Acknowledgements
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to all the teachers of (school name) whose instructions and guidance have made my four years at this university a rewarding experience.
My special gratitude goes to Professor John Doe, my supervisor, for the support and inspiration he gave me during the course of my thesis writing. Without his kind encouragement, sound advice and patient instruction, this thesis could not have been accomplished.
My appreciation also goes to my classmates who have accompanied me through my four-year education. I wish to thank them for incessant care and encouragement. I am likewise indebted to all my friends whose warm encouragement and caring comfort meant a lot to me when my confidence in fulfilling this thesis almost shattered.
My parents, who have been an unfailing source of support and encouragement，especially in time of difficulty and frustration， deserves my whole-hearted thanks. I wish to dedicate this thesis to my family for their love and support.
Abstract
Mulan and Kung Fu Panda are two animated films produced by American Hollywood industry in 1998 and 2008 respectively. With the cultural background and characters originating in ancient China, the films present a fascinating audio-visual world to the audience in which the compatibility and conflicts of the American values and Chinese traditional elements exist simultaneously.
The compatibility is a result of the ongoing cultural globalization while the conflicts arise as a sign that there are still some irreplaceable peculiarities of Chinese traditional culture.
In terms of cross-culture study, the attitude of American film makers towards Chinese culture is worthy of our penetrating thinking. Besides, how should Chinese deal with the products that contains Chinese traditional element but are produced by foreigners also needs our discussion.
Keywords: Mulan; Kung Fu Panda; American values; Chinese elements; compatibility; conflicts; cultural globalization; cross-culture
Contents
Acknowledgments
Abstract I
摘要 II
Contents III
I Introduction 1
1.1 The Synopsis of Mulan 1
1.2 The Synopsis of Kung Fu Panda 2
II the Compatibility of American Values and Chinese Elements 3
2.1 The characters 3
2.2 Scenery, Architecture and other Details 4
2.3 Martial Arts 5
2.4 Chinese Philosophy 6
III. Conflicts of American Values and Chinese Elements 9
3.1 Conservatism VS Free Spirit 9
3.2 Family Priority& Individualism 10
IV. Conclusion 12
4.1 General Summary of the Study 12
Bibliography 14
I Introduction
1.1 The Synopsis of Mulan
As one of the representative work of ballads in ancient China, Ballad of Mulan is a celebrated folk tale which has been widely told from generation to generation in China for hundreds of years. It tells a story about a girl named Hua Mulan who is born and raised in a traditional Chinese family. However, unlike other populous Chinese families, Mulan has neither brothers nor sisters. When the war breaks out, Mulan substitutes for her aged father and joins the army to defend the country against northern invaders. Mulan's filial loyalty, valiantness and outstanding military ability make her one of the most respected heroine in Chinese history.In 1998, American film tycoon, Disney company produced an animated film Mulan based on this well-known Chinese folk tale. The main characters and plot remain same: the brave Mulan, her old, sick father and the vicious enemies. However, while the yellow-skinned, black-haired girl evokes some warm and approachable feelings in many Chinese audiences' hearts, some of them find that the image of Mulan which represented in the American film is somewhat different from the traditional heroine image in Chinese textbooks. Therefore, the film Mulan is a story with a Chinese traditional structure but in essence, it is filled of American spirit and western values.
1.
