1
China’s Hollywood:
Chinese investments in Hollywood and the consequences for the American cultural dominance in a globalized world.
By Margot Recter
S2047039
Master thesis International Relations and International Organizations: East Asian Studies LYX995M20
20 credits
Supervisor: Dr. C. Humrich 11 March 2015
2 DECLARATION BY CANDIDATE
I hereby declare that this thesis, “China’s Hollywood: Chinese investments in Hollywood and the consequences for the American cultural dominance in a globalized world“, is my own work and my own effort and that it has not been accepted anywhere else for the award of any other degree or diploma. Where sources of information have been used, they have been acknowledged.
Name: Margot Beatrice Recter
3 Table of Contents
1. Introduction ... 4
2. Theoretical framework: Joseph R. Nye and the complications with soft power... 10
2.2. Renegotiating soft power in a hegemonic context ... 11
2.3. The Hollywood blockbuster and the ‘Americanization of the World’. ... 16
2.4. American values ... 21
2.5. Chinese values ... 24
3. Methodology ... 28
3.2. Research Design ... 28
3.3. Transformers and Age of Extinction. ... 29
3.4. Methods for research ... 31
3.4.1. The Government ... 31
3.4.2. The Family ... 33
4. Analyses ... 37
4.2. Summaries of the films ... 37
4.3. Individualism vs. Collectivism ... 39
4.3.1. Individualism and the family in Transformers. ... 39
4.3.2. Individualism and the government in Transformers. ... 40
4.3.3. Collectivism and the family in Age of Extinction ... 41
4.3.4. Collectivism and the government in Age of Extinction ... 42
4.4. Equality vs. Hierarchy ... 44
4.4.1. Equality and the family in Transformers ... 44
4.4.2. Equality and the government in Transformers ... 45
4.4.3. Hierarchy and the family in Age of Extinction. ... 46
4.4.4. Hierarchy and the government in Age of Extinction ... 47
4.5. Democracy vs. Harmony ... 48
4.5.1. Democracy and the family in Transformers ... 48
4.5.2. Democracy and the government in Transformers ... 48
4.5.3. Harmony and the family in Age of Extinction ... 50
4.5.4. Harmony and the government in Age of Extinction ... 50
5. Conclusion ... 53
5.2. Theoretical significance ... 55
4 1. Introduction
In May 2015, the Beijing International Film Festival celebrated its fifth edition. The film festival is heavily subsided by the Chinese government as well as the city of Beijing and displays a remarkable growth for such a young festival. Since it original opening in 2011, the festival has had its fair share of international movie stars walking the red carpet, Hollywood executives eating fancy dinners and studio heads announcing deals with Chinese studios, companies or movie directors. The interest in the Beijing Film festival is illustrated for the growing importance of the Chinese film market in the international film industry. It is predicted that the Chinese box office, which is now the second largest globally, will possibly overtake the North-American box-office in 2018, which is two year earlier than expected (Child, 2015). In 2015, the Chinese box-office continues to grow immensely; the total revenue of $3.3 billion in the first half of 2015 was up 50% from the previous year (Hewitt, 2015). Add the growing urban middle class with more disposable income and the massive expansion of new cinema multiplexes (with a growth 29 screens a day), the Chinese market is becoming a more important factor in the international film industry (Hewitt, 2015).
The growing importance of the Chinese market had its impact on Hollywood, the largest global film industry in the world.1 The revenue in China made by Hollywood in 2014 was $4.8 billion, a growth of 25 percent over the previous year (Hewitt, 2015). With Hollywood’s traditional box-offices in North-America and Northern-Europe declining as a result of new mediums, the Chinese box-office becomes of rising importance for the industry. Illustrated by the popularity of the Hollywood blockbuster (a large-budget, spectacle film) in China, American films continue to dominate the Chinese box-office. Furious 7 (2015) took $63.1 million on the opening day in China, doubling the previous record of $30 million set by Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) in just a year (Rosen, 2015). Furious 7 was replaced by Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) in the Chinese box-office, taking over $150 billion in the first six days, constituting over 85% of the total box-office of that week (Rosen, 2015). Not only did these films break records on the Chinese box-office, the films did also fare much better on the Chinese market than at home, with many of the popular films breaking audience numbers on their first day (Rosen, 2015). The possibility for a further growth, with the possibility of
1Hollywood is often used as all-encompassing term for the American film industry. Although
5 more films allowed on the Chinese market and the seemingly unlimited growth of the Chinese box-office, displays the potential of the Chinese market for Hollywood.
To cater to the Chinese markets, Hollywood has recently taken up more partnerships with Chinese [production] companies for production, distribution and promotion. These partnerships are not new to the industry. Already since the opening of the Chinese market for American releases in 1994, Hollywood studios have been aware of the possibilities on the Chinese market. In 1994, The Fugitive became the first film to gain access to the Chinese market, becoming the ambassador of Hollywood cinema in China well as the fireproof for the industry with the Chinese market and particularly the state censor SARFT, the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television who oversees the distribution of entertainment and film industry in China (Tempest, 1994). On the one hand, The Fugitive became illustrative for the popularity for Hollywood films in China. The film became an instant hit in China, with people coming back for three, four or five times to see the films according to a report in the Los Angeles Times (Tempest, 1994). On the other hand, the film had to be heavily edited before entering the Chinese market, after being reviewed multiple times by the SARFT (O’Connor & Armstrong, 2015).2 Additionally, China established a foreign film quota of 34 foreign films allowed on the Chinese market, to protect the domestic Chinese film industry and limiting the stream of foreign films entering the Chinese market (O’Connor & Armstrong, 2015) In order to deal with the shifting, and often unclear, guidelines of the SARFT and to obey the quota, Hollywood studios cooperate predominantly with Chinese distribution companies to help to alter the film for the Chinese market and to gain access as smoothly as possible (O’Connor & Armstrong, 2015). While these distribution partnerships grew over the decade, this relationship between China and Hollywood remained fairly focused on the distribution of films in China.
