Cultural Exchange and Cross-Cultural Communication in Chinese and Foreign Films: A Case Study of "Nezha 2: The Devil's Child Makes Trouble in the Sea"
Abstract
The paper is a multidimensional analysis of an animated film, Ne Zha 2. In contrast to its predecessor, which focused on the heroic figure of Ne Zha, the movie takes the form of an ensemble characterization and creates the great worldview through the images of broussonetia papyrifera. It breaks the stereotypes by portraying the good and the evil and the right and the wrong. The movie combines the traditional elements of Chinese culture (ink wash painting, traditional coloration, Taoist themes and object-inspired designs) with cyberpunk visual effects and symphonic music in terms of creative expression, thereby achieving the synthesis of the Chinese and Western cultures and the introduction of the ancient aesthetics and new technologies. Although it has a low percentage of its total box office, the film earned 67.43 million dollars in foreign markets, making history in several nations, boosting the global image of Chinese animation and piercing the Western prejudices that people have towards the Chinese films. Moreover, this paper categorizes the patterns of the cultural exchange between Chinese and Western films during the last five years, discusses their variations in the visuality, symbolic images and characterization, and presents the specific optimization recommendations to the cross-cultural communication processes, which may be useful in the spread of the Chinese cinema around the world.
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