Analyzing American Individualistic Culture and Its Media Demonstration─Taking Mulan As an Example

Tianjin University Renai College,Tianjin,China Email:hossy_009@163.com

Cheng Lijuan

Hebei University of Engineering,Hebei,China Email:164805683@qq.com

[Abstract]This paper takes the animated film,Mulan,as an example to suggest that although the film is based on Chinese legend of Hua Mulan,especially on The Mulan Ballad,it mainly demonstrates American individualistic culture to the audience.Furthermore,the paper analyzes the influence of film medium on transmitting cultures to the audience using the cone effect theory.

[Keywords]Film Medium;Animated Mulan;Individualism;The Cone Effect

Introduction

At present,undoubtedly,we are living in an era influenced by mass media.Although some scholars have questioned the function of media,the public unanimously agrees that mass media has great influence on people’s daily life.“The contribution of mass media is significant,especially films’contribution.”(McQuail,2010,p.43)Because movies can reach out to people all over the world with amazing speed.Therefore,as one of the art forms,film is an important medium to spread local culture and values.

Film is the carrier of culture,which can reflect the characteristic culture of a country and a region.In other words,through the films of one country,people can have access to the cultural characteristics of that country from the perspective of ways of thinking,values,attitudes,beliefs,behavioral conventions,basic assumptions and so on.Some scholars think,“The spread of the animated film itself is a process of interpreting and recording culture.The first is to show the profound connotation of local culture and try to influence the world outlook of viewers through the output of soft power,consequently,local culture can influence the world and constitute the mainstream core value system of other countries.”(Zhou&Li,2014,p.33)

It can be clearly seen that the film conveys local culture and values of one country.The animated filmMulanis exactly such a movie which conveys various American cultures and values to the audience though it is based on a Chinese legend.This paper makes an analysis on the function of film medium on the output of American individualistic culture through interpreting the film text ofMulanalong with using the Cone Effect theory.

Film Medium and American Culture Spreading

The Film medium of the United States expresses different kinds of American cultural values.The reasons are as follows:

First of all,in the academic world,western scholars put forward the concept of“universal values”and believe that there are absolutely eternal“universal values”in time and space.Concepts,such as freedom,equality,human rights and democracy,belong to this category.The western countries,especially,the United States,are the advocators of these values.Even more,the United States equates its own civilization with“universal values”and regards non-Western civilizations as non-orthodox values.

Secondly,in the political field,the United States government take“universal values”as one of its foreign strategy.For example,after taking office,Obama believed that ideological strength was more important than military strength and economic power and put forward the policy of transforming the world by using“smart power”,including human rights,social system and economic system of the US model.Specifically,the“neo-imperialism theory”initiated by the United States advocates changing the world by combing a country’s military,economic and cultural influence to persuade other countries to follow its step.For the aspect of cultural influence,America aims to export its socalled“democracy and freedom”to other countries in an attempt to build a world order with the United States at its core.

Hollywood is an important symbol of American culture and an important media tool for the United States to spread its cultural values.Undoubtedly,Hollywood films hold the absolute dominant position at the global film market.With the popularity of Hollywood films,the United States quickly spreads its cultural values around the world.With China playing a more and more important role on the world stage,the culture with Chinese characteristics has been favored by more and more people.Conforming to the market demanding,Hollywood films either adopt a lot of Chinese elements in their movies or make films based on Chinese stories.However,Hollywood movies still put American values at the core and spread them around the world.

Introduction to the Animated Mulan

The animated film ofMulantells a story about a young woman who disguises herself as a man to join the army in order to save her elderly father in ancient China.She survives the intense training and war,and finally rescues the emperor and her country from foreign invaders which consequently bring highest honor and self-worth fulfillment to her.It is the first time for Disney to make an animated film based on Chinese folktale.After released by Walt Disney Pictures on 19 June 1998,the movie was well received by the public and the critics.It has won 304 million dollars,earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations,and won several Annie Awards,including Best Animated Feature.(Xu&Tian,2013,p.187)This statistics and awards shows the popularity of the film which shows the positive attitudes people hold toward the values expressed from the film.However,although the animated film is based on the popular Chinese legend of Hua Mulan,it expresses American values,particularly individualism.

American Individualism Reflected from Mulan

As we all know,during the foundation of America,the United States declared in theDeclaration of Independencethat“All men are created equal,and each is endowed by his creator with certain unalienable rights,among these are life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”This spirit of self-reliance,rooted in the early colonial period,developed during the American people’s frontier days,and continued to play a significant role in the county until today.In other words,individualism has permeated through every aspect of American society and culture and become an important part of the American spirit.

