Self-seeking And Construction Of Cultural Identity

Nowadays, with the rapid development that comes with globalization and frequent exchanges between the East and the West, Cultural Studies aspires to be an important academic discipline and has exercised a great influence on English studies, media, sociology and communication studies. Within this context, the question of cultural identity has moved to the forefront of research and academia.This thesis picks up on three films representative of Ang Lee's treatment of this style; The Wedding Banquet, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain. This thesis with the application of post-colonial theories, intends to probe Ang Lee's theme of a quest for cultural identity and investigation into the key reason for the success of these local movies in the global market. Ang Lee's psychological development demonstrated in the films can be categorized into three stages. The first stage starts with his confusion in identity-seeking, being the'other' having encountered a cultural crash. In the second stage, Ang Lee walks out of the state of confusion and begins to ponder over cultural hybridization. In the third stage, he constructs his unique cultural identity by stating his understanding of humanity beyond cultural boundaries.This thesis is divided into six sections, including an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction gives a brief glimpse of the director Ang Lee and his main films, a review of the literature surrounding him and the methods and purpose of the study. Chapter one sets up the theoretical framework in which post-colonialism, Edward Said's theories of'Orientalism and the Other'and Homi Bhabha's theories of Hybridity will be discussed. Chapter two begins with a detailed analysis of cultural conflicts manifested in Ang Lee's early film The Wedding Banquet and then moves on to an analysis of the identity-seeking and identity dilemma of the immigrants in the film. Chapter three focuses on the'way out'in cultural crash, cultural hybridization stated by Homi Bhabha. In this chapter of the thesis, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be analyzed from the hybridization of eastern and western cultural values. Chapter four makes an analysis of the film Brokeback Mountain from the view of constructing the hybrid identity, which evokes resonance from eastern and western audience. The last section draws the conclusion that Lee has formed his unique cultural identity as a director: taking root in upbringing culture and absorbing the advanced parts of western culture so as to promote the positive development of humanity. Ang Lee's films provide a feasible solution for negating cultural clash to build up a unique hybrid identity in a multi-cultural society.