1、ContentI. Introduction 11.1 Research Backgroun1d1.2 Aims & Objectives21.3 The Scope of this Pape2rII. The intercultural adaptation theory32.1 The process of adaptatio3n2.2Intercultural personhood4III. Conflicts between Chinese and Western Culture Reflected inPushing Hands53.1 Plot of Pushing HandsTh

2、e independent space in Chinese and Western family 63.2 Attitudes towards children73.3 Chinese and Western family s attitude toward th8eir elders3.4 The emotional expression of Chinese and Western Countri9esIV. Conclusion9V. References11I. Introduction1.1 Research BackgroundNowadays, the development

3、of mass media provides a lot of opportunities forpeople to experience different cultures. Among mass media, movie industry makes the most powerful impact on human beings. Film-makers use film as a kind of art form to express their interpretations of life. Therefore, movies not only entertain us, but

4、 alsoinfluence our views on ourselves, others and the whole world. Movies, as an essentialform of mass media, have played an important role in intercultural communication.1.2 Aims & ObjectivesdirectoResearch on intercultural communication helps us to know how cultures permeatethrough our daily life,

5、 lead our behaviors, form our think patterns and influence ourcommunications with people who have diverse culture backgrounds. Movies are theeffective carriers to bring different cultures to audiences. A lot of Chinese directorsstand out conspicuously in the world with their unique angle of views an

6、d techniques ofexpression to show Chinese traditional cultures to foreign audiences. Among them, AngLee is the most successful intercultural films With the background of growingup in Tai Wan and being educated in America, Ang Lee has his own cognitions ofculture differences and integration. Many yea

7、rs of living experience in America offershim chancesto go through the process of intercultural adaptation and to form theintercultural personhood.From his films, the audience could see not only the conflicts and integrations ofeastern and western cultures but also AngLee s understandings of the huma

8、nity. In hisearly films, eastern and western cultural conflicts are the main topics to discuss. And inhis later films, he integrates eastern and western cultures and even is beyond eastern andwestern culture boundaries to explore and discuss humanity. With long timeintercultural life experience, Ang

9、 Lee has formed intercultural personhood.1.3 The Scope of this PaperThe first part introduces Ang Lee sbiography.Ang Lee isntercultural background affords the possibility for him to form interculturalpersonhood.The second part is the theoretical background. It presents managing conflict andnegotiati

10、ng face theory, the intercultural adaptation theory and theory of interculturalpersonhood.The third part is a very important one. Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragonhas gained a big success. Eastern and western culture are integrated perfectly in thisfilm, which shows that Ang Lee is in duality proces

11、s because he can switch betweeneastern and western culture. The intercultural adaptation theory is adopted here toexplain his mind s flexibility.II.The intercultural adaptation theoryThe Intercultural adaptation process occurs when individuals travel from oneculture to another, both in long and shor

12、t term encounters. Along with this movement, there seems to be a process of adjustment and familiarization with the new situation.The sojourners seek out specific cultural knowledge, adopt a different style ofcommunication, reserve judgment on unfamiliar cultural practices or withdraw fromintercultu

13、ral interactions (Witter, 1993. Intercultural adaptation is a complex anddynamic process which is an inevitable part of intercultural interactions.2.1 The process of adaptationIf a sojourner wants to stay in the new culture environment and lead a happy life, he/she has to go through the intercultura

14、l adaptation. Mansell pointed out thatsojourners experience to one degree or another four emotional and affective states in theprocess of intercultural adaptation: alienation, marginality, acculturation, and duality.Alienation causesa strong desire in sojourners to retain identification with theown

15、culture. The rejection of the host culture leads us to limit our social circle toacquaintances or work contacts and to seek out our own nationals for social enjoyment.Unable to employ the necessary skills for adjustment, we feel out of sync with the hostculture and want desperately to return home.Th

16、e feeling of marginality is like a sandwich, surrounding by two different cultures.Sojourners do not know which side they belong to. They would feel confused abouttheir culture identities. During this period, sojourners can only build up superficialconnections with host nationals and can enjoy neith

17、er his native culture nor the newhost culture.Acculturation occurs when sojourners establish a strong need to adopt the way of living of the host culture. Our identification with the host culture means that the primaryculture loses its importance. In this situation we are able to make intimate frien

18、ds withthe host nationals and are able gradually to replace some elements our original culturewith elements of the host culture. Yet, moving too quickly to adopt the new culture maypose frustrations and obstacles to our intercultural adaptation.Duality symbolizes that even though sojourners are livi

19、ng in the foreign countries,they have cultivated the ability of simultaneously switching between native culture and host culture. During this period, sojourners are able to gain the achievement of beingindependent and subjective above primary culture and host culture. Open-mindednessand flexibility

20、are necessary for maintaining this ability and establishing the continuity.2.2Intercultural personhoodWhen sojourners go into duality period, their flexibility can help them engage in building a remarkable new personhood-intercultural personhood. Cultural identity in its pure form has become more a

21、nostalgic concept than a reality. Interculturalpersonhood is a way of life in which an individual develops an identity and a definitionof self that integrates, rather than separates,humanity. Intercultural personhood projectsa kind of human development that is open to growth-a growth beyond the peri

22、metersof one sown cultural upbringing (Kim, Y.1996:434. Intercultural personhood is anintegration of eastern and western perspectives. With the intercultural personhood,thesojourners are able to conciliate contradictory elements and transform them intocomplementary, interacting parts of a single who

23、le. The emerging interculturalpersonhood, then, is a special kind of mindset that promises greater fitness in ourincreasingly intercultural world (Kim, 2001.The current discussion of intercultural personhood owes much to the writings of several prominent thinkers of the 20thcentury who have explored