Superheroes in American movies are typical product of western individualism.Since the last century,American films have created well-known individualistic hero images for audiences around the world,which has become one of the secrets for the popularity of American films.American society advocates individualism,namely,individuals should realize their dream and achieve self-fulfillment by their own efforts.Therefore,the heroes in American movies always believe that they will be successful and make miracles as long as they insist on their dreams and make continuous efforts in the face of difficulties.This belief is ingrained in the blood of every American.Under the guidance of this deep-rooted ideology,a large number of American heroes are born,such as the superman and so on.

There is no doubt that the American animated film“Mulan”drew on the Chinese folk tale of HuaMulanand it is filled with various Chinese elements.However,the traditional Chinese spirit implied in the legend has been Americanized into individualistic culture.American cultural values,especially individualism,carried by the animated movie of Mulan,spread to all over the world.

According to the description at the beginning ofThe Mulan Balladin ChineseYuefu Shiji,

“Tsiek tsiek and again tsiek tsiek,

Mu-lan weaves,facing the door.

You don’t hear the shuttle’s sound,

You only hear Daughter’s sighs.

They ask Daughter who’s in her heart,

They ask Daughter who’s on her mind.

‘No one is on Daughter’s heart,

No one is on Daughter’s mind.

Last night I saw the draft posters,

The Khan is calling many troops,

The army list is in twelve scrolls,

On every scroll there is Father’s name.

Father has no grown-up son,

Mu-lan has no elder brother.

I want to buy a saddle and horse,

And serve in the army in Father’s place.’”(Xu&Tian,2013,p.188)

we can easily get an image of a traditional Chinese woman who is elegant,brave,industrious and Xiao.But American animated filmMulanis not faithful to Chinese ballad and Chinese culture.At the beginning of the American film,Mulan is portrayed as a girl who is not elegant but a little bit wild.She feels very depressed after failing in leaving a good impression to the matchmaker.From the song,“I am not meant to play this part,that if I were truly to be myself,who is that girl I see,why my reflection is someone I don’t know.Somehow I can’t hide,though I tried.Who I am,who I am inside”,we can clearly see that the reason for her frustration is not the failure of having not impressed the matchmaker,but a loss in cannot find the true self.This is a typical main idea of a Disney film.According to some researchers,Disney’s success is greatly due to its underlying formula one of which is exactly to demonstrate individualistic culture.

According toThe Mulan Balladin ChineseYuefu Shiji,after joining the army,Mulan is very brave and tough.When the war ends,“The Khan asks her what she desires.‘Mu-lan has no use for a minister’s post.’”(Xu&Tian,2013,p.189)She just shows her wish to ride a swift horse to take her back home to express“Xiao”to her parents.And also,according to TheMulanBallad,during her career of being a soldier,nobody has found out her identity of being female─“She goes out the door and sees her comrades.Her comrades are all amazed and perplexed.Traveling together for twelve years they didn’t know Mu-lan was a girl.”(Xu & Tian,2013,p.189)Obviously,the story of Hua Mulan has been praised for generations in China mainly because it contains the virtues of the Chinese nation,such as loyalty,forbearance and filial piety,as well as the spirit of being responsible and defending the country.

But in the American animated film,when Mulan appears,she is portrayed to“be not a gentle but a rebellious girl”(Xu&Tian,2013,p.198)who loves to play trick with her dog and is holding a not positive attitude to meet the matchmaker.When her father’name is put on the army list,she tells the officers that her father cannot go.The film gives some hints about Mulan’s father’s poor health,giving the reason why Mulan disguises herself as a man to join the army in place of her father.But the entire military journey is Americanized into a story of individual who finally finds a way to prove her own value and to be the true self.The original Chinese“Xiao”culture loses its authenticity and individualism become the theme of the film.

Furthermore,at the beginning of the military training,Mulan always fails and is looked down upon by her fellows and the captain.When she is told“you are unsuited for the rage of war,so pack up and go home”,instead of becoming a coward,Mulan never loses her heart but tries with all her strength to retrieve the arrow and finally wins.At the end of the film,Mulan becomes a superhero and almost with her own efforts,she defeats the enemy and wins the affirmation both from the emperor and the townsfolk.The emperor even bows to her and Mulan finally realizes her personal value perfectly as well.This is a typical American story showing individualistic culture.Therefore,the animated film of Mulan show us a story of praising American individualistic value under the guise of Chinese elements.

