Generic development in Sino-US co-production films

Abstract

The use of Chinese themes in early Hollywood films was primarily intended to enhance a sense of exoticism and mysticism, satisfying the American audience’s curiosity about China. Over time, Hollywood filmmakers shifted their attitudes and strategies, employing Chinese themes in pursuit of box office revenue, especially as the rapidly growing Chinese film market became increasingly attractive on the global stage. Sino-US co-productions must typically meet three conditions: first, both parties must jointly invest in the production; second, the content must include Chinese themes; and third, at least one Chinese actor must appear on screen, and at least one Chinese professional must be part of the creative team behind the scenes. Co-productions should not be seen as cultural appropriation but rather as opportunities for market sharing, technological collaboration, conceptual exchange, and deep cultural interaction. This thesis focuses specifically on Sino-US co-productions. While industrial cooperation will be discussed, it will serve primarily as a background, as the central focus lies on the outcomes - namely, cultural integration and the transformation of cultural identity within these collaborative films. Most scholars have examined Sino-foreign co-productions from industrial and political perspectives. In contrast, this research investigates the development of ChinaHollywood co-productions through a genre studies approach. Many of these films exemplify genre hybridity and cultural integration by following Hollywood narrative conventions and plot structures, incorporating Chinese elements, and being shaped by directorial authorship to achieve both artistic and commercial success. My central argument is that Sino-US co-productions can be categorised into four distinct types of genre fusion. Given the importance of historical context, I will refer to Hollywood’s early depictions of China. However, the primary case studies will focus on recent films to demonstrate the current stage of development.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Yuan Zheng: orcid.org/0009-0002-4722-9948

ORCID for Kevin Donnelly: orcid.org/0009-0006-5087-4701

ORCID for Louis Bayman: orcid.org/0000-0002-4780-2057

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