The Balance Between Cultural Authenticity and Commercialization - Taking "Coco" as an Example
Abstract
Looking at the data on hit movies in the film industry in recent years, the success of these blockbusters isn't by chance. Behind every popular movie, there are complex and unique marketing strategies. What's more, it's essential to balance cultural authenticity and commercial value. Taking *Coco* as an example, this paper will focus on how the movie presents Mexican Día de los Muertos culture and its commercial development logic. Combining cultural commodification theories like Bourdieu's "cultural capital" and Baudrillard's "symbolic consumption," it will analyze three aspects: extracting the cultural core, connecting with universal emotions, and controlling the commercial scale. The goal is to figure out how the movie accurately balances the authenticity of Día de los Muertos culture with its commercial development, and how it achieves the modern transformation of traditional cultural IP—through a deep understanding and respect for cultural spirit, rather than just using cultural elements superficially. This paper aims to provide both theoretical and practical references for the development of Chinese traditional cultural IP.
References
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