A Study On Intercultural Narratives Models Of Ethnic Films

The domestic study of intercultural communication (IC) has been trapped in a unitary pattern examining international communication,and a number of scholars suggest that it's the right time for IC to move on from national levels to sub-cultural comparisons. Ignorance of the diversity of our domestic minority cultures has limited the development of original IC theory in China. What is fortunate is that there are intercultural perspectives to be observed in what has been captured in national filmmaking, especially visual content and narrative dealing with minority peoples. This thesis suggests that it could be beneficial to conduct intercultural analysis on such movies to stimulate IC theory building, which could then be applied back to more types of film analysis.Thus, this study applies intercultural principles to the analysis of narratives in ethnic films over the past three decades since the reform and opening, suggesting this is a good entry point for potential breakthroughs. To this end, specific samples are selected for analysis and classified into two film narrative models. For the first type, Sacrificed Youth and The Story of Yunnan, both by Zhang Nuanxin, outstanding director of the fourth generation, are selected to show situations where the Han or foreign people are contrasted with minority peoples as the film hero or heroine. The second type is exemplified by When Ruoma was Seventeen by Zhang Jiarui, and Mongolian Ping-pong by Ninghao, both directors of the new generation, in which each captures abundant scenes and lines closely related to cross-nationality, and inter-cultural elements are reflected in domestic settings. Both types can contribute to domestic intercultural theory, and this thesis suggests they illustrate the developmental track that both film and cultural studies might be going in the future.For this purpose, twin lines of analysis are proposed for this study, one is studying movies for intercultural aspects, which is intended to enrich intercultural theory and establish our domestic ones. The other is examining intercultural studies for applications to movies, suggesting that colorful, visual culture is valuable material for the stimulating film creation. Furthermore, the author hopes that this work could play an active role in the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage of our national ethnic minorities.