Lin Peili: Why can't Marvel's Chinese-American superhero movies change the stereotype of Americans?

Stills from "Shangqi Shangqi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", from left: Zhang Meng'er, Liu Simu, Okafina.

Time has changed, and China has repeatedly said that it will not accept the United States to deal with China from a position of strength. However, from Marvel's new film "Shangqi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", it can be seen that the Mentality of the United States, which thinks it is superior and at the center of the world, is deeply rooted. From the perspective of Chinese, the most difficult thing about "Shangqi" is its unconcealable great Americanism and the cultural superiority of "habit into nature". Even Chinese to please and compliment can only be done in a condescending manner, providing a vivid explanation of the difficult-to-translate English character of "condescending".

"Shangqi" is headed by the all-Chinese class, and the biggest selling point for the Chinese market is "Finally a Chinese superhero" (finally waiting for Chinese to be a superhero). This is the "good news" announced by Hollywood and Marvel from a strong position to the global Chinese, the more able to accept the strong position of the United States, the more flattered the Chinese, no wonder the Chinese who grew up in the United States are inexplicably excited. Writing in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal columnist Jeff Yang proudly told the world that "Asian Americans are finally getting the heroes we deserve." The joy of keeping the clouds open and seeing the moon leaps on the paper.

Many Chinese outside the United States don't think so. From the logic of the story to the monsters in the film, to the name "Shangqi", everywhere reveals the curiosity of Westerners to see ancient China. In the words of the colonialist scholar Edward Said, Shangqi presents images of what you see after casting an "Orientalist gaze" at China. This is the same reason that foreigners like jade snuff bottles and ivory Guanyin like these ornaments: in their minds, China will always be "absurd, exquisite, and funny."

However, the most ulterior motive is its casting. By superhero standards, Simu Liu, Okafina, and Zhang Meng'er can be said to be "different," highlighting their supporting roles and dragon runners throughout the so-called Marvel Universe. The biggest feature of their team is not that they are not good-looking, but that they are not cool enough to make Americans feel threatened or robbed of the limelight.

It's reminiscent of William Hung, the "American Idol" who became popular more than a decade ago with his strange dancing and singing. Kong Qingxiang is very popular in the United States, to put it bluntly, it is actually a kind of discrimination and insult to the Chinese by Americans.

In fact, Americans like Kong Qingxiang because they are a joke when Kong Qingxiang is a joke, and because Kong Qingxiang is a Chinese, because Kong Qingxiang is a Chinese, this joke has become a sick joke with racial discrimination. "Moron" and "retarded" are deep-seated negative images of Chinese in the Minds of Americans. Kong Qingxiang may really be wise and foolish, but just looking at his performance on the stage, it fully conforms to and even deepens the stereotype of Chinese in Americans.

Today, Kong Qingxiang certainly cannot represent a China that has become strong and confident. "Shangqi" is that although Americans are angry in their hearts, they cannot but give Respect to China, which is called "grudging respect" in English. It is precisely because Liu Simu is not cool enough that Americans can accept him without scruples. Beginning with "The World of Suzie Wong" and "Love is a many-splendoured thing," a thousand delicate Chinese women from time to time throw hugs at Hollywood male protagonists on the screen: but the Chinese men who appear in Hollywood movies, whether bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, or Jet Li and Zhou Runfa, to this day, Liu Simu and Liang Chaowei, face the American Jiaowa but do not even have a chance to kiss Xiangze. Interracial marriage and interracial interracial intercourse have always been the deepest fears of racists, and American popular culture fully reflects this set of values. China's rise is the biggest obstacle to the US global hegemony, and the United States is aimed at China everywhere in diplomacy, military and economy; the popular culture that is always closely linked to the political situation and the pulse of society naturally reflects the Competitive Psychology of the United States against China.

All superhero films tell the same story, not "superheroes save the planet," but "Americans saving the world." "Americans are superheroes, and only Americans are" is not the sound of these movies, but their deafening symphony.

Superhero movies, like hamburgers or motels, are a specialty of the United States. The world has long accepted the Leadership role of the United States in the world, and when they see a Chinese, French, or Japanese superhero, they immediately develop a "cognitive dissonance." Cognitive dissonance is what the average person calls a sense of discord, which refers to the psychological pressure or anxiety that people feel when they are exposed to opposing information or contradictory cognitions.

The problem is that the market acceptance of this American specialty is much less than before. The United States used drones in Afghanistan late last month to carry out "retaliatory airstrikes" that killed ten civilians, including seven children. Is this the work of superheroes?

Harvard professor Joseph Nye first used the term "soft power" 30 years ago, but he wants to explore not so much the nature of power as the secret of American world leadership. The title of his book says it all: Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power.

According to Joseph Nye's analysis, the soft power of the state comes mainly from three aspects: its cultural resources, the policies it implements, and the political values it advocates. In other words, from American dramas and Hollywood movies to democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, McDonald's and Starbucks to immigration and trade policies are all soft power of the United States. Trump's blatant trampling on democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, values that the United States has hyped up and worked hard to defend over the years, has greatly weakened America's soft power. His successor, Biden, was not much better, and repeatedly lost faith in his allies and the world, which can be said to be self-destructing the Great Wall.

In the international and political arena, Britain, France and Germany are premium brands, and only the remaining superpower, the United States, is the only luxury brand. Trump and Biden have successively tried to maximize U.S. interests by sacrificing American values. From a brand management perspective, this is tantamount to promoting designer fashion and fine jewelry at a big bargain, which is counterproductive. It's not brand building, it's brand killing.

Lin Peili