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On the cultural characteristics of America from the perspective of animated films

Paper Keywords cultural characteristics of animated films

America is a new country composed of immigrants. Without a long history of development, it has formed its own unique American cultural system with distinctive features, including cultural tolerance, humor, pragmatism and personal heroism. This paper analyzes the cultural characteristics hidden behind animated films from a unique perspective, and further expounds the core of American culture by using the method of comparative analysis and combining the development status of animated films in China, so as to guide us to reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of our cultural traditions and better serve our cultural construction.

The United States is a new country established and developed by immigrants and their descendants, plus indigenous Indians. It has no long history of development and no so-called single national tradition, but it is the fastest economic development among countries in the capitalist world. It is a unique super economic power in the world at present, with a huge domestic market and a considerable international market share due to its economic strength. Therefore, the development of American culture is different from other European countries and has its own unique American-style cultural system. American culture has many characteristics, including humor, tolerance, pragmatism, personal heroism and so on. These characteristics can be seen from the fiery American animated films. American animated films are a very influential but unique part of the world's films, which are increasingly affecting the development of global culture. Studying the characteristics of American culture is conducive to guiding us to better develop our cultural construction.

First, the inclusiveness of American culture.

As an immigrant country, one of the important characteristics of American culture is inclusiveness, diversity and openness. A large number of immigrants from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America came to this fantastic country with their dreams, and they put the local traditional ideas. Religious customs, living habits and other cultures have been brought to the United States and become the basis of diversified development in the United States. The culture of any country can be found here in the United States. It is precisely because the United States does not have its own traditional culture that it can integrate the cultures of various countries and create a "new culture" that attracts worldwide attention.

At the same time, with the development of the times, the inclusiveness of American culture is constantly showing. On the one hand, the United States has a relatively open mind and lifestyle, on the other hand, it has cultures and customs that can accommodate different countries. For example, in the film and television entertainment industry, American animated films have monopolized half of the world's animated film and television industry, and the themes come from all over the world. For example, the animated film The Prince of Egypt comes from Egyptian culture, The Little Mermaid comes from Danish fairy tales, and Mulan's Kung Fu Panda comes from China. None of these films were very successful. The reason lies in their handling and cultural connotation of these countries. America is a dynamic and innovative country. Take Kung Fu Panda as an example. China elements are displayed everywhere in the films, such as Music in China, Kung Fu in China and Panda as a National Treasure. China's special foods, such as jiaozi, steamed stuffed bun and "secret noodle soup" handed down by Bao, all reflect the flavor of China. China elements and China culture can be skillfully and concretely applied to movies, and such traditional China culture and China Wushu can be displayed to the world intuitively and humorously. This spirit of tolerance and openness is really admirable. But on the other hand, it shows the aggressive side of American culture. It is by "Americanizing" the cultural resources of other countries and nations that the United States has re-promoted them to all parts of the world and made huge profits for them. However, we should reflect on the current situation of China's film culture industry, which is too narrow and lacks keen insight, creativity and imagination, and in essence lacks a deep understanding of its own culture. It has been 65,438+00 years since Disney filmed Mulan and Paramount filmed Kung Fu Panda. We can't just "angrily" resist and beat our chests and feet, but we are more looking forward to the rise of China's film art.

Second, the humor of American culture

Humor and freedom are another important feature of American culture, which is determined by Americans' lively, naive, positive and authoritative character. For example, the cartoon Tom and Jerry vividly shows the sense of humor of American culture. In people's impression, the mouse shouting at the street is a disgusting animal, but in the film it has almost become the object of people's sympathy, without annoying feelings, only endless humor. In the film, the cute little mouse is easily transformed into various shapes under the cruelty of the old cat; Jerry threw up and down with his feet; Tom sawed off a piece of Jerry's stage, and what fell at the bottom turned out to be the surrounding stage and so on. Impressed by this American-style exaggerated humor; American humor is also vividly shown in the movie Car Story: for example, Guido and Luigi changed four tires for Marquin in a short time on the track, which surprised those who laughed at their chicken team before. There are many humorous performances in the details of the film, which are very innovative and intriguing.

Besides animated films, the humor of American advertising design is also world-famous. They are naturally optimistic, and this character naturally appears in various designs and becomes a feature of their design. Americans often say: If everyone can achieve their functional goals, why take it so seriously? This national mentality is an important basis for the formation of their design style. However, China's animated films are much more serious. No matter the early General Pride, Little Tadpole Looking for Mother, Three Monks, or the later Lotus Lantern, they all embody the strong spirit of "entertaining through education", showing the seriousness of China culture everywhere, with too much preaching color, poor popularity and few unforgettable figures. In the end, people will only remember the original myths and stories in their minds. Many humorous images in American animated films, such as Tom and Jerry, Snoopy and Chicken in Chicken Run, have won audiences all over the world for a long time, and are loved by readers of different ages, which has aroused the admiration of readers and become a part of American popular culture, creating a rare miracle in the history of animation.

