Pre class 12/10

“The transnational movement of the martial arts, particularly through Asia, as mediated by the Hollywood and Hong Kong film industries (Zarilli 1995) is a rich illustration of the ways in which long-standing martial arts traditions, reformulated to meet the fantasies of contemporary (sometimes lumpen) youth populations, create new cultures of masculinity and violence, which are in turn the fuel for increased violence in national and international politics.”

Hollywood and China’s relationship is especially fascinating in the time of big budget superhero movies where studios will pay careful attention to the content of their movies so that they sell well overseas, even if they’re not necessarily successful in America. Movies will often incorporate Chinese movie stars with American ones and have product placement of both American and Chinese brands. This leaves American viewers puzzled because they do not recognize most, if any, of the Chinese elements of the movies. Conversely, Chinese viewers likely recognize both because of the global proliferation of American pop culture. Movie stars like Tom Cruise are well past their heyday in the American mind, and we have moved on to the stars in recent superhero movies. Overseas, these action heroes of old are still able to net a large audience because they are seen as synonymous with American action films. The American viewer may wonder why these worthless big budget action movies continue to be churned out despite how badly they do in America, but they fail to recognize the power of the international market. Movies that may have flopped in their home turf are still able to break even through global ticket sales, which shows that there is indeed an audience for them. These movies then are no longer made for Americans, but for the Chinese instead. This prospect scares Americans because of how villainized China is in our culture, leading to the slippery slope that China will eventually take over all of American cultural output, but I think this is unlikely. If Americans were never interested in these movies in the first place, then I hardly call that a cultural takeover. The film studios are simply playing with the cards that are dealt to them, and if vapid special effects extravaganzas are all it takes to make profit overseas, then why not continue to make them?