MECO6929 - Chinese Film Industry: Globalization & Western Influence

This essay explores the globalization of the Chinese film industry and its increasing prominence in the international market. It examines how China's economic growth, strategic investments, and integration into the World Trade Organization have facilitated this expansion. The essay discusses the impact of globalization on China's film sector and its influence on global media, particularly in the Western world. It analyzes the conditions, advantages, and limitations of China's film industry going global, highlighting the importance of film export revenue and the challenges faced by Hollywood in maintaining its dominance. The growth of China's domestic film market, driven by factors such as WTO entry, government support for creative industries, and the desire to consolidate social cohesion, is also examined. The essay concludes by emphasizing China's role as a major player in the global film industry and its potential to surpass the United States in the near future. Desklib provides access to similar essays and study resources for students.

Running head: CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
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1CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
“The globalization of Chinese media has been influenced by and in turn has
influenced global (Western) media” (Thussu, 2018). In the last quarter-century, China has
attained a phenomenal growth in economy and this is because of the combination of massive
infrastructure spending, exports and the gradual market liberalisation. This has culminated in
the entry of China into the WTO (World Trade Organisation) in the year 2001. However,
since then, China has been making a huge and significant investment in its project of “go
global”, comprising of the launching of multi-language satellite TV channels, by staging art
and heritage exhibitions, making sponsorships for the international students for studying in
China and performing cultural programs in international boundaries. Notwithstanding this
fact, the integration of China into the world economy is also been driven by a total of four
different key forces- the booming global trade, the investments of it in international countries,
its rapid economic growth and the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in China.
This essay aims at describing how globalisation of the media sector of China has been
influenced by and is influencing the global media, with special reference to Western world. In
order to do so, evidences shall be assessed form one of the media sectors of China that are
covered in the weekly topics of this unit of study. Furthermore, this paper shall also examine
the conditions, the advantages as well as the limitations of going global of this media sector
of China. It is to mention that the chosen media sectors is that of the film industry.
In the international film market, china is continuously gaining high attention in the
present world. The box office of china along with the admissions in the film industry are also
developing with each passing year. It is also to mention that the Chinese film and the
companies in relation to it are now able to make the business in international market. The
term ‘globalisation’ is one of the most general terms in this 21st century world. It refers to the
“rapidly developing process of complex interconnections between societies, cultures,
institutions and individuals world-wide” (Lee, 2016). Also, as per Zhao (2010), globalisation

2CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
is the entire world system, the global human condition. Brzeski (2018) also put it as “the
process involving a compression of time and space, and in the 21st century, the relationships
between time and space have developed in unforeseen ways”. It is something that shrinks the
concept or the notion of distance in between the prevailing cultures by significantly reducing
the time that is taken for crossing the distances which separate them physically (Brzeski,
2018). Hence, it is due to this reason that the world seems smaller day by day and in a certain
sense, it brings the human beings in much closer contact with one another than ever before.
Moreover, globalisation also stretch the social relations in between the human beings by
removing the relations that govern day-to-day lives from the local to the global contexts.
As per Van der Kamp, Lorentzen and Mattingly (2017), it is stated that globalisation
of media would result in the process of decentralisation of the power and at the same time,
this would also allow more bottom-up control. However, due to the American monopoly in
the communication research since the World War II, there are some people who consider
mass media as the channel of Westernisation. It is to mention that the flow of media to the
nations that are less developed from the Western part of the world was considered by the
well-developed Western countries as good for not only the recipients but for also the senders
who saw it is a central part of their fight against the issue of totalitarianism and socialism.
However, this ethnocentric point of view of the global communications has drawn a very
critical response from the global scholars and the receiving nations. At the time of Cold War
as well as the different resistance movements within different areas that are still semi-
colonial, the problems became a very inevitable argument. The new media imperialism is
seemed to be succeeding more easily as compared to the earlier international propaganda as
of its different form of simple entertainment as well as the willingness of huge number of
audiences for enjoying the popular culture. With the same, as per the detractors of
globalisation, the global communication are highly connected with the ideas like such as that

3CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
of the cultural imperialism as well as the media imperialism. These detractors consider the
global communication as a type of vehicle that aims at undermining, invading and controlling
the other cultures. However, as per Inglehart (2015), “The transmitted cultural or ideological
pattern has often been seen as an invasion of Western values, particularly those of America”.
The film export revenue has always been an important aspect for the balance sheets of
the major Hollywood firms for a quite long period of time. The revenues that are gained from
the local Chinese market alone would not cover the costs of production that have been on a
steady upward trend. With the same, the support for the exporting films as well as the audio
visual content has long been the mainstay of the foreign policy of the government of United
States, particularly after the Second World War. At the time of Cold War, it is to note that the
main motto was political in nature. Notwithstanding the fact, the economic consideration
have also encourage the government of America for bolstering this strategy.
It is to note that for becoming successful in context of economy, the blockbusters of
China need to play well on the global scenario. This is due to the fact that the domestic
market of China alone could not provide the return on investment. With the same, it is also to
be considered that the costs of marketing and production are continuously rising the all over
the film industry and over the entertainment and media sector in particular. The blockbuster
model has really increased the growth in investment. A higher level has been attained that
some nations could only sustain and so far, it is only China that have tried. However, as it is
already seen, the Chinese nation has a huge local film market and it has introduced the
barriers or challenges for limiting the mainland over the foreign films. Along with this, China
is also playing a very notable role in the global film industry as well. The present trends in
the 21st century in the global film consumption is suggesting that the film industry of United
States might be undergoing some issues and its supremacy in the global market might be at a
high risk. Any of the results would not only be affecting the economy of America but it

4CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
would also impact its cultural and political environment all around the globe. Till date, the
role that the movie theatres play in the Chinese film industry has been important as the level
of admissions and the revenue of box office have attained by a movie at the time of its second
and the first weeks of exhibition defined its market value in all the succeeding windows, that
is the DVD, TV, broad casting and VOD. Hence, it is to state that for Hollywood, it becomes
very imperative to not only defend by also to enlarge the ground that it has gathered in
international nation, particularly within the market of movie theatre.
It is also to state that traditionally, the Europe was the favourite hunting ground of the
American cinemas. Although, the history of America depicts that several times, there are
certain countries like Italy and France who too have attempted to resist the strong presence of
the transatlantic movies. Notwithstanding this, in the recent years, the American cinema has
taken a very notable place and share in the market. With the same, the prospects present in
the market of Europe are not that brilliants and the cinema in the United States and its
individual member states have also been politically committed to the nation people for
preventing such inroad for several years. China is a place where domestic film market has
developed and undergone strong and significant growth unexpectedly in the last 5 years and it
is to mention that this country is regarded to be a much better bet as compared to Europe for
the film industry of United States. This country has become the 2nd largest film making
market in the entire world and there are many forecasts which make predication that it might
very soon overtake the position of America at the top. Hence, China should offer some real
solutions to the US film industry that constantly seek for more extension in the sector.
It is to mention that the film making industry of China has been rapidly expanding
since several years. Also, the rate of growth has remained stellar although there is a
slowdown in the year 2016. With the same, the most notable trends in the recent years in
China is that of the emergence in different figures. In between the year 2010 to 2015, the

5CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
Chinese box office has grown from 1.5 billion USD to 6.8 billion USD, which is more than
350%. Also, over the very same period of time, the admission have rose from mere 290
million USD to 1.26 billion USD, which is more that 339%. Moreover, the total number of
screens in China have rose to 31,627 from 6253 as per the data of 2016. Such an unparalleled
growth and development in the film market of China have several underlying causes and
among theme, the three are especially important. The very first is that- joining the World
Trade Organisation in the year 2001, China have opened up its borders openly for the
external and foreign nations. It permits their services and products to move across the
Chinese market. Such services and products comprise of recorded music, films and other
several media products. Secondly, the government of China has been looking forward
progressively towards the creative and cultural industries, particularly the audio-visual field
in order to boost and to steer its development in its field of economy. Since the year 2008, the
Chinese government has shown significant interest in the animated, television and cinema
industry and new production and training centres have boomed in China. The main motive
behind this is to operate the whole audio-visual sector for meeting the increasing demand of
the Chinese market as well as for achieving or attaining a permanent existence in the global
market. Moreover, the other aim or motive behind this was to fed by two different kinds of
political interest. The very first was for bolstering the exports by selling the services and
products from its cultural industries to a much more demanding global audience. The next is
the significant political interest that concern the strategy of soft power which has become a
significant vehicle for the foreign policy of China. The third one after such a remarkable
development and growth in the film industry of China was the desire for consolidating the
social cohesion and revising the collective identity.
United States is very focused in the film market of China as because of its growth
prospects. This is considered to be a remarkable element for its growth for many reasons.

6CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
Firstly, China is presumed to continue the opening of the new cinemas at a much high rate.
The second of all is the average consumption of cinema per individual every year is still very
minimum in China in comparison to the other nations- 0.6 in the year 2014 and 0.9 in the
year 2015 (Aghion et al., 2016). With the same, the growth of consumption is supposed to
follow a very long cycle due to the decrease and fluctuation in the rate of online and offline
piracy in China, the country is now making more blockbusters. Along with this, its market is
slowly opening up to the international or imported films (US blockbusters will still lead the
way) and film marketing and techniques for promotions are improving, among the other
factors. It is also to mention that the nature of the cinema in this country could be completely
understood.
China regards its media industry to be a vital part of this effort. It has therefore
expanded its channels of communication increasingly. Organisations like the Central China
Television (CCTV), People’s Daily and the Xinhua News Agency could reportedly receive
up to RMB 15 billion (US$2.19 billion) respectively for the ambitious schemes that are
geared towards improving the international effect of China. For instance, the English Channel
of CCTV, CCTV International has within a few years, claimed its stake in the international
communication landscape by covering 98% of the total landmass of the world. Hence, it is to
state that the media sector of china are providing an alternative for the dominating Western
voice by presenting their own version of issues and the events that are happening inside of the
Asia, China and the world. Moreover, it is also to mention that china used to have a very
strong track record in the area of political propaganda with far reaching control over the
different channels of communication.
However, the challenges for Chinese media are many. In context of the ongoing and
continuous emergence of China and its pursuit of more comprehensive involvement in the
political and world affairs, the power over the international discourse has been describe as an

7CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
increasingly important part of its overall soft power, particularly because this nation has to
face what it deems- “containment, suppression, and attack from the mighty Western
discourse” (Zongshan, 2014). The film industry of China is now undergoing a rapid
transformation and is in its upgrading stage. In this process, several problems takes place and
is waited to be addressed. One of the finest examples is that the films should not be judged by
wards in the International Film Festivals but by whether or not they are meeting the ever-
growing needs of the people for a better life. With the same, it is also to note that Chinese
film industry has followed the steps of its counterparts who are present in the West for a quite
long time. And now, it is a very high time that the filmmakers in China start to make some
true and significant changes in the process. There are many aspects of traditional customs and
culture that have not been explored well and are put into the big screen. The expressions of
the emotions and feelings of the Chinese people as well as the reflections of the traditions are
still not shared to that extent in the current film presentation (Lee, 2016). Moreover, as per
Borges et al. (2015), different groups have different types of tastes for the movies. The young
people are undoubtedly the mainstream for the Chinese films in context to the purchasing
power. However, the other groups there should never be ignored in any way. It is to state that
if the Chinese film industry wants to perform better in the future, globally, the other potential
purchasing power should be considered in true terms.
Notwithstanding, it is also stated by Zhai (2018), that the film industry of China,
which is considered to be the integral part of the culture promotion of Chinese population has
played a significant role in the contemporary world. Against this, a synopsis with the title
“Status quo and the future of the Chinese film industry” that was organised by the School of
Arts and Communication of Beijing Normal University, was held in Beijing on 1st
November. (Sun et al., 2014) There were a total of 26 best minds present in the conversation
or the held program. They were scholars, college professors, screenwriters, film critics and

8CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
several different directors. All of them came together for discussing on a wide number of
issues and one of them is the great achievement of the film industry of Chinese in the last
years. The relationship in between the growth of film industry and the cultural confidence as
well as the lessons that could be learnt from the foreign nations. One of the best examples of
the successful Chinese blockbuster is the War Wolf Two that achieved the huge sales at the
box office and was also highly praised by the public. According to Ch’en (2018), “the great
success of War Wolf Two is not accidental as it manages to capture the positive energy of the
new era. The spirit of patriotism shown in the film has struck a resonant chord among
moviegoers”.
Hence, from the above analysis it is to be concluded that the film industry of China is
expanding tremendously and at a breath taking rate. Although like any other countries, China
too, is confronting several challenges from Hollywood, the World Trade Organisation and the
Hollywood are just providing this country a great opportunity to refer. For China, the
domestic films need to reform to themselves instead of imitating others. It is also to state that
if the Chinese film industry wants to perform better in the future, globally, the other potential
purchasing power should be considered in true terms. To sum up, it is also to mention that
reformation is the only way of living and developing. Or else, whether Hollywood would
enter into China or not, the film industry of China would have no place to go. With the same,
it is also suggested that China should explore more sort of film industry and market that is
appropriate for its condition in regards of adapting the policies of China along with its
cultural and the economic principles. Hence, the future of globalisation does not just means
that there is a huge choice of hegemony, nut it also means that there is equal rights of
weaknesses as well. To a great extent, the diversity of the culture present in China is very
essential for its cultural importance.

9CHINESE MEDIA STUDIES IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
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