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1、A Comparative Study of Cultural Differences between China and the West Different Interpretations of Heroism in Movie and TV Play东西方不同文化比较英雄主义在影视剧中的诠释ByZhu Lin(朱琳)Supervised byProf. Dong Jianqiao（董剑桥）Southern Yangtze University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China June 2006ContentsAcknowledgements-Abstract & Key Wo
2、rds-1. Introduction -12. Hero Is the Original Desire of Human to Survive in the Nature-12.1. Concept and Categorization of Heroes -12.2. Nature and Orientation of Heroes -23. Heroism is the Basic motif of Film Industry -33.1. Relation of Movie and Culture -3 3.2. Analysis of the Motifs of American T
3、ypical Cinema -33.3. Analysis of the Motifs of Chinese Typical Cinema -54. American Heroism: Heroes of Common People -6 4.1. Traditional Heroism in American Movie -64.2. Heroism in “Forrest Gump”-75. Chinese Heroism: the Deification of Heroes and the New Heroism -85.1. Heroes in Traditional Chinese
4、Movie -85.2. New Heroism -96. Comparison between American and Chinese Heroisms -10Conclusion-10References-12AcknowledgementsI wish to thank Professor Dong Jianqiao for his valuable suggestions on earlier versions of this article. My thanks also go to Uncle Liu for assistance in access to the Interne
5、t. I especially thank my family and friends for their morale support. Thanks to my roommates for their helpful discussion and comments on the manuscript.Abstract & Key WordsAbstract: Hero is the eternal topic and dream of human beings. Reflected in movies and TV plays, heroism is a foremost theme in
6、 both western and Chinese cultures. By comparing different interpretations of heroism, the differences between western and Chinese cultures can be observed. In this study, American cinema, especially Hollywood movie, is chosen as the representative of the western cinema.First of all, the nature and
7、personality of heroes are studied. From the angle of analytic psychology, heroism is an original desire in opposition to the alien forces in the nature. Secondly, the themes of both American and Chinese film industry are discussed. Thirty films winning Oscars and the feature films of Beijing Film St
8、udio are analyzed in the terms of similarity of heroism as the main theme. Thirdly, the interpretation of heroism in American movie is discussed. Several box-office hit films are chosen to analyze the form of heroism. The movie “Forrest Gump” is attached great importance to, observing the heroism th
9、at American masses pursuit. Then, the interpretation of heroism in Chinese movie is discussed. Traditional view on heroism is discussed with “Drawn Sword” as an example to analyze the new trend of Chinese heroism. Finally, the two kinds of heroisms are compared, and then a new angle of view to study
10、 the cultural differences between the West and China is introduced.Key Words: heroism, comparison, cultural distinction, Hollywood, Chinese movie.摘要：英雄是人类永恒的追求和梦想。无论是在东方文化，还是西方文化中，英雄都是影视文学中最基本的母题。通过对比英雄主义在不同文化中的诠释，可以透视中西方文化的差异。在这篇论文中，美国电影，尤其是好莱坞电影，被选作西方文化的代表。首先，讨论英雄的本质和品性。从精神分析学的角度来讲，英雄是一种原欲，源于人类的生存
11、悖论所产生的死亡恐惧。其次，分别撷取15届奥斯卡获奖影片及94年北京电影制片厂制作的电影，依据统计学，得出英雄是电影的基本母题的结论。然后，分别研究英雄主义在中西影视中的不同诠释，以美国和中国最具代表性的影视作品为例。最后对比这两种英雄主义，及其隐含在背后的中西方文化差异。关键词：英雄主义，比较，文化差异，好莱坞，中国电影A Comparative Study of Cultural Differences between China and the WestDifferent Interpretations of Heroism in Movie and TV Play1. Introduc
12、tionSeveral years ago, Zhang Yimous blockbuster “Hero”, brought amazing audiovisual shock and thrill to the audiences all over the world, grossing a staggering 250 million domestically and internationally together. Recently, another box-office hit movie “The Promise” harvested both approval and boos
13、. From “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” to “Hero” to “The Promise”, people are discussing what kind of “hero road” Chinese movie is taking. In the West, from “The Matrix” to the series of “Spider Man” and “The Incredibles”, all grossed a whopping box-office and all dealt with heroes. We cant help po
14、ndering, what is a hero or heroism? How is heroism interpreted in movies of the West and China? In this study, the origin of heroic complex of human being and peoples dreams of becoming hero are illustrated. The focus is on the different ways of telling stories and its whys and wherefores, through w
15、hich, we will observe the hidden differences between the western and Chinese cultures.2. Hero Is the Original Desire of Human to Survive in the Nature2.1. Concept and Categorization of HeroesThe following section delineates how heroes are categorized. It is a little difficult to classify the heroes