Lately, these partnerships have shifted towards the United States, as Chinese companies have started to invest in the Hollywood industry. This varies from investing in the cinemas in the United States, the purchase of the AMC Cinema chain of the Dalian Wanda Group in 2012 is one of the most recent examples, to financing the production of Hollywood films (Langfitt, 2015). In the production stage, two trends are visible. First, Chinese companies are investing in
2While the SARFT stated their restrictions on their website, mainly to “adhere to the Chinese
6 Hollywood studios, best illustrated by the acquirement of the controlling stake in major Hollywood studio Legendary Picture by Dalian Wanda Group, a Chinese real estate and entertainment company, in early 2016 (Fritz & Burkitt, 2016). Secondly, Hollywood [large] film productions are also financed with Chinese money. In the last five years, a number of Hollywood productions acquired Chinese investments before or during the film’s production. Iron Man 3 (2013) received financing from Chinese entertainment company DMG, who earlier backed Looper (2012) (Langfitt, 2015). Similarly, Furious 7 (2015) was supported by China Film, the largest state-owned film enterprise in China who as co-produced Seventh Son (2015) and Pixels (2015). Correspondingly, Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) received also backing from Chinese companies, most prominently by the China Move Channel, a subdivision of the SARFT (Langfitt, 2015). These films illustrate the larger interaction between Hollywood and China which has moved away from merely distributing in China towards actually producing films for the domestic American and international markets.
Despite the promising access on the Chinese market, the interaction between Hollywood and China has had complications. First, Chinese investments does not automatically mean that the film is allowed on the Chinese market without alteration. Mission Impossible 3 (2006), one of the earliest Chinese-American co-productions, had to alter the Shanghai scene as the censors “did not feel that it portray Shanghai in a positive light” (Langfitt, 2015, para. 5). Similarly, The Karate Kid (2010), coproduced with the China Film Group, was altered before entering China, even though the script was already changed in correspondence with the SARFT in the production stage (Estes, 2013). In addition to the obstacles on the Chinese market, the Chinese interaction in Hollywood has also other consequences for the United States. As the largest film industry in the world, Hollywood is one of the largest export products in the United States, both in commercial and cultural terms. In commercial terms, the Chinese interaction illustrates the further globalization of Hollywood, where Hollywood has becomes more dependent on international revenues than domestic. Here, Hollywood is focused on the idea of “global Hollywood” and the “dynamics of American films being market globally” rather than merely focusing on the domestic market (Walls & McKenzie, 2012, p. 199).
7 atmosphere with an American ethos while simultaneously removed itself as far from the political and economic center of the United States (Cowen, 2014). In the industry, the immigrant foundation who arrived to the United States in search of the American way of life, has always been geared in entertaining that same American urban immigrant audience, which originate from around the world to also look for the American way of life (Cowen, 2014) The position of Hollywood in California, and not in political and cultural capitals like other film industries, could result in a rather independent course for the industry, with little political and cultural interference of Washington. This successful foundation has resulted into the successful American campaign by Hollywood throughout the twentieth century in the world (Cowen, 2014).
While the foundation of Hollywood remains American, the interaction of Hollywood and China does possibly change the American aim of the industry, with effects on a more international scale. Where Hollywood has always been cosmopolitan as a result of its immigrant origin, these immigrants were always aimed at promoting this American way of life; either as a result of their own quest to this way of life or in entertaining the large American urban audience with that similar dream. With the Chinese interaction in Hollywood aimed at adapting Hollywood productions for specifically Chinese market, this notably changes the American aim of the industry, as this shifts from the American urban audience to a Chinese audience. As a result of the changing intentions of the industry, the Chinese interactions has also conceivably consequences for the role of the industry in the American power game. As a product of the American way of life, Hollywood has always been considered a resource of American soft power. As coined by Harvard professor Joseph R. Nye, soft power “rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others” (Nye, 2004, p. 17). In comparison to hard power, which relies on threats (carrots) and inducements (sticks), soft power focuses primarily on establishing preferences through a combination of stimulus and attraction (Nye, 2004). Nye (2004) considers Hollywood as valuable resource of American soft power as it has always been at the center of American popular culture and has been attractively promoting American values in the world. With the American nature diminishing, the Chinese interaction not only changes the American nature of the industry but also possibly transforms the values conveyed by the largest film industry in the world.
8 possibly one of the most popular theories in International Relations, critics have successfully displayed some pragmatic complications with his theory. In this chapter, I will focus on two criticisms: the state-centered foundation of soft power and the unclear characteristics of these resources. I will use these critiques by arguing that a combination of Gramsci’s theory of hegemony with the more practical aspects of soft power solves these complications in his theory. By displaying how an agent as Hollywood, and particularly the Hollywood blockbuster has functioned as part of the Americanization in the world, this effectively combines these two elements in a successful campaign for American cultural dominance. I will conclude this chapter by providing a dichotomy between dominant Chinese and American values that can effectively be promoted by such an agent as the Hollywood blockbuster. In this chapter, I would like to answer the following question: how can soft power be negotiated in order to display the effectiveness of the Hollywood blockbuster for the American dominance in the international world?
In the next chapter, I will focus on the methods for this research, which will be a most-similar case study between two films of the Transformers saga: Transformers (2014) and Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014). The Transformers saga fits rightly in the rising Chinese interaction in Hollywood, as the most foundational difference between both films is that Transformers has been produced by an all-American production companies, while Age of Extinction has been co-produced by both American and Chinese production companies. I will continue this chapter by looking at two distinct institutions in films which I can use to see what values are conveyed by the films. By looking at the portrayal of the government through its characteristics in icons, the police and the military, I can look how the values are portrayed between the state and the protagonists in the films. By looking at the family through the patriarchal family-relations (father-son, father-daughter) and individual family members (the high school student), I can look at how the specific values are conveyed in relation to the family and the protagonists. Therefore, I would like to answer the following question in this chapter: how are the display of the state and the family exemplary for the conveying of American values in Hollywood blockbusters?
10 2. Theoretical framework: Joseph R. Nye and the complications with soft power
In this chapter, I will provide the theoretical framework for this thesis. I will start by displaying an impression of the concept of soft power, as imagined by Joseph R. Nye in his three books on the topic. I will continue by referring to a number of criticisms that has emerged from Nye’s explanation of soft power, after which I will use these criticisms to renegotiate the concept of soft power. I will than continue by explaining how Hollywood, and particularly the Hollywood blockbuster can be seen as an effective resource of American dominance as displayed by Nye and others academics. Finally, I will provide an overview of Chinese and American values which can be considered essential for the Chinese and American culture and can be displayed in an agent like the Hollywood blockbuster. In the end, this chapter will like to argue: how can soft power be negotiated in order to display the effectiveness of the Hollywood blockbuster for the American dominance in the international world?
Joseph R. Nye has dealt with soft power in three of his books: Bound to Lead (1991), The Paradox of American Power (2002) and Soft Power (2004). In his first two books, Nye only scarcely referred to the term. These books primarily focus on an analyses of American power and foreign policy in response to declinist theories, which had gained popularity in the mainstream International Relations debates of the 1980s. The claim of these declinist was that American policies during the Cold War had overstretched the power position of the United States which would undermine the American power in the international world. In addition to the domestic disturbances and state spending abroad, this overstrain would weaken the American position in the international world. Nye, one of the scholars engaged in the declinist debate, openly challenged these theories and in response to the declinist theories, coined the concept of soft power (Nye, 1991; Zahran & Ramos, 2010).
