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The depiction of the United States in Chinese movies serves as a mirror to reflect the self-recognition and orientation of Chinese people. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949， images of the United States have undergone several major changes. Such changes not only mirror the shifts in the balance of power between the two countries， but also record the changing attitudes of Chinese people towards the United States.
Negative Stereotypes
For a long time after the founding of the People’s Republic of China， images of Americans in the Chinese mainland movies were negative and stereotyped： They were either “U.S. invaders” on the battlefields of the Korean War or hidden plotters behind the “recovering the mainland” plans of Taiwan spies. No matter what， these American imperialists would be defeated in the end.
Chinese filmmakers also expressed their distaste for the United States through depicting heroic deeds of Chinese people in resisting Americans as evidenced by many Hong Kong films of the era.
In the Hong Kong action film The Way of the Dragon （1972）， starring and directed by Bruce Lee， a Chinese man eventually defeats the brutal， arrogant American warrior.
Once Upon a Time in China （1991）， directed by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark， tells the story of legendary Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung （Jet Li） who defeats gangsters and Americans kidnapping Chinese people to be sold as slave laborers to the United States. In a series of Hong Kong action films starring Jackie Chan， including Wheels on Meals （1984）， Armour of God II： Operation Condor （1991）， Rumble in the Bronx （1995）， and Who Am I （1998）， American characters are all villains.
In 1979， the People’s Republic of China and the United States officially established diplomatic relations. The following year， China produced the film An American Pilot， about an American pilot who crashed in China while helping Chinese people resist Japanese aggression in 1944. Chinese residents rescue and help the American return to his base. This was the first positive American character in a post-1949 Chinese mainland film.
Cultural Clashes
Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands （1991） and The Wedding Banquet （1993） as well as Chinese mainland director Zheng Xiaolong’s Scraping Therapy （2003） reflect clashes between Chinese culture based on Eastern philosophy and American culture based on empirical science. In these films， Chinese and Americans demonstrate completely different understandings of love， homosexuality， food， sports， medicine， family， and even life. The Wedding Banquet vividly depicts the shock of an old Chinese couple discovering that their son Wai-Tung Gao is gay alongside challenges that Americans’ “sexual emancipation”brought to traditional ethics. Simon， Wai-Tung’s boyfriend， represents American social values. After living in the United States for a decade， Wai-Tung thinks and behaves as Americans do. At the wedding banquet， clashes erupt between American and Chinese culture， represented by Wai-Tung against his tradition-minded parents， but eventually they compromise. In the film， director Ang Lee portrays the helplessness and concessions made by individuals facing cultural conflict.
Scraping Therapy illuminates clashes between Chinese and Western medicine. Chinese ancestors developed a system of acupuncture theories， including meridians and acupuncture points， based on traditional Chinese philosophy. However， such theories haven’t won wide recognition in American and even Western medical circles. In the film， Americans stubbornly accuse an old Chinese man who tried scraping therapy on his grandson in the United States of violating human rights. Similarly， in Pushing Hands， an old Chinese father also inspires hostility from his American daughter-in-law and grandson when he tries to use traditional Chinese massage therapy to help them.
The young characters in these films such as Wai-Tung who provoke dramatic clashes represent the integration between Chi- nese and American cultures. Perhaps the mission of the next generation of Chinese and Americans is to realize better cultural harmony between the two countries.
Complicated and Diversified
China has made tremendous economic achievements over the past three decades since its reform and opening-up. Today， China and the United States are important trade partners. In this context， Chinese filmmakers expect equal dialogue with their American counterparts.
Such Chinese films as Zhu De and Smedley （1985）， Mao Zedong and Edgar Snow （1999）， and Grief over the Yellow River（1999） eulogize Americans as allies of Chinese people in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. The plot of Grief over the Yellow River centers around an American pilot who crash lands in North China and impresses Chinese residents with his pursuit for justice， freedom， and peace.
In the comedy Big Shot’s Funeral （2001）， world-renowned American film director Rob Tyler comes to China to remake a film set in the Forbidden City. He hires a Chinese cameraman named Yo Yo to shoot the making-of documentary. Dry of inspiration and exhausted， Tyler falls into a coma. Before that， he tasks Yo Yo with preparing a “comedy funeral” for him. After introducing increasing numbers of sponsors， the funeral preparations are thrown into frenzy. Surprisingly， Tyler is very satisfied with the seemingly insane funeral that Yo Yo plans. The intimate relationship between the American director and the Chinese cameraman symbolizes changes in Sino-U.S. relations.
With China as the world’s second largest economy， the United States no longer seems like an insurmountable superpower. In Hong Kong director Peter Chan’s American Dreams in China（2013）， Chinese businessmen eventually win respect from arrogant Americans with their persistent efforts. In Seeking Mr. Right（2013）， directed by Chinese mainland director Xue Xiaolu， China is portrayed as a society full of opportunity and vanity， while the United States remains a peaceful paradise for the middle class. Due to the influence of both ideological and commercial forces， the image of the United States has become increasingly complicated and diversified in Chinese films.