16、into a certain genre because of the variety of classification systems in genre study. If we regard heroes as the ones describing in the mysterious mythology of the Orient and West, if we believe heroes are those recorded history of all the nations, if we think heroes are those in the “model drama” d
17、uring the Cultural Revolution, then we have no choice but recognize that heroes have been far away from us. However, if we think that hero is a broad concept with various categorizations, the conclusion will be utterly different. Thomas Carlyle is a famous Scottish historian and philosopher in 19th
18、C. In his book “On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History”, Thomas Carlyle employs various examples of great men throughout recorded history to convey his notion of a Hero. The Hero for him defines masculinity, what every man should strive to emulate. Accordingto Carlyle, all heroes have a
19、basic material of which they are all made, some sort of stuff that in each great man allows him to be great. They have, for example, a sort of savage sincerity - not cruel, far from that; but wild, wrestling naked with the truth of things (Quoted from Covert, 2004). However, at the same time, they a
20、lso have a most gentle heart withal, full of pity and love, as indeed the truly valiant heart ever is (Quoted from Covert). A hero is a man who willingly devotes his life to the divine and inner truth and shares his vision with the rest of the world. For Carlyle, this is the definition of a true man
21、: one who is a deep and spiritual being, living his life by divine truths. He allows for differences in how the material of the hero will manifest itself by saying that each man is shaped by his own times. The basic qualities must be there; which form it will take out of the many he uses as examples
22、 depends on what circumstances into which a hero is born. In a sense, Carlyles view of the hero resembles the way that Jane saw Rochester shaped by circumstance, but Carlyle feels that if a man has the basic qualities of a hero, he will not become corrupted, and therefore there is no need of the ref
23、orming woman.“A Hero is the embodiment of manhood, the ultimate male, and masculinity incarnate. A Hero is a great man, one to whom every man looks up and feels a sense of awe. Hero-worship is the deepest root of all; the tap-root, from which in a great degree all the rest were nourished and grown .
24、 . . Worship of a Hero is transcendent admiration of a Great Man. I say great men are still admirable; I say there is, at bottom, nothing else admirable! No nobler feeling than this of admiration for one higher than him dwells in the breast of men.” (Quoted from Covert) As a matter of fact, if we ar
25、e not stickler for a certain kind of abstract view on heroes, if we associate heroes with the concrete historical and cultural context, deep into the level of humanity to comprehend the personality of heroes and regard heroes as the sincere efforts to resolve some certain universal problems and dile
26、mma, we can come to this conclusion that “Hero is eternal”. In various kinds of historical and cultural context, there are always people who make great efforts to resolve some universal problems, to defend the current view of social values. 2.2. Nature and Orientation of HeroesHere, “hero” we are di
27、scussing is in the term of human beings, heroism root in the fear towards death, which is resulted from living paradox. As far as Adam and Eva were driven out of Eden, the paradox stands out in contrast: on one hand, human is primate in the universe, the creator of cultural symbolism; on the other h
28、and, human, after all, is a senior animal that is doomed to rottenness. It is this fundamental constraint human suffers that results in the unaware revolt, that is, the heroic impulse: in order to resist the absurd destiny, human employs kinds of regulations and relations such as religion, morality,
29、 love, authority and art to try to construct some “causa sui project” so as to be superior and even eternal. (李启军,2004)However, what we should point out is, although the fear to death is the most internal motivation of humans, in reality, the revolt to death may evolve that to all the forces similar
30、 to threat of death. The external appearance of heroism may be the dedication to some “causa sui project” and great accomplishment, but when ones existence is denied, the desire to survive is also an action of hero.The essence of hero is an enterprising and irrepressible life force when human beings