Third, the pragmatism of American culture

The word pragmatism originated from Greek, and it contains the meaning of action. The emergence of American pragmatism philosophy is deeply influenced by continental European culture. Hegel, Descartes and other thoughts have a far-reaching influence on American pragmatic philosophy. Pragmatism exists in different periods of American social development. As a national spirit, its performance and function are different. In the first period, it was mainly reflected in daring to take risks and explore, emphasizing action and effectiveness. The second period mainly embodies the emphasis on efficiency and practicality. The third period is mainly embodied in seeking compromise, coordination and solving various contradictions and conflicts of interest. Pragmatism still exists and develops in America. Today, in the eyes of Americans, what is still useful is truth, and what is successful is truth. Pragmatism has greatly influenced Americans' thoughts and actions, created a beautiful temperament and influenced the whole world.

Therefore, their animation industry also embodies this national character: as long as they can make more money, no matter what the theme, they will do all kinds of animation role subversion, and their departments dare to try and enjoy it. China people, on the other hand, pay attention to responsibility and conscience, so they will not tamper with the spiritual food left by their ancestors at will? Therefore, the traditional animation in the middle can't jump out of the shackles of rules and regulations. Under the influence of conservative thoughts and China's traditional ideas, it is impossible for Zhongyue animators to subvert the characters and themes in the sacred original works. On the other hand, the United States does not. For example, the costumes of the characters in the cartoon "butterfly lovers" almost cover the characteristics of each dynasty. The color style is elegant and gorgeous, but it is analyzed according to the regional background and humanistic color of the story. The costumes of the characters lack the distinctive features of China Wuyue culture, and the designs of many characters in the film also lack originality, which makes the audience feel that Liang Shanbo and other characters are not China characters, but images concocted by Americans in Hollywood and Disney. From a cultural point of view, the work is a bit rough and superficial. Using American pragmatism and commercialism to interpret the traditional love stories in the East is nothing more than "inexplicable entertainment", but it is the embodiment of American pragmatism culture, emphasizing efficiency and practicality. Another manifestation of American pragmatism is the industrialization of culture. The cultural industry has become one of the most dynamic industries in the United States. Behind the prosperity of the cultural industry is the vitality of the American animation industry.

The typical feature is the marketing from cultural products to cultural industries, which directly transforms culture into real box office receipts and theme commodities: toys, music records, theme parks and a series of cultural industrial chains. For example, with the participation of a group of ambitious partners, Walter Disney set up a professional animation production company, starting from "creative content" and gradually expanding to "industrial base". With the modern industrialized assembly line production method, a large number of cartoons have been produced and sold all over the world; At that time, patents were cleared for Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and other cartoon images, and franchise development was carried out under legal protection. In the late 20th century, Walter Disney Company cooperated with Danish Armon Company to publish Mickey Mouse magazine in September 1948, and then established Disney Music Company, which changed from a pure cultural product to a cultural industry with amazing profits and realized the pragmatic dream of the United States. However, the animators in China are deeply influenced by China's traditional culture, and stay in the stage of being single-minded about animation art. One-sided and persistent pursuit of animation is not conducive to the goal of establishing a cultural China, a cultural industry China and a culturally developed China in the new century, which deserves our practitioners' reflection.

Fourth, individual heroism in American culture.

American heroism and individualism are hidden behind the relaxed and happy content of American animation, and in their view, this hero is not only an American hero, but also a hero of all mankind in the world. He is responsible for defending and saving all mankind. This coincides with the self-styled "international police" image of the United States in today's world.

In fact, individualism is not a new face today. It first sprouted in the Italian Cultural Renaissance in14th century, and was later proved and spread by the French Enlightenment in18th century, and blossomed in the United States. Robert, a sociologist at the University of California, believes that "individualism is the real core of American culture." The emergence of individualism has its profound historical background. On the one hand, the United States inherited the ideas brought by European immigrants, especially the mercantilist culture of Greece and the political management system of Greece. The civilization established in Greece at that time had a positive impact on American society. On the other hand, individualism has an earlier historical background, which has been put into practice and perfected and developed in practice. Early American immigrants were organized by private individuals or companies. There is no blood relationship here and there is no government intervention. There is no other ideal except the abstract idea of God's "heaven" and making a fortune in the new frontier. There is no doubt that everyone should be his own hero and give up or sacrifice personal interests for the collective benefit. For those immigrants who explore the new world, it is self-evident to exchange money. Then came the scene of advocating individualism, and at the same time derived the main meaning of personal hero. Mulan is a typical figure. In the film, China's concept of loyalty and filial piety was completely replaced by the perfect expression of western "individual heroism". It not only earned 300 million dollars for others, but also made "personal heroism" popular all over the world and gradually became a fashion. Another example is the personal heroism in the cartoon car story, that is, everyone should show themselves and try their best to show themselves. In addition, Desert Cavalry is also a typical American personal heroism blockbuster dedicated by Disney, from which it is not difficult to find the personal heroism view of American culture.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) conclusion

America is a young country. Although its history is not long, it has its own unique cultural system. With the development of the times, American culture shows its vitality more and more. Studying the characteristics of American culture has certain reference significance for the construction and prosperity of China. Bill Gates has a famous saying: "In the fierce Internet age, if you buy culture, you will control the times." The process of westernization and globalization of China legends such as Mulan by multinational corporations is also a process in which American culture transforms other countries' cultures, encroaches on other countries' cultures, dominates the world culture, takes it as its own and creates huge profits. The development of American-style film culture has pointed out a development path for us: we expect China culture labeled as China to go down the cultural altar, enter people's daily life and go to every corner of the world.

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