11 of a new kind of power, namely co-optive or soft power. This soft power – “getting others to do what you want” – is exercised through attraction, as “attraction often leads to acquiescence” (Layne, 2010, p. 51). Nye distinguishes three resources of this kind power: culture [in places where it can be attractive to others], values [whether it lives up to them abroad and at home] and institutions [with legitimacy and moral authority] (Nye, 1991, 2002, 2004; Zahran & Ramos, 2010; Hayden, 2012). In the end, Nye claims that soft power involves the ability to get a specific preferred outcome through specific behavior [persuasion, agenda-setting and attraction] which are drawn upon specific recourses [culture, political ideas and foreign legitimacy] (Hayden, 2012).
Thus, soft power ascends from the “attractiveness of a country’s culture, political ideas and policies” into the ability to “shaping the preferences of others” (Nye, 2004, p. 6). By focusing on shaping the preferences, Nye emphasizes primarily the relational form of power, predominantly an “agent-centered concept”, as his goal remains based in finding a concept of power that is appropriate for American foreign policy making (Nye, 2002, p. 5). His explanation of preferences remains fairly vague in Nye’s text, but he seems to stress that this ability to shaping the preferences is focused to changing the values held by others (Nye, 1991, 2002, 2004; Layne, 2010). Here, the relationship between agents is focused on one agents exercising power through attraction by changing the values of another, meaning the relationship exists between two agents (Layne, 2010). By changing the values of the other actor, Nye argues that soft power lies the foundation for the American foreign policy to (re)gaining power in an international world.
2.2. Renegotiating soft power in a hegemonic context
12 accomplishing policy objectives (Nye, 2004; Yashushi & McConnell, 2008).
While Nye can arguably be a little simplistic and unclear, these critics seems to misread his argument. Even though Nye does argue that there exists a difference between the forms of power, he does not say that hard power is not completely substituted by soft power. In Soft Power (2004), Nye argues that soft power and hard power are “two sides of one coin and sometimes reinforce and sometimes interfere with each other” (Nye, 2004, p. xi). In response to these critiques, Nye (2006) has even coined a new idea of smart power, where hard power and soft power are combined into a winning strategy. Similarly, Nye has offered various examples where either soft power cannot work properly without the presence of hard power and where hard power can be seen as a form of soft power. For instance, while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is known to like American sports and invites frequently American athletes to North Korea, it is unlikely that he will be affected by commentaries of them concerning his nuclear weapons (Yashushi & McConnell, 2008, p. xi). On the other hand, economic power can be seen as a form of soft power. In this case, a distinctively difference can be made between coercion with sanctions [as Nye points out, “there is nothing soft about economic sanctions if you are on the receiving ends”] and wooing with economic wealth. Nevertheless, the line between courting and pressure remains fairly hard to determine, even though Nye tries to envision this more clearly (Nye, 2006, para 2).
13 Nye’s vision is particular American-centered, claiming that Nye’s only concern is the “marketing of American preferences” (Womack, 2005, p. 4). Simultaneously, Nye’s focus on the universality values relies on the assumption that these values can be universal in the first place. As values originated from a particular society, they are never absolute and will always interpreted differently by different people (Zahran & Ramos, 2010).
A similar discussion emerges from concerning Nye’s focus on soft power as a state-centered theory. Critics like Bohas (2006) argue that Nye seems to focus too much on American foreign policy that he forgets the important role of other non-state actors in the American dominance. Others like Press-Barnathan (2012) argue that Nye has been too focused on efforts of the American state to intervene in soft power resources that are best to be left alone. Even though Nye does emphasize the importance of non-state actors, like nongovernmental organizations (NGO), educational institutions, his analysis seems to always come back at the capacities of the state to produce soft power, for instance in his detailed explanation in the dangers for governments to ignore the perils of soft power (Press-Barnathan, 2012). The state-centered critique of Nye relates not only to Nye’s focus on the American foreign policy, but also to the agent-based interpretation of Nye’s explanation of the concept of soft power. This agent-based interpretation is helpful in explaining how state use soft power to advance their foreign policy objectives. Nevertheless, this leaves not much room for different non-state actors, who not only are less visible in their behavior as states but are not as state-centered, although they might have the same objectives as the state they originate in. For these particular resources, a different interpretation is necessary in order to understand the how non-state actors use particular soft power resources to the advantage of the state they reside in, without the help of the state itself (Press-Barnathan, 2012).
14 achieved, power must be seen as structural part of the dominant group and becomes always tied with the interest of actors who are wising to promote the interest of the dominant group (Cox, 1983; Press-Barnathan, 2012).
Even though Nye seems to be weary to link hegemony with soft power, as this would imply a Marxist undertone on the concept, Geraldo Zahran and Leonardo Ramos (2010) detect some hegemonic undertones in Nye’s work. As Zahran and Ramos rightly argue, linking the theory of hegemony with soft power solves several of the problematic formulations of Nye’s theory on soft power. First, when looking at the issue of resources, the framework of hegemony can be used to redefine specific resources of Nye’s soft power. For instance, Nye’s emphasis on universal values as resources seems rather unreachable, as this implies the existence of universal values in the first place, which is impossible as they originates from a particular culture [this is even visible in Nye’s definition of culture, which is the “set of values and practices that create meaning for society”, emphasizing that there can be more culture, as there is not one society] (Nye, 2004, p. 11). Nevertheless, while resources like values might not universal applicable, they can be universally promoted. This means that where the values themselves might not be universal, they can be universalized promoted by different agents which make them “acknowledged by others and legitimated by a series of processes, through consent or coercion” (Zahran & Ramos, 2010, p. 24).
This means automatically that not the values itself, but the particular promoters of values can become the resource of soft power. When focusing on the promotion of values rather than the set of values itself, these resources leave room for some interpretation, while still providing the possibility to changed behavior, as they create universal awareness of these values. Moreover, if the universal values in Nye’s theory were very American-centered, the promotion of values by an agent leaves the possibility open for other actors, even on the same manifestations. In the end, while universal values can be considered certainly American centered, these promoters of values can be used by many more international actors and non-state actors (Zahran & Ramos, 2010). Similar to the discourse of hegemony, which reflects and promotes a particular order not only through a material bases but also through the discourse reflected through the sphere of ideas and social institutions, the promoters of values can be both institutions of a state-centered soft power but also a non-state resource (Zahran & Ramos, 2010).
