lambs don't do as well as the more Jacksonian movies, such as The Kingdom , he doesn't fully analyze the reasons behind it. He does state that the more ambiguous conclusion of Lions for Lambs might be the reason, however, Lions for Lambs was more successful than The Kingdom abroad (Dodds 2008, pp.1632-1633). Thus, that the movie is not resolved in the way we're used to in Action-Thrillers does not seem to be the best explanation. Rather, it seems, it has something to do with what movie's discourse resonates best with the local popular political discourses at the time.
How nations are (re-)presented in movies is also discussed in an article with reference to the movie Entrapment. In this movie, shot partly on location in Malaysia
Master of East Asian Studies Autumn 2010 just after the Petronas Towers, then the tallest buildings in the world, were finished, the Petronas Towers are frequently juxtaposed with slums. The problem however was that those slums did not exist in Kuala Lumpur. Indeed, shots had been made in the coastal town of Malacca, with the Kuala Lumpur skyline digitally inserted in the background. Thus, the image given of Malaysia is not that of a modern, industrialized country, but rather that of a still developing nation – going counter to the government's expectations and wishes (Bunnell 2004). This had several effects. Firstly, the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, used it to criticize Western misrepresentations, while at the same time using it to defend his own political legitimacy and promoting Malaysia as a destination for FDI. Secondly, as the images were from Malaysia, they induced Malaysians to strive for fuller development (Bunnell 2004). Thus Bunnell looked at how a discourse was not only argued against, but was actively attempted to be made obsolete.
Some geographic representations can be constituted as specific genres, as John C. Eisele argued in a 2002 article. In it he argued for the existence of a specific genre of movies dealing with the Middle East. He defines genres as a form of prototypes, of the type defined in the field of cognitive linguistics. Instead of being defined in terms of essential conditions, or as institutionalized concepts, his views genres are conceived of in terms of abstract 'prototype', which can be exemplified with 'exemplars', in this case real life movies possessing the attributes inherent to the category (p.69). He calls his genre of movies depicting the middle-east 'easterns', which he then goes on to compare with the genre of westerns. This genres are not tied up to the qualitative representations of the Other, so even though native Americans have gone from antagonists to characters with which the audience has sympathy, and the Arabs have gone from heroes to villains, the genres as conceptual ideas are still valid.
In a 2010 book by Jason Dittmer, a further distinction within reading cinematic geographies is clarified. That is the difference between what he calls 'cartographies' and ' cultural geographies'. A 'Cartographies' reading, looks at how countries, nations and international affairs are portrayed on screen. As such, these readings take a larger, macro-perspective on geography. 'Cultural geographies' on the other hand