CFP: Importing America, Exporting Chinas - Examining Cultural Flows between American and Chinese Cinemas (Edited Collection)

From: Lisa Funnell <[email protected]>


Title:                *Importing America, Exporting Chinas*

*Examining Cultural Flows between American and Chinese Cinemas *



Editors:  Lisa Funnell, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, [email protected]
             Man Fung Yip, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, [email protected]

Abstract:
Hollywood is a leader in global film culture. For decades, Hollywood has
saturated the international film market with its products, enjoyed some of
the largest box-office returns, and maintained consistent (popular)
cultural influence beyond a single picture or cycle of films. In the
Chinese-speaking world, Hollywood made its presence felt as early as in the
Shanghai cinema of the 1920s and 1930s, and although this presence was
diminished after the establishment of a Chinese communist regime in 1949,
Hollywood films continued to exert a major impact on both the Hong Kong and
Taiwan film industries during the postwar era. In the 1990s, Hollywood
became attentive to the lucrative Chinese film market, which is comprised
over 200 million moviegoers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as
well as over 60 million Chinese living in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the
United States, and Canada (Curtin 1). In order to generate box-office
revenue in the Chinese-speaking world, American production companies began
investing in Chinese co-productions, setting up production centers in
Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and incorporating Chinese themes,
actors, and commercial products into their films. Michael Curtin describes
Hollywood’s tactics as “the latest turn in a strategy that has perpetuated
American media dominance in global markets for almost a century and
contributed to the homogenization of popular culture under the aegis of
Western institutions” (1).

Critics frequently describe the influence of “America,” through its
cultural industry (i.e. Hollywood), as a form of “cultural imperialism.”
Zhiwei
Xiao argues that scholars typically stress Western domination—which is
often construed as Americanization—rather than the role of agency and
appropriation in the cultural transaction (88). The problem of cultural
imperialism theory, according to Ryan Dunch, is that colonized people are
viewed as passive recipients of Western cultural texts, a sentiment that
relays a condescending attitude towards the subalterans (302). Thus, the
concept of “cultural imperialism” cannot adequately account for the
popularity, reception, and/or interpretation of American (popular/film)
culture in the Chinese-speaking world. Moreover, this unidirectional model
of interaction does not address the counter-flows of Chinese-language films
into the American film market or the influence of Chinese filmmakers, film
stars, and aesthetics in Hollywood.

The aim of this collection is to (re)consider the dynamics of transnational
exchange and the history of cultural flows between American and Chinese
film industries. On the one hand, the collection seeks to re-examine the
influence of “America” (as a place and concept) and “Hollywood” (its films,
industry, and aesthetics) on Chinese cinemas and the Chinese-language film
market. On the other hand, the collection also seeks to explore the
influence of “Chinas” (as places/concepts) and “Chinese cinemas” (its
films, industries, and aesthetics) on Hollywood and the American film
market. Central to this collection is the role of agency in filmic
reception, which informs transnational cultural encounters.

We welcome proposals exploring cultural flows between the United States and
the Chinese-speaking world via their film industries. Topics may include:

Importing America:

§  influence/adaptation/rejection of Hollywood production models in Chinese
cinemas
§  influence/adaptation/rejection of Hollywood filmmaking aesthetics in
Chinese cinemas
§  casting of American actors in Chinese-language films
§  inclusion/reconfiguration of American national ethos and cultural icons
in Chinese-language films
§  perception of American academic institutions as a means to enhance
social mobility
§  representation of American institutions to stress/reject
Westernization/Americanization
§  adaptation/appropriation of Hollywood films by Chinese filmmakers
§  reception of Hollywood films in the Chinese-speaking world

Exporting Chinas:

§  influence/adaptation of Chinese filmmaking approaches/aesthetics in
Hollywood
§  casting of pan-Chinese actors in Hollywood films
§  inclusion/reconfiguration of Chinese national ethos and cultural icons
in Hollywood films
§  representation of Chinese institutions to stress/reject Sinocentrism
§  adaptation/appropriation of pan-Chinese films by American filmmakers
§  reception of Chinese-language films in the United States

Transnational Collaborations:

§  co-productions between Hollywood and Chinese cinema(s)
§  American film companies in the Chinese-speaking world
§  Chinese film companies in the United States


Please send a 500-word abstract (with bibliography/filmography) and an
author bio as email attachments by November 15, 2012 to Lisa Funnell and
Man Fung Yip.

Works Cited
Curtin, Michael, *Playing to the World’s Biggest Audience: The
Globalization of Chinese Film and TV. *Berkley: University of California
Press, 2007.
Dunch, Ryan. “Beyond Cultural Imperialism: Cultural Theory, Christian
Mission, and Global Modernity.” *History and Theory *41 (2002): 301-25.
Xiao, Zhiwei. “Translating Hollywood Film to Chinese Audience: The Role of
Agency and Appropriation in Transnational Cultural Encounters.”
 *Transnational
Asian Identities in Pan-Pacific Cinemas: The Reel Asian Exchange.* Eds.
Philippa Gates and Lisa Funnell. New York: Routledge, 2012. 88-100.
--
Lisa Funnell, Ph.D.
Women's and Gender Studies Program
University of Oklahoma


*Transnational Asian Identities in Pan-Pacific Cinemas: The Reel Asian
Exchange*

<www.routledge.com/9780415893541>