15 agent-based interpretation of soft power is much more unsuccessful in practice as this mainly focuses in distributing popular culture through state initiatives, such as the public diplomacies attempts of the United States to produce American popular culture for the countries behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. Press-Barnathan (2012) displays how there are remains limitations on what a government or state can actually do in order to use popular culture as a soft power tool. In his chapter, Press-Barnathan (2012) uses the example of the comic genre manga. When declaring manga as a diplomatic tool, the Japanese government might alienate specific manga readers who do not like to “brainwash[ed] by the Japanese government” (Press-Barnathan, 2012, p. 37). Moreover, the popular culture industries are not particularly ‘state-minded’ nor will they probably agree of specific issues. Many cultural industries in popular culture are much more economically motivated. Here, issues concerning how to reach global audiences and the consumerism of the mainly middle class citizens are considered to be more important than the possible role of spreading of values as part of a state-run program (Press-Barnathan, 2012).
That said, specific cultural industries can be effective in the conveying of values considered vital in a society. One of the better examples is Hollywood. While the industry is similar to other popular cultures industries as the industry remains founded in the possible economic benefits of the films they produce, Hollywood has often cited with the [unconsciously] conveying of American values in association with the concept of Americanization. Americanization, traditionally, has two definitions: one focused on the United States and the other for the role of the United States in the world. The local definition of Americanization is what Campbell and Kean have called the “incorporation of all ethnic groups in a new American national identity with shared beliefs and values, which would take preference over any previously held system of beliefs” (p. 47). This idea is originated with the arrival of European immigrants the United States in the 19th century and focuses predominantly in leaving behind ones indigenous identity and accepting the American way of life when arriving in the United States.
16 ways. For some critics, the Pax Americana world is a kind of global American monoculture, where the world merely consumes the varied products of the American popular culture, from music to movies and television to fast food (Fraser, 2003). Others argue that this world is much more focused on the mutually beneficent ruling of international law and transnational cooperation, focusing on shared purpose and common values (Rothkopf, 1997). Nevertheless, the common link in these definitions is the purposed dominance of the American way of life, from American governance in the international law and transnational cooperation to the American dominance in popular culture.
In Americanization, the ideas of Nye and Gramsci can be combined. On one hand, the process of accepting specific values in favor of indigenous values relates to the idea of hegemony. Through Americanization, dominant American values replacing specific indigenous values illustrates the interaction of the hegemon in emphasizing dominant values which are widely accepted as dominant. On the other hand, the appealing nature of the Hollywood makes these values specifically attractive alternatives in comparison to these other values. Here, the varied and dominance of the industry in the world can best transcend these values abroad, as Hollywood has not only a monopoly in the film industry but the cultural product itself is very attractive and successful in conveying specific values of American culture and society. In the next paragraph, I will go deeper into the attractiveness of Hollywood, and particularly the Hollywood blockbuster, as a product of Americanization.
2.3. The Hollywood blockbuster and the ‘Americanization of the World’.
17 could be easily adapted to the larger and faster markets provided by the railroad, the telegraph and the transatlantic cable. With the introduction and the distribution of the technological revolution by the United States in 19th century Britain, this facilitated the expansion and export
of American popular culture business and industries through these new international interactions (Glancy, 2013; Rydell & Kroes, 2005).
With the American communication revolution provided the framework for the export and expansion of American popular culture, the devastating World War I contributed to the growing importance of the United States as a great power as well as tremendous cultural hegemon. Where President Wilson played a key role in the post-war peace treaty in Versailles which established the United States as a military power, one of the most visual ambassadors for this changing American position was Hollywood. The American film industry was seen as a “product of railway experience and the demand for accelerated vision: a moving pictures seen through a frame as it is, were through a rail window” (Rydell & Kroes, 2005, p. 10). While the American film industry originated from the American communication revolution, it took the devastating World War I, which eliminated the dominant British film industry, to make the Hollywood undisputed global market leader, a position which it continued to have throughout the twentieth century (Fraser, 2003; Rydell & Kroes, 2005).
18 In addition to the immigrant background of the industry, meaning the melting of different cultures into the industry, the independence of the American film industry from any political and cultural developments meant that the Hollywood could develop into a much more international oriented film industry (de Grazia, 2006).
Besides the international outlook of the industry, Glancy argues that Hollywood films portray the United States as a “modern, optimistic, consumer-oriented culture, while both the film narratives and the publicity surrounding stars emphasize the capacity for ordinary individuals to transcend their circumstances and achieve personal fulfilment” (Glancy, 2013, p. 23). In this matter, the significance of Hollywood for the British working class needs to be further explained. Whereas high culture in the 1920s was still predominantly focused on the elite, popular culture forms, with Hollywood as its front runner, attracted different parts of the British society. The availability of Hollywood films, mostly visible with the Nickelodeons which is a form of cinema which displayed a repeated series of short films throughout the day, easily fitted with the changing work hours.3 Together with the inexpensive nature of the industry, the name Nickelodeons refers to that these films could be visited for a nickel, this development resulted in a rising popularity of the industry for working class audience (Glancy, 2013). The dominance of the industry was displayed in the comments of Lord Newton in the British House of Lords in 1925:
The fact is, the Americans realized almost instantaneously that the cinema was a heaven-sent method for advertising themselves, their country, their wares, their ideas and even their language, and they have seized upon it as a method of persuading the whole world, civilized and uncivilized, into the believe that America is really the only country which counts. (as cited in Mark Glancy, 2013, p. 23)
Newton emphasizes not only the dominance of the American film industry in Britain but also links Hollywood’s expansion to the possible advertising nature of the industry. While the economic dominance of Hollywood affected mostly the domestic film industry, the availability to American forms of entertainment introduced the British society to a culture so visibly different yet seemingly more prosperous, democratic and egalitarian than their own, which was
3The rise of leisure time in the 1910s and 1920s is considered vital in the rising popularity of
19 conceived as threatening for the entire British society and considered an effective promotion of
the American way of life.
