简析美国电影中中国人形象的变迁_英语论文

A Brief Analysis of Chinese Images In American Films

摘要

中美两国是当今世界最重要的两个大国，两国的关系影响着世界的和平与稳定。而电影作为展示一国文化，进行对外交流的窗口，生动形象地反映了两国关系的变化。本文以时间为线索，探究了华人形象在早期，抗日战争时期，冷战时期，以及冷战之后数十年在美国电影中所经历的变化, 从外貌和性格等方面具体分析其变化，从政治，经济和文化等方面挖掘其背后的原因。与此同时，本文还注意到电影作为宣传机器所输出的美国的意识形态，价值观,并且对于我们如何利用这一工具提高文化软实力，改善国家形象提出了自己的观点。

关键词：中美关系；美国电影；华人形象；形象变迁

Abstract

China and America are two of the major powers in the world, so the relationship between these two nations has a major effect on world stability and peace. While films, as the symbol of national culture and carrier of civilization, reflect changes of international relationship. This paper explores the changes of Chinese image in American films in the following four periods: the early years, the Anti-Japanese War period, the Cold War period, and decades after the Cold War. It also explored the reasons behind these changes of appearance and personality from the perspectives of politics, economy and culture. At the same time, this article also noted that these films, as propaganda machine, output American ideology and values. Views on how to use this tool to improve cultural soft power and the image of our country are also put forward in this paper. 

Keywords: Sino-U.S. relationship; American films; image of Chinese characters; changes of image          

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

3. Four Periods of Chinese Images in American Films 3

3.1 Early American films 3

3.2 The anti-Japanese war period 5

3.3 The cold-war period 7

3.4 The post-cold war period 8

4. Change of Chinese Images in American Films 11

4.1 Changes of appearance 11

4.2 Changes of personality 12

5. Reasons for Image Change of Chinese Characters 13

5.1 Political reasons 14

5.2 Economic reasons 15

5.3 Cultural reasons 16

6. Conclusion 18

Works Cited 19