WP3 Rough Draft - Turning Red: A Western Story Told In Chinese Way
As Chinese audiences become increasingly important and influential globally, Hollywood filmmakers tend to make movies and animations more suitable and appealing to them. As the first Pixar movie solely directed by a Chinese American female director Domee Shi, Turning Red depicts the struggle of a 13-year-old girl Mingmei between being her mother’s obedient girl or authentically herself. The animation has undoubtedly gained massive success in the West. It provides a fresh perspective of the growth trajectory as an immigrant descendant of a minority group and promotes feminism. Despite including many stereotypical Chinese elements in the animation, Turning Red has surprisingly received an excellent reputation by Mainland China audiences. The success of Turning Red in China is mainly due to the increasing awareness and recognition of individuality as well as seeking progressive values among Generation Z. While some critics argue that the animation depicts a stereotypical Chinese family relationship, Turning Red has shown the change of relationship between Mingmei and her mother and the gradual shift of mindset in accepting western individualistic values. Most Chinese audiences, especially teenage girls, consider such experiences vividly relatable and the Chinese elements in the animation, putting them in a familiar cultural setting. In addition to presenting many American problems, the animation has transformed many Chinese people’s minds into accepting American values, such as feminism and individualism, acting as another example of cultural invasion by Hollywood to the world.
Attempting to represent the life trajectory of minority groups is an essential focus of the animation. The director herself is the first female director to direct an animation at Pixar solely. As the story is derived from her own life experiences as an immigrant, the animation is trying to tell the story of Mingmei (a Chinese Canadian) living in a minority community (Chinatown in Toronto). However, while western audiences, especially those from minority groups, can easily spot the theme, most Chinese audiences can hardly notice the animation’s emphasis on it. As China is a monoculture country with vast lands, most people live their lives without interacting with people from different races or cultures. Such a phenomenon is more prevalent in rural areas. From their perspective, sometimes, if another person is from another province or even another city, it is already a rare scenario. It is hard for them to imagine a city with people from various backgrounds to function normally. In contrast, many American people interact with people of different colors and cultural backgrounds throughout their lives. Hence, when Americans take these views for granted, they can hardly resonate with the Chinese Canadians’ immigrant experiences, viewing monoculturally as Chinese persons.
In addition, the animation has put a strong emphasis on feminism. It is noticeable that most characters in the movie are female, and Mingmei’s family prioritizes female descendants rather than male descendants since the red-panda superpower is only delivered to female children. Moreover, while Americans view women’s periods as natural phenomena, traditional Chinese culture still views periods as “unspeakable.” When Mingmei had her first period and transformed into a red panda for the first time, Mingmei’s mother Ming asked, “Did the red peony bloom?” Even though she is still too afraid to talk about periods directly as a mature woman. In traditional Chinese culture, women’s periods are viewed as dirty and bring bad luck, and women experiencing periods are considered “untouchable.” Although contemporary Chinese sex education for teenagers has refuted the rumor, period shaming is still a common problem for girls in China. Because schools rarely mention it, boys make fun of it, and parents are unwilling to talk about it, young women can hardly access appropriate knowledge to deal with such a natural phenomenon. While American audiences find Ming’s reaction confusing, Chinese audiences quickly find themselves relatable to Mingmei’s experience of helplessness and anxiousness. The animation’s title, Turning Red, also has the metaphor of periods and turning into red pandas.
Moreover, one value that mostly resonates with Chinese audiences has been individualism. While American people take individualism for granted since this is the foundation of their values, the new generation of Chinese young adults seek more individualistic characteristics instead of perfectly fulfilling their parents’ expectations. Mingmei had contrasting solid personalities in the animation: the obedient little girl in front of her mother and the chaotic, playful girl for her friends. Her mother did not respect her privacy and always had high expectations for her. While Ming discovered the secret notebook of her drawings on her crush, Ming went crazy and embarrassed Mingmei in public. However, with the encouragement of her friends, Mingmei gradually became fearless to be authentically herself and had a big fight with her mother. Ming compromised and explained that she did that way because her mother always had similar expectations for her, and she felt she could never fulfill her mother’s demands. Such experiences let most Chinese teenagers feel relatable as they may experience similar situations right now. Born in a traditional Chinese family, it is unfilial if children do not always obey their parents’ commands. However, Generation Z’s social atmosphere is changing as they actively seek changes and embrace American values of individualism. When translated into Chinese families, it has become a combination of individualistic and collective values, meaning that children have individualistic rights but should still fulfill duties to their parents. In this case, what American audiences take for granted are progressive values for Chinese audiences.
Some may argue that the animation oversimplifies Chinese families’ problems, and it is unrealistic for Ming to understand and respect her daughter’s individualities suddenly. However, with the animation’s setting in Toronto, it is reasonable to consider that American values of individualism and freedom had already influenced Mingmei’s mother for many years. She still affirmed many traditions just because she wanted to continue her family heritage. When she discovered her inner self, she accepted it and allowed her daughter to be authentically herself. In real-world cases, when individualistic values influence many Chinese parents, their acceptance of their imperfectness has helped them understand their children’s individualistic needs and become open-minded about them.
In terms of cultural influences, Turning Red, like other Hollywood movies and animations, is trying to bring American values to the world. What is unique about Turning Red is that it tells a western story in a Chinese way, in contrast to Mulan telling a Chinese story in a western way. While it resonates with the Chinese audience with familiar cultural settings, it brings Chinese audiences American values such as feminism and individualism. It transforms their mindsets into accepting these values. Chinese audiences are likely to relate the animation with their own experiences and become more willing to embrace American values and integrate them with their own.
Turning Red tells a compelling story of a Chinese immigrant family in the western world. It is a western story at its core. Still, it feels naturally appealing to Chinese audiences and gains success in Mainland China since it deliberately uses Chinese elements and exclusive cultural values. While this could be another cultural invasion from Hollywood targeting China, it is hard to judge whether letting Chinese people accept and integrate some progressive American values is good or bad. Pixar did a good job pleasing both western and Chinese audiences in different ways.