If the Nickelodeon were the most visible apparatuses for American ideologies before the 1920s, the Hollywood blockbuster film replaced the Nickelodeon as the most effective conveyer of values within Hollywood in the late 1920s. The blockbuster film is in its most basic form a “film that boasts a huge budget, transnational audience, global marketing campaign and massive return a global box-office” (Mirrlees, 2013, p 181). For this thesis, I will use the aesthetic term: an “outsized, spectacular cinematic experience, expensively produced and marketed ‘event’, movies advertised through superlative language which assures the would-be viewer that they will entertainment, and establish themselves as ‘must see movies’, whose appeals are universal, excluding no-one” (Langley, 2011, p. 86). While blockbusters are not limited to Hollywood, the blockbuster lies at the core of Hollywood’s business: “it costs more and reaches further than any other cultural object, and is Hollywood’s primary, although not predominant product” (Falah & Flint, 2004, p. 1380). Although blockbusters have existed throughout film history, such as Birth of a Nation (1915) and Gone with the Wind (1939), blockbusters became particularly popular in the post-1975 age, also known as the blockbuster era (Langley, 2011). This era, in correspondence with the rising globalization of Hollywood, called for a more universal approach to Hollywood cinema. Here, main goal for a blockbuster was focused in attracting the widest amount of audience possible throughout the world. As Mark Zoradi, former President of the Walt Disney Corp’s Motion Pictures Groups claims: “no studio head is going to make a big expensive movie that costs $150 million or $200 million unless it has worldwide appeal” (as cited in Schuker, 2010, para 15).
20 McWilliam, 2009). While the resolution is often considered the conclusion of the film, some blockbuster films offer possibility for the continuing of the story for the protagonist in the following films, as they display the possibility for a sequel which is the continuation of the original storyline. Even though the ending might be different for some films, Hollywood blockbusters offers mostly a standardized and predictable narrative, with a clear beginning, middle and the end (Mirrlees, 2013).
As a result of this magnitude and standardization of the narrative, blockbusters can be seen as one of the most effective conveyer of American values in Hollywood, because the product itself must be seen as the best example of American universalism. In his dissertation on Hollywood blockbusters and the universalization of American values, Richard Mark Langley (2011) displays how Hollywood blockbusters are considered a framework by Hollywood for the universalization of American values. He argues that Hollywood blockbuster “dress American stories in the rainbow robes of ‘universal’ narrative, projecting the desirability and inevitability of the American way” (Langley, 2011, p. 54). In the blockbusters, the universal nature of American cinema, both through its immigrant background and internationalized industry, together with the global nature of the blockbuster itself, the massive production and advertisements and the conformity of the films, best exemplify and extending [American] notions of universality, both that is projected and internalized. Projecting wise, blockbusters effectively combine profitability with universality, by providing a particular pleasurable and appealing experience for the audience. Internalized, the universal and appealing nature of the blockbuster can more easily export particular practices, ideologies and ideals across the globe. In the end, these blockbusters offer an America that is “desired by all, beneficial to all and attainable by all” (Flint & Falah, 2004, p. 1380).
In Hollywood blockbusters, soft power and hegemony are successfully combined. On one hand, the persuasions of the American universal sway the audience away from the American limitations and harsh realities of the economic globalization and the geopolitical decisions. Encountering the American universality on the screen through blockbusters must be seen as a hyper-real experience, an encountering with a simulacrum of the United States that does not exist in real life yet is nonetheless pervasive, possibly transformative and distinctively American (Langley, 2011; Baudrillard, 1981).4 The seemingly absence of any hard power
4 Simulacrum, the representation or imitation of a person or thing is popularized by Jean
21 influence in the blockbuster makes the form persuasive, not through the hard domination but through the soft attraction. On the other hand, the blockbusters also exports hegemonic values, resting on the assumption that the values are universally desired. Here, Hollywood blockbusters envision and maintain the American hegemony by embodying commercial dominance and expressing the model of American universality, emphasizing the dominance of American values of other values. In the end, the Hollywood blockbuster and its attempts to universality are connected to the American conceptions of its global destiny; the American unique historical developments, value structures and global position which allow the country to act as a universal hegemon. These values, for instance how United States is considered a benevolent force in the world, the individual is a chief agency in history and liberal democracy is the supreme form of social organization, are further discussed in the following paragraph on American and Chinese values (Langley, 2011; Baudrillard, 1981).
2.4. American values
In his paragraph, I will provide an overview of the specific American and Chinese values. I will predominantly focus on the intersection of political with cultural values. Although both values are different from each other, political values are values that display the relationship between citizens and the state while cultural values display the values, morals and ideas that bound a society together, these values often intertwine in the core cultural values of a country or region (Nye, 2004). For instance, democracy is traditionally a political value, namely the possibly of voters to vote for their representatives in the state. Nevertheless, democracy has become also a cultural value, as many [predominantly Western] countries consider democracy as a particular Western [superior] cultural value in response to non-democratic actors. In the case of the United States and China, politics is particularly intertwined with cultural values, as the core cultural values are founded in the political tradition of either a small or extensive government. In the next paragraphs, I will further explore how the presumed role of the government helped with the definitions of the values.
With the Hollywood blockbuster providing the necessary universal framework, the American values that the blockbuster promotes originates from the American Creed. The American Creed consists of the principles liberty, equality, individualism, democracy and capitalism and is embodied in sentences of the American Declaration of the Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (Huntington, 2004). The American creed is at the core
22 political and lies at the foundation of the American culture and identity. Samuel Huntington (2004) has argued that the American creed is developed by the English settlers who established the American colonies and finally the American nation. He claims that out of British ideas on language, religion and law and government, the settlers developed the American Creed with its principles of liberty, equality, individualism, democracy and capitalism in order to differentiate the new American world from the old world (Langley, 2011; Huntington, 2004). In the end, what makes the Creed so important for American culture is how the American Creed is foundational in how the United States represents itself, both on a domestic and international scale, as the Creed is needed to construct “the fundamentals of American identity” both inside and outside its borders (Langley, 2011, p. 41). While the completion of the American Creed might change overtime, especially equality has changed significantly since the American founder fathers imagined the term in order to include the rights of different minorities, these changes will always be contributed to the core principles of the American Creed (Langley, 2011; Huntington, 2004).
While the American creed consists of more values such as liberty and private property (also ascribed as capitalism), I will look closer at equality, individualism and democracy. The reason behind this decision is that similar to the changing principles of equality, these specific values are either not primarily connected to the United States or have gotten a negative connotation in the recent years. American capitalism, based on the idea of free market economy as imagined by Adam Smith, has been central in the American political culture since the creation of the Republic. Recently, however, American capitalism has been heavily discredited during the 2008 global and financial crisis, illustrated by former US Deputy Secretary Roger Altman in 2009 who claims that the economic crisis has “put the American model of free market capitalism under a cloud” (Layne, 2010, p. 66). Similarly, the idea of liberty, “freedom of every kind, political, personal, economic and religious” seems to be too vague to be used properly as resource of American soft power (Layne, 2010, p. 66). First and foremost, throughout American history, freedom was fully accorded to only white males, while vulnerable groups have gradually attained freedom (Roberts, 2014). Additionally, whereas liberty is nowadays attributed to all Americans, this concept is still hard to define for those outside the United States, mostly as a result of the American foreign actions. When George W. Bush used the reason of liberty for the Arabic world as a reason behind the American War of Terror, freedom became much more related to American force than American attraction (Roberts, 2014; Layne, 2010; Roberts, 2014).
