Portrayal of Chinese People and their Chineseness: Contrasting Hollywood Blockbusters with Asian Media Productions

Abstract

The Orient is often depicted as a dependent entity whose presentation is framed within a Western perspective. This paper explores the various presentations and perceptions of China, the Chinese, and their sense of Chineseness as shown in Hollywood blockbusters and Asia media productions. Through dissecting the media presentations of Chinese cultural identity, this paper raises the question of the possibility of delinking the East from Western monetary fantasies about the country. To achieve these aims, different genres across the media are discussed to determine whether Chineseness has been commodified. Specifically, would amalgamation of dissimilar Chinese communities appear? Are objective evaluations made in assessing the genuineness of these different Chinese communities while presenting their dissimilarities? Although Hong Kong is a Chinese city, this metropolis has developed unique and hybrid characteristics owing to its historical background as a British colony and financial role as a business hub. This paper investigates whether the exceptional features of Hong Kong and its people as shown from various media products can be differentiated from other Chinese elements.