Negative Stereotypes
For a long time after the founding of the People’s Republic of China， images of Americans in the Chinese mainland movies were negative and stereotyped： They were either “U.S. invaders” on the battlefields of the Korean War or hidden plotters behind the “recovering the mainland” plans of Taiwan spies. No matter what， these American imperialists would be defeated in the end.
Chinese filmmakers also expressed their distaste for the United States through depicting heroic deeds of Chinese people in resisting Americans as evidenced by many Hong Kong films of the era.
In the Hong Kong action film The Way of the Dragon （1972）， starring and directed by Bruce Lee， a Chinese man eventually defeats the brutal， arrogant American warrior.
Once Upon a Time in China （1991）， directed by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark， tells the story of legendary Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung （Jet Li） who defeats gangsters and Americans kidnapping Chinese people to be sold as slave laborers to the United States. In a series of Hong Kong action films starring Jackie Chan， including Wheels on Meals （1984）， Armour of God II： Operation Condor （1991）， Rumble in the Bronx （1995）， and Who Am I （1998）， American characters are all villains.
In 1979， the People’s Republic of China and the United States officially established diplomatic relations. The following year， China produced the film An American Pilot， about an American pilot who crashed in China while helping Chinese people resist Japanese aggression in 1944. Chinese residents rescue and help the American return to his base. This was the first positive American character in a post-1949 Chinese mainland film.
Cultural Clashes
Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands （1991） and The Wedding Banquet （1993） as well as Chinese mainland director Zheng Xiaolong’s Scraping Therapy （2003） reflect clashes between Chinese culture based on Eastern philosophy and American culture based on empirical science. In these films， Chinese and Americans demonstrate completely different understandings of love， homosexuality， food， sports， medicine， family， and even life. The Wedding Banquet vividly depicts the shock of an old Chinese couple discovering that their son Wai-Tung Gao is gay alongside challenges that Americans’ “sexual emancipation”brought to traditional ethics. Simon， Wai-Tung’s boyfriend， represents American social values. After living in the United States for a decade， Wai-Tung thinks and behaves as Americans do. At the wedding banquet， clashes erupt between American and Chinese culture， represented by Wai-Tung against his tradition-minded parents， but eventually they compromise. In the film， director Ang Lee portrays the helplessness and concessions made by individuals facing cultural conflict.
Scraping Therapy illuminates clashes between Chinese and Western medicine. Chinese ancestors developed a system of acupuncture theories， including meridians and acupuncture points， based on traditional Chinese philosophy. However， such theories haven’t won wide recognition in American and even Western medical circles. In the film， Americans stubbornly accuse an old Chinese man who tried scraping therapy on his grandson in the United States of violating human rights. Similarly， in Pushing Hands， an old Chinese father also inspires hostility from his American daughter-in-law and grandson when he tries to use traditional Chinese massage therapy to help them.
The young characters in these films such as Wai-Tung who provoke dramatic clashes represent the integration between Chi- nese and American cultures. Perhaps the mission of the next generation of Chinese and Americans is to realize better cultural harmony between the two countries.
Complicated and Diversified
China has made tremendous economic achievements over the past three decades since its reform and opening-up. Today， China and the United States are important trade partners. In this context， Chinese filmmakers expect equal dialogue with their American counterparts.
Such Chinese films as Zhu De and Smedley （1985）， Mao Zedong and Edgar Snow （1999）， and Grief over the Yellow River（1999） eulogize Americans as allies of Chinese people in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. The plot of Grief over the Yellow River centers around an American pilot who crash lands in North China and impresses Chinese residents with his pursuit for justice， freedom， and peace.
In the comedy Big Shot’s Funeral （2001）， world-renowned American film director Rob Tyler comes to China to remake a film set in the Forbidden City. He hires a Chinese cameraman named Yo Yo to shoot the making-of documentary. Dry of inspiration and exhausted， Tyler falls into a coma. Before that， he tasks Yo Yo with preparing a “comedy funeral” for him. After introducing increasing numbers of sponsors， the funeral preparations are thrown into frenzy. Surprisingly， Tyler is very satisfied with the seemingly insane funeral that Yo Yo plans. The intimate relationship between the American director and the Chinese cameraman symbolizes changes in Sino-U.S. relations.
With China as the world’s second largest economy， the United States no longer seems like an insurmountable superpower. In Hong Kong director Peter Chan’s American Dreams in China（2013）， Chinese businessmen eventually win respect from arrogant Americans with their persistent efforts. In Seeking Mr. Right（2013）， directed by Chinese mainland director Xue Xiaolu， China is portrayed as a society full of opportunity and vanity， while the United States remains a peaceful paradise for the middle class. Due to the influence of both ideological and commercial forces， the image of the United States has become increasingly complicated and diversified in Chinese films.