23 Classical liberalism focuses on the notion that (1) humans are reasonable and (2) human have self-interest, only care about their own individual well-being (Hudson, 2012). Originated by Englishmen John Locke and a project of the Enlightenment, classical liberalism claims that the human beings are individual natural beings with natural rights, which are the rights that assigned by nature, namely the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (Hudson, 2012). In order to make a society function and to protect their natural rights, humans unite in a form of social contract, which is the willingness of natural citizens to form a government. Here, the role of the government is to “permit private as well as public pursuits of individual happiness, and must therefore be limited to enforcing personal rights and promoting external goods” (Hudson, 2012, p. 299). This means that these values became founded to promote and regulate a “circumscribed government”, a small government whose role is to shield the American individual from danger (Jumonville & Mattson, 2007, p. 2).
24 American War of Independence (1775-1783), where the American colonists clashed with the British empire in order to achieve the same political rights as British citizens on the European continent (Jumonville & Mattson, 2007). After the clash with the British colonial rule was won by the American colonists, the American Founding Fathers designed a state in which political equality became the foundation, which contrasted with the “organic power of lords and kings and ancestral lands” of Great-Brittan (Jumonville & Mattson, 2007, p. 2). The Founding Fathers felt that a fragmented authority could best protect the equal rights of each individual citizen, as they experienced that a more overarching government like the British colonial rule had ignored their equal political rights. While this equality remained focus on landowning, white, male citizens, only later became equality expanded for other groups in society, the idea of equality was founded in the distrust of an overarching government in protecting the equal rights of each individual citizen.
Likewise, democracy is related to the idea of an equal, individual adult citizen as it focuses on providing the right to express their political voice (Wolterstorff, 2012). This idea of democracy emphasize that “no one has a natural right to be in a positon of political authority” (Wolterstorff, 2012, p. 136). When a citizen goes beyond this authority, claiming that his natural right is to become king of the United States, every voting citizen in the United States has the right to reject that claiming, by arguing that no one is allowed to have a position of political authority (Wolterstorff, 2012). While this democracy does provides citizen the right of temporal authority, namely the power to run for office, they can also be easily voted out of office, if their claim to authority goes beyond the ideals of temporal authority. As no one has the natural right to be in a position of authority, this provides the framework for a much more limited state, as citizens continuously have the right to test the authorial position of the government through expressing their political voice (Wolterstorff, 2012).
2.5. Chinese values
25 person is required to conform to his or her proper role in society. Confucianism was the leading Chinese philosophy throughout the Chinese imperial reign, starting from Han Emperor Wu (140-87 BC) and organized the entire Chinese society from the leading emperor (the closest to heaven) to the farmers, each segment of society answering to the division above him (Hu, 2007; Bell & Chaibong, 2003).
During the creation of the Chinese communist state, leader Mao Zedong strongly rejected Confucianism, claiming that ancient philosophy could no longer be fitted within the Communist regime. According to Mao, the teachings of Confucian displayed an oppressing reminder to the feudal past of the Chinese imperial reign, a figure of the backward and tyrannical China (Hu, 2007). In addition to the intellectual rejection of the theory, Confucianism also faced physical destruction; from the persecution of Confucian intellectuals to destruction of thousands of cultural relics in the town of Qufu, the hometown of Confucius (Hu, 2007). This destruction became heavily emphasized in the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which was motivated by the idea that anything part of China’s traditional culture was holding back the transition of the Chinese society towards a modern Communist society. Under Mao, the Chinese state aimed for a complete destruction of the Confucian culture and the values he represented (Hu, 2007).
Where Mao disallowed the entire Confucian philosophy, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its leaders has revisited the theory after his death in response to the diminishing importance of Marxism and the rise of Chinese nationalism, using Confucianism for highlighting the extraordinary nature of the Chinese state as the first great civilization (Page, 2015). In the modern Chinese society, Confucian can be seen as the final step of China’s political transition, while at the same time it remains one of the most important Chinese cultural traditions. The link to the rise of Chinese nationalism must not be underestimated: Confucianism is linked to the Chinese self-consciousness and superiority in response to the perceived challenges from Western cultures (Kai, 2014). Moreover, Confucianism is seen as vital in filling up the ideological void left by Marxism, as the Chinese Communist Party have more and less abandoned the Marxist theory that flourished under Mao for a more capitalist minded socialism.5 In filling up the nationalistic and ideological void, the values of
5This is not the official course of the Chinese Communist Party, who still claims that the goal
26 Confucianism can be effectively used to ensure the political legitimacy by the Chinese Communist Party (Kai 2014; Hu, 2007; Page 2015).
The most important value within the Chinese Confucian culture is the idea of harmony. In Confucian philosophy, harmony means the “proper and balanced coordination between things”, calling the need for harmony between “humankind and nature; between people and society; between members of different communities and between mind and body” (Lihua, 2013, para. 1). Chinese leaders have transformed the idea of harmony into the ideal of the harmonious society, in which the Chinese Communist Party tries to aim for an society that is “democratic and ruled by law, fair and just, trustworthy and fraternal, full of vitality, stable and orderly and maintains harmony between man and nature” (Hu, 2007, p. 137). As the Chinese society consists of different cultural groups with possible different interests, harmony promotes the ideal that an overarching government is necessary to promote the harmony between these different groups of society (Chan, 2010). Different than in the American society, where authority is constantly questioned by the citizens through democratic elections, the Chinese state is considered essential in leading these different cultures into one harmonious society. Related to harmony, hierarchy is also used to promote an extensive government. Hierarchy, harmony but difference, displays the importance of social hierarchy within Chinese society, emphasizing the relationship between superior and subordinate in family and state: between husband and wife, father and son, elder brother to younger brother and ruler and subject (Moise, 1994). In imperial China, the division between ruler and subject was displayed on all levels, from local communities to the leadership, with the Chinese emperor as the son of heaven on top (Moise, 1994). In modern China, the value of hierarchy is refurbished into a hierarchal, fatherly relation between state (local and national) and citizen, in which the state is required to take care of its citizens (Lu & Chen, 2011, p. 59). Where the American government displays a limited state in order to promote the equal rights of each American citizen, Chinese society displays the importance of the hierarchal relationships within society, in which the state is plays a much more nurturing role.
