ABSTRACT:Nowadays, with the rapid development of multi-culture, communications between Chinese culture and western culture are increasing. There are not only mergences but also differences and deviations. Disney Company created a cartoon film Mulan on the basic of The Ballad of Mulan. By using new inception and creation, but not changing historical facts, they created a brand-new Mulan. Their creation gives a new look of the story, and Mulan’s image impresses everyone once again. At the same time, we should contemplate these two different Mulans’ images which show clear differences.
This paper firstly introduces the change of Mulan’s image, such as her appearance, language, body language and character. New modern elements also melted in the Disney cartoon film Mulan, such as two imagined supporting actors, Mushu and luck cricket. Then, by making comparison with The Ballad of Mulan, I will try to draw a conclusion that cultural hegemony is the cause of these changes. America is resorting to mass media and information technology as his force to expand his culture. For these phenomena, we must contemplate and enhance our cultural alertness to protect our excellent culture.
Key words: Mulan; the values of Americans; cultural hegemony
摘要:当今多元文化发展迅速，中西文化交流日益增多，其中有融合，也有区别和差异。美国迪士尼公司创作的动画片《木兰》，借用《木兰辞》的故事，在不改变史实的情况下，用新的创作理念和文化差异，创作出了一个全新的花木兰，使故事内容有了新看点，使木兰这个人物再次深入人心。两个不同的花木兰表现出的明显差异，值得我们深思。本文将首先介绍并分析动画《木兰》对花木兰形象的改编，如对外表，语言等，现代元素的加入，如两个虚构的配角——木须和蟋蟀，接着将其与《木兰辞》中的花木兰形象进行对比，尝试总结导致这种变化的原因——文化霸权，美国正借助大众媒介和信息技术的力量进行文化扩张。对此我们深思我们应该提高文化警觉性，保护自己的优秀文化。
关键词：花木兰；美国价值观；文化霸权
Hollywood movie mainly shows the values of Americans, so does the Disney cartoon film Mulan. Disney Company creates a brand-new image of Mulan. There are many changes in her image. It is no doubt that it is a successful cartoon film. It makes Mulan a heroine well known by everyone in the whole world. At the same time, we should find that it is caused by cultural hegemony. By using cultural hegemony, American gains more profits, and propagates its values in the Hollywood movie.
To think more about it, why do we not create such successful movie? In my opinion, Chinese youth is lack of innovation. In the Disney cartoon film Mulan, American’s innovation enlightens us that Chinese youth need more creations and more bold innovations. Take Hong Kong’s cartoon film A Chinese Ghost Story as an example. It also created on the basic of an ancient legend and won the 34th Golden Horse Award (白水, 2003:26). From the above, as a Chinese youth, we should learn creation and propagate our excellence culture. When we are confronted with the foreign cultures, we should take the essence and discard the dregs. The most import is that we must enhance our cultural alertness and take action to protect our excellent culture.