31、 suffer from the oppression and distortion of all the alien forces including death and nature. Just because hero is the embodiment of will and force that stand in reality and look into the future, hero is the motivation pushing history and society forward. When great social transformations or ideolo
32、gical changes take place, some old types of heroes will exit while new ones come on stage. This is concordant with the regulation of metabolism of the world. However, people in the metabolism feel difficult to adjust from emotion to thinking, thus dizziness results. They contradict new heroes and op
33、pose new heroic discourse model. On one hand, they miss old heroes extremely and lament the extinction of them; on the other hand, they hate new heroes extremely and curse them as much as possible. Today, the mass culture hastens the parturition of new idea, concept and perception while decomposing
34、old ideas, concept and perception. Luckily, the post-modern society is not a monster that digests all the values and meanings. With the system of consumerism, it gains unprecedented tolerance initiating equality in face of consumption. It allows people to summon heroes as well as opposing heroes. Ev
35、ery people have a dream of hero while the difference just lies in the content of the dream.As is pointed out, the essence of hero is the enterprising vitality when human faces the oppression of alien forces such as death. Heroism is an original desire looking back to Adam and Eva. In other words, he
36、roism is universal lying in humans deep heart.Yet along with the evolution of development of nations, the external appearance of heroism takes on distinct specialty that is in accordance with the specific cultures. In the next session, we discuss how the theme of heroism is dealt with in different c
37、ultures. 3. Hero or Heroism Is the Basic Motif of Film IndustryIn movies, “A motif is a recurring feature or idea related to the theme of the film; frequently it will be a recurring symbol.” (Lynn, 2005) True heroes live in peoples heart forever and people are in favor of hero worship forever, thus
38、hero has been being the basic motif of film industry, not only film production but also the consumption. 3.1. Relation of Movie and CultureHere, we choose movie, a special branch of culture, as the object of research. First, movie is audiovisual and directly perceived through senses, giving audience
39、s immediate audiovisual shock and vivid experience. Second, movie is a compact artistic form condensing the magnificent culture of human being through hundreds of years. By studying movie, especially its motif, we can seize the essence of human culture, sense the pulse of societies and observe the c
40、oncern of human beings. Besides, films have been associated with peoples everyday life. Together with popcorn and coca cola, movies are emptied into a sort of cultural element, reflecting the taste and interest of the masses. For these reasons, it is both scientific and analyzable to choose movie as
41、 a medium to discern the under lying differences between Western and Chinese culture. 3.2. Analysis of the Motifs of American Typical CinemaWe choose the Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film of the Year of 61st to 75th Oscars as sample films, analyzing their themes. Obviously, among 30 films,
42、 romance predominates covering nineteen (63.63%) films. Fourteen films concern heroism accounting for 46.67%while films associating hero with love story are nine (30%). The detailed data is in Table 1. (李启军, 2004)The Session of OscarsBest PictureBest Foreign Language Film of the Year Whether the Mot
43、if is “Hero”(Y/N)Whether the Motif is “Romance”(Y/N)Production of Country75thChicagoNYAmerica75thNirgendwoNYGermany74thBeautiful MindYYAmerica74thNo Mans LandYNAmerica73rdGladiatorYYAmerica73rdCrouching Tiger, Hidden DragonYYChina72ndAmerican BeautyNYAmerica72ndAll about My MotherNNSpain71stShakespe
44、are in LoveNYAmerica 71stLife is BeautifulYYItaly70thTitanicNYAmerica70thCharacterNNHolland69thEnglish PatientYYAmerica69thKolyaNYCzech Republic68thBrave HeartYYAmerica68thAntonia LineNYHolland67thForrest GumpYYAmerica67thBurnt By the SunYYRussia66thSchindlers ListYNAmerica66thBelle EpoqueNYSpain65thUnforgivenYNAmerica65thIndochinaNYFrance64thSilence of the LambsYNAmerica64thMediterraneoNYItaly63rdDances with WolvesYYAmerica63rdJourney of HopeNNSwitzerland62nd