28 3. Methodology
The main topic of research for this thesis is to look at the possible consequences of Chinese interaction in Hollywood through the conveying of values in Hollywood blockbusters. As mentioned in the theoretical framework, the reason of the blockbuster as a successful conveyer of [American] values is the air of universality, as a result of the global nature of the blockbuster [large budget, enormous sets] and the attractive and appealing experience for the audience, which effectively combine specific hegemonic characteristics with soft power. In this chapter, I will provide an overview of the method of research I will conduct for this thesis. I will start by displaying how a most similar comparative case study is the most effective research design for this thesis, as this will compare two case studies who are mostly similar with one independent variable. I will continue by justifying the case studies I have chosen for this research, which are two instalments of the Transformers series, namely Transformers (2007) and Age of Extinction (2014). I will end this methodology by offering an indication how I will analyze these films, by explaining two specific institutions in Hollywood films that are known of conveying American values; namely the government and the family. Therefore, in this paragraph, I would to answer the following research question: how are the display of the government and the family exemplary for the conveying of American values in Hollywood blockbusters?
3.2. Research Design
For this thesis, I will use a most similar comparative case study, in which I will examine two cases which are “similar in all but one independent variable which differ on outcome variable” (Bennett & Elman, 2010, p. 506). Here, the two cases I will examine are the two Transformers films: Transformers (2007) and Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) (after this Age of Extinction). I will go deeper into the justification behind the films in the following paragraph, but for this paragraph the importance is that both films are quite similar (similar director, executive producers and primary producers) with one independent variable that differs: the involvement of Chinese and American production companies with Age of Extinction. My outcome I hope to achieve is that while these cases are quite similar in production, the inclusion of the two production companies in the later film change the way these films convey specific values to the audience.
29 a film goes through three phases: production (which includes the entire production of the film itself), distribution (which is the supply of the film to theaters) and the exhibition (where the film is displayed to the audience). Production companies are involved with two of the three stages of the film project: the film production and distribution. During the film production, production companies are essentially the financial and organizational heart of any film project. The production company contacts the writer, director and principle cast, organizes the financial support and controls the entire organization of the set. In the distribution phase, the production companies arranges the distribution of the films to the distribution companies as well as organizing the film’s promotion (Bordwell & Thompson, 2012). This large involvements means that the production companies are considered to be foundational for the final production shown in exhibition: they are responsible and accountable for the way the film is shown to the audience and the successfulness of the film (Bordwell & Thompson, 2012).
By identifying the importance of the production companies during the production companies, they can serve as the independent variable in this case study. While the films have much in common [being part of a sage and a similar production staff], the important role of the production company in the three phases of film production as the responsible and accountable factor, can therefore be also crucial in the conveying of values of the films. Additionally, this research design is most applicable on this thesis, as I will combine social studies, by looking at the position of Hollywood in the American dominance in the international world, with literary studies, by analyzing how values are conveyed by Hollywood films. Although my analyses will merely focus on the literary analyses of the films, I have linked in the theoretical framework how the conveying of values in a Hollywood blockbuster can successfully be used in the power position of an international actor, by linking the attractive nature of the blockbuster with the hegemonic universality of specific values.
3.3. Transformers and Age of Extinction.
30 both films cost over 200 million dollar to make in comparison to $60 million for an average Hollywood films; (2) superlative language, both films are advertised by using superlative language and images; Transformers emphasizing the battle on earth and Age of Extinction emphasizing the destruction of earth and (3) extraordinary and events movies; the films have recreated a Transformers universe with merchandise, TV-shows and sequels (Rose, 2006; Mirlees, 2013; Murphy & Bay, 2014).
Transformers is the first instalment of the Transformers series, which was produced and distributed in 2007. As the first film of the series, Transformers is important in introducing the returning characters and the developing story of the saga to the audience. The film is directed by Michael Bay and features Shia La Boeuf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel and Andrew Anderson (Murphy & Bay, 2007). The film is written by Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who would continue to write the second instalment of the Transformers series, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009). The movie is based upon the Transformers toy line, a line of robot toys created by Hasbro and Takara-Tomy, a Japanese toy company (Murphy & Bay, 2007). The productions companies are the original creator Hasbro as well as Paramount Pictures and Di Bonaventura Pictures, a production company owned by American producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura (Murphy & Bay, 2007). Even though the movie takes place in Qatar and the United States, the movie was entirely shot in the United States (Murphy & Bay, 2007). The world premiere of the movie took place in Seoul, South Korea on June 5th, 2007 with global premiers
taking off from June 28th, 2007 (Hyo-won, 2007).
Transformers: The Age of Extinction (2014) is the fourth instalment of the series. The film is also directed by Michael Bay and featured Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer and Nicola Petz (Murphy & Bay, 2014). The films is written by Ehren Kruger, who had before co-wrote both Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) (Murphy & Bay, 2014). The film is similarly co-produced by Paramount, Hasbro and Di Bonaventura and additionally produced by the China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises (Lang, 2014). The China Movie Channel is a part of the Chinese company CCTV, a state-owned company and regulated the Chinese sensor SARFT (Lang, 2014). Jiaflix is an American private-owned internet distribution company, which cooperates with Hollywood and China in bringing American movies to the Chinese streaming website M1905.com (Shackleton, 2013). The movie was shot in the United States as well as in the Chinese cities of Beijing and Hong Kong (Murphy & Bay, 2014). The movie premiered in Hong Kong on June 19th, 2014 with worldwide releases starting from June 27th, 2014 (Lang, 2014).
most-31 similar comparative case study. First, the films are part of the Transformers saga, with characters introducing in Transformers and returning in Age of Extinction. Here, Transformers can be considered as the original of the film series, while Age of Extinction can be seen as the third instalment of the series. Even though the leading human characters do not return to Age of Extinction, various leading Transformers do return in the film like Optimus Prime, Megatron (transformed into Galvatron), Bumblebee, Ratchet, Leadfoot and Brains. Moreover, the films have similar production staff, with the same director (Michael Bay) and similar leading production companies (HASBRO and diBonaventura Pictures), and executive producers (Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner and Mark Vahriadan).
