Re-structuring Hollywood’s Classic Narrative in Shadow Magic
Yang Jing
Abstract:Hollywood films used to tell stories of white man redeeming Chinese in a chaotic China. As the passive object of the narrative structure, the Chinese characters accommodate Western audiences’ adventurous fantasy and help them construct self-identity. The classic narrative paradigm is re-written in a 1999 film Shadow Magic directed by a ChineseAmerican filmmaker Hu Ann. In this globally distributed film, the description of the interactions between the strong Chinese character and the non-heroic white man re-writes the established racial and cultural hierarchy in the white savior myth, and reaffirms Western cultural superiority at the same time.
Key Words: Hollywood，classic narrative, white savior myth; racial and cultural hierarchy, re-structuring
