Abstract
Orientalists think western popular media extends cultural imperialism in the American Century. The increasing interest on producing diverse cultural perspectives in Hollywood raises the question of whether there is an “othering” process in its media representation, subordinating or distorting the image of nonWesterners. Consequently and consequentially, the naturalised ‘reality’ of Orientals and the Orient would be further reinforced to the global audience. Kung Fu Panda series (2008, 2011 and 2016) is one of the most popular Hollywood animations in recent years. In order to find out whether the animation is yet another Orientalism project based on occidentalist knowledge, this article will examine the Hollywood representation of characters, voice and mise en scène in Kung Fu Panda. Employing a combination of framing analysis and discourse analysis, this essay will examine visual images (the appearance and posture of main characters, landmarks, architectural features), depictions (the narratives of the stories), metaphors (cast members’ voices, words and deeds of characters), as well as cast members, movie posters, producers. The essay concludes that although Kung Fu Panda has remained within a traditional orientalist framework, it seems to have integrated different metaphors - depending on production settings and audiences.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3-12 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Content, Community and Communication |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2017 |
Keywords
- Orientalism
- media representation
- Othering
- Hollywood animation
- cultural imperialism
- Kung Fu Panda