The Film Medium and the Cone Effect Theory

In the book ofMedia America,Edward Jay Whetmore puts forward the cone effect theory which is used to study the impact of mass media on audiences and real life.Whetmore puts forward two key concepts about the theory:constructed media reality(CMR)and perceived media reality(PMR).The CMR is a selective reflection of the real world,so it is more typical and exaggerated.According to Whetmore,the CMR is an entertainment world filling with various information and its purpose is to make profits by attracting as many audiences as possible.PMR refers to the audience’s selective cognition of the world reflected by CMR,from which the media exerts influence on the audience and further influences the audience’s views on real life.(Liang&Liu,2011,p.57)

Functionalist sociology holds that media provide social needs,such as social cohesion,cultural continuity,social control and wide dissemination of various public information,etc.,and also assumes that individuals use media for related purposes,such as personal guidance,relaxation and debugging,counseling and identity identification.(Mc-Quail,2010,p.345)Generally speaking,in terms of the formation of audiences,“the function of media for individuals”is more decisive than“aesthetic or cultural factors”.That is to say,what the CMR chooses to reflect from the real world will play a significant role in influencing the audience’s view on real life,for example,with the broadcasting theMan from the Atlantic Oceanin the mainland China,wearing toad glasses and flared jeans became very popular among young Chinese at that time.

As we mentioned above,in the ChineseMulan Ballad,the reason for Mulan to join the army is due to her“Xiao”to her parents.During the war,Mulan’s bravery and toughness show her“Zhong”（loyalty）to her country.After the war,her wish to ride a swift horse to take her back home is to express“Xiao”to her parents.In a word,the core values reflected inMulan Balladare“Xiao”and“Zhong”.However,in American Hollywood film,Mulan is described to interpret American most basic value─individualism.

Specifically,through film medium,the value of individualism in the real world of the United States is selected to show to the audiences all over the world(CMR).Hollywood makes use of the addition of Chinese cultural elements to attract as many audiences as possible,so as to make the biggest profits.In the process of watching such films,moviegoers begin to recognize the American cultural values(CMR)conveyed by the American film media and are unconsciously influenced by it.Culture is not something that we simply absorb—it is learned.Sociologists have tended to use the term“socialization”to describe the process by which we become social and cultural beings.(Baldwin,2005,p.7)Therefore,after watching American movies from time to time,“the media thus exerts an influence on audiences and further influences their views on real life”(PMR).This means the values demonstrated from the movie will be unconsciously accepted by the audience and help the audience to construct their attitudes toward world.The popularity of Hollywood films thus strengthens the so-called“universality”of American values,and in turn influences Hollywood’s determination on demonstrating its values.

Discussions and Implications

For Chinese audiences,Mulan’s loyalty to her family and country along with her courage and perseverance in coping with difficulties are greatly appreciated.For Hollywood,Mulan’s self-assertion,sense of individualism and a modern sense of self-consciousness are the qualities they want to show to the audience.The purpose of American films adopting Chinese stories is to borrow Chinese culture to meet the market demanding and attract more attention.Through Americanizing Chinese stories,Hollywood films not only get high commercial profits but also spread the essence of American values all over the world.Therefore,it is very important to improve the audience,especially the teenagers’media literacy,and to cultivate their ability of making judgements on the information expressed by the media.

The media are by nature the most extensive producer and distributor of information.The mass communication and social culture is interdependent.The content conveyed by film media comes from social life.Meanwhile,the audience acquires information,and ideas through media.In China,the rapid development of the Internet industry enables the audience anywhere to be influenced by mass media,especially by film medium.The continuous improvement of Chinese people’s living standard makes the audience be willing to pay for a movie ticket or a VIP video platform.In other words,film medium has become an important channel for cross-cultural communication as well as one important way to export the culture of some countries.

Therefore,in today’s globalization era,cultural soft power has also become one of the significant means to measure a country’s comprehensive national power.In the context of the“Belt and Road”,China should take the responsibility of making best use of film medium to cultivate our Chinese people’s patriotism and to show the world our excellent national spirit and culture which on the one hand,will be good for the construction of Chinese soft power; on the other hand,will provide more ways for the world to know and understand the Chinese culture,so as to further enhance the national comprehensive competitiveness of our country in the world.

Acknowledgements

This paper is the research achievement of Hebei Social Science Fund(Project number:HB19WW010).