While the films has many similarities, the most prominent difference between both films is that Age of Extinction is produced by the two original American production companies with the addition of one Chinese and one American production company. In case of the Chinese Movie Channel, Age of Extinction was the first foreign film produced by the Chinese company, who traditionally produced and distributed Chinese films inside China. Moreover, the company is not a private owned company, but is a part of the state-owned channel CCTV and regulated by the Chinese censor SARFT. As mentioned in the introduction, the SARFT is an executive branch of the Chinese State Council and in charge of the regulating the film produced, distributed and exhibited in China (Flemming Jr., 2015). Even though Jiafix is privately owned American company, the online company has ties with both Paramount and the China Movie Channel, as its primary goal is to distributed American films for the Chinese market (Kung & Phillips, 2012) The addition of these two companies with Age of Extinction makes these two films particularly interesting to investigate the conveying values by Hollywood films, as they illustrate the rising Chinese involvement in Hollywood films (Flemming Jr., 2015).
3.4. Methods for research 3.4.1. The Government
32 of both countries is situated in the tradition of either a small or extensive state. In Hollywood, the government played traditionally a role which promotes a restricted state, predominantly through these three characteristics: iconography, the police and the military.
The government has always played an important role in Hollywood films through the visual representation of specific American icons in Hollywood films, which can be seen as celebration particular American values. Here, Hollywood has recalled to iconography: “to images, faces, landmarks and features that convey political ideology, form and outlook” (Scott, 2011, p. 25). According to culturalist Albert Boime (1998), iconography relates to “those who attempt to control the nation’s history through visual representation as well as through texts are the regulators of social memory and hence of social conscious” (p. 9). Boime (1998) argues that specific pillars of American society convey the same values represented by these pillars. Here, icons like the American flag can be seen as a celebration of American democracy, where other visual or imagined icons such as the American west can be seen as a celebration of American individualism. Through iconography of key American images and monuments, Hollywood has displayed particular idealistic standpoints concerning the United States and its political culture (Scott, 2011; Boime, 1998).
If this iconography can contribute to a positive and idealistic standpoints about the political culture of the United States, it can also contribute to a more negative point of view about the United States and its values. For instance, while an American flag can emphasize the significance of American political values such as democracy, a decayed American flag displays the direct opposite; namely the corroding of such values. Similarly, other American icons cans also contribute to this negative imagery. In her overview on the relationship between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Hollywood, Tricia Jenkins (2009) displays how the depiction of the CIA in Hollywood films is linked to the desertion of certain American values such as equality or democracy. Different than their FBI counterparts as a result of the long cooperation between the FBI and Hollywood, CIA “higher-ups” were almost always displayed as harsh, devious and inept “upper WASPs with thin lips and thinning hair” (Jenkins, 2009, p. 234). Jenkins argues that the CIA in Hollywood films has been displayed as either buffoonish or as a “rogue agency operating with little congressional oversight and a penchant for assignations, torture, internal conspiracies and brainwashing” (p. 234). Similar to other decayed icons, the CIA as an iconic institutions also displays the possible diminishment of American values (Jenkins, 2009; Boime, 1998).
33 their book on the social and political themes in Hollywood films, Stephen Powers, David J. Rothman and Stanley Rothman (1996) show how the police in Hollywood films display the same mistrust of authoritative institutions as displayed in the American values. Here, individual characters in the police are portrayed as alienated from their respective institutions, mostly specific outsiders who “ignore or criticize conformance with normal rules and procedure and take matters in their own hand” (Powers, Rothman, & Rothman, 1996, p. 56). Films tend to display the entire judicial system as suspect, from the police forces to the United States Supreme Court, influencing the individual hero to behave against his fair judgement. The government is more than often portrayed as the villains in the story of the strong individual suppressed by the bureaucratic and oppressive government (Powers, Rothman, & Rothman, 1996).
Similarly, the military plays a contradictory role in Hollywood films. While Hollywood films rarely question the patriotic duty of the military in protecting the United States against outside forces, the legitimacy of these institutions in relation to their patriotic duty is often questioned. Here, the army institutions must be seen as the army leadership, from the higher generals to the Department of Defense. Similarly to the police, it is up to the individual soldier to make sense of the corrupt or ineffective environment of the army institutions and to reclaim his patriotic duty. This is mostly related to the issue of patriotism, which are often perceived differently by both sides (Powers, Rothman, & Rothman, 1996) While the army institutions often claim to act with patriotic motivations, they either fail to protect the United States or perceive their patriotic duty at the expense of American values. In the portrayal of the United States army, the individual soldier hero remains the moral conscious of the narrative: he remains grounded in his own patriotic beliefs within a corrupt or ineffective system, which will make him victorious at the end (Powers, Rothman, & Rothman, 1996).
3.4.2. The Family
While the government is important in portraying specific values in Hollywood, the family must be seen as another important force. The family, often investigated in terms of patriarchy and heterosexuality, can also be a representation of values considered important in society. In his collaboration on the American family in cinema, Murray Pomerance (2008) argues that:
34 As the family in cinema has a pedagogical task to learn how to behave in real life, this pedagogical task can be used to reflect particular values. Here, the family can be seen in interaction with culture and society, where the family is used to teach us the values of each particular society (Lull, 1988). While the family also contributes to the creation of a society, it is predominantly “influenced and constructed by the culture in which it is formed” (Redman, 2003, p. 51). Therefore, the family can have just an important task in educating of values as the government.
In my analyses, I will look at various examples of family relations and members who contribute to conveying of specific values. In her study on families in Hollywood films, Claire Jenkins in her book Home Movies: The American Family in Contemporary Cinema (2015) provides an overview of the family relations displayed in Hollywood films. She illustrates how the significance of the nuclear family in Hollywood display the patriarchal roots of the industry. The Hollywood family is often displayed as middle class, white, heterosexual family, with a specific emphasis on the development of the father as both the head of the family and the hero of the story (Jenkins, 2015) In relation to the dominant father, the mother is often displayed in a nurturing, more subordinated role in relation to her husband. The children are often rebellious against the authority of their parents, from walking away from home or openly challenging the authority of their parents at home. However, they will always recognize the hierarchal role of their father or the nurturing role of their mother at the end of the film, thus emphasizing once more the traditional roles in the nuclear family (Jenkins, 2015; Bruzzi, 2007).6
If the nuclear family displays some hierarchal characteristics in the family relations, the Hollywood family always lay an emphasis on the importance of the development of individual family members in favor of their families. The most important character remains the family patriarch, as the institution of Hollywood remains founded in the patriarchal tradition (Bruzzi, 2007). The narratives concerning the father always relates to ideas of masculine lineage and are founded in the relationship of the father with his son, as he can pass only pass on this masculine lineage to his masculine heir. On the other hand, this masculine lineage can also highlights the son. In these relationships, the son is seen in relation to his often weak father, challenging his authority in his failure to provide a masculine example (Jenkins, 2015). In all these cases, the
6Even though the nuclear family remains important in Hollywood cinema, the arrival of the