24、 ideologies withnational and cultural interests and that embrace all humanity. One such work isNorthrop Thse meeting of East and West (1996, in which an “ international cultureideal w”as presented as a way to provide intellectual and emotional foundations forwhat he envisioned as“ partial world sove

25、reignty.” Inspiration has alsobeen drawn fromthe work of Tompson (1973, which explored the idea of“ planetaryculture, o”r howEastern mysticism was integrated with Western science and rationalism. The primarysources for the current analysis of Eastern and Western cultural traditions also includeNakam

26、uras Way of Thought of Eastern People (1964,Campbell s The Poweprf Myth(1988, Gulick ThesEastern and the West (1963,s ThOliver s Communication and Culturein Ancient India and China (1971, Capra Tao of Physics (1975, and Hall sBeyoncdulture (1976 and The Dance of Life (1983.The emergence of intercult

27、ural personhood is a direct function of dramaticallyincreasing intercultural communication activities.Communicating across culturalidentity boundaries is often challenging because it provokes questions about people spresumecdultural premises and habits, as well as people isnevitable intergrouppostur

28、ing and the us-and-them psychological orientation (Kim, 1995. Yet it is preciselysuch challenges that offer us openings for new cultural learning, selfawareness, andpersonal growth (Kim, 1988, 1995. The greater the severity of intercultural challenges,the greater the potential for reinvention of an

29、inner self that goes beyond the boundariesof our original cultural conditioning. In this process, our identity is transformedgradually and imperceptibly from an ascribed or assigned identity to an achieved oradopted identity an emergent intercultural personhood at a higher level of integration.Such

30、an identity transformation takes place in a progression of stages. In eachindividualstage,new concepts, attitudes, and behaviors are incorporated into an spsychologmicakl eup. As previously unknown life patterns are etched into our nervoussystems, they become part of our new psyches.The evolution of

31、 our identity from cultural to intercultural is far from smooth oreasy. Moments of intense stress can reverse the process at any time because individualsmay indeed regress toward reidentifying with their origins, having found the alienationand malaise involved in maintaining a new identity too much

32、of a strain. Such strainmay take various forms of an identity crisis and cultural marginality. Yet the stressexperiencealso challenges individuals to accommodate new cultural elements andbecome more capable of making deliberate and appropriate choices about action assituations demand.III. Conflicts

33、between Chinese and Western Culture Reflected inPushing Hands In the muti-language background, Ang Lee always tries to meet the requirement ofeastern and western audiences. Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, using western narrative mode to tell a Chinese story, shows the audience the Chinese spirit

34、andwestern s thinking patterns (Xu, 2001h.eTfilm is a roaring success, no matter in theperspective of commercial value or the cultural value. This film is the first Chinese filmwhich is played in the main American theater. Through this film, Chinese Wuxia cultureis firstly delivered to western audie

35、nces and firstly accepted by western mainstreamculture. From his films success,we know Ang Lee clearly knows his cultural identityand the humanity. His films attract not only Chinese audiences but also westernaudiences. From this time forth, Ang Lee has formed intercultural personhood whichhelps him

36、 to touch those sensitive topics.3.1 Plot of Pushing HandsThe independent space in Chinese and Western family Li Mubai is an accomplished Wudangsmartial artists. Long ago, his master wasmurdered by Jade Fox. Mu Bai and Yu Shulien who have developed feelings for eachother, but have never acknowledged

37、 or acted on them. Mu Bai, intending to lead a newpath in life, asks Shu Lien who is on her way to Bei Jing to transport his sword, alsoreferred to as the Green Destiny, as a gift for their friend Sir Te. At Sir Tes estate, ShuLien meets Jen, the daughter of Governor Yu. Jen, destined for an arrange

38、d marriageand yearning for adventure, seems envious of Shu Liens warrior lifestyle. One evening, a masked thief sneaks into Sir Tes estate and steals the sword. Mu Bai and Shu Lien, with the assistance of Sir Tes servant Master Bo, trace the theft to Governor Yus compound and learn that Jade Fox has

39、 been posing as Jens governess formany years. A guilt-ridden Jen returns the Green Destiny to Sir Tes estate but is intercepted by Mu Bai. Mu Bai easily defeats her and offers her to become his pupil. Jenangrily rebukes his offer and flees.That night, a desert bandit named Lo breaks into Jens bedroo

40、m and asks her to leave with him. A flashback reveals that in the past, when Governor Yu and his family were traveling in the western deserts, Lo and his bandits had raided Jens caravan and after a protracted desert chase, kidnapped her. However, Lo and Jen soon fellpassionately in love. Jen refuses

41、 to leave with him and goes through the arrangedwedding. Lo interrupts Jens wedding procession, begging her to come away with him.3.2 Attitudes towards childrenThe story of this film happens in 18thcentury. At that time, younger generationsmarriagesare arranged by their parents. There is old saying

42、in China to describe thissituation , “arrangae match by parents order and on the matchmaker s word. ” Marriageis not simply meaning love. Parents, especially father, have thenfai l word to choosefuture husband or wife for their children, which is always the case in collectivist societylike China. On

43、e crucial factor of choosing the marriage is that the two families have theequal social status. So there is a scene that Shulien visits Jen: Yu: “ Thankyou for seeing me. I hear your wedding day is near. You must beoverwhelmed by the preparations.”Jen: “I hmardly doing a thing. The less I think of i

44、t the better. My parents arearranging everything. The Gous are a very powerful family. Mymarrying will be good for my fathers career. ”Yu: “You are fortunate to marry into such a noble family.”Jen: “Am I? I wish I were like the heroes in the books I read. Like you and Li Mubai. I guess I m happy to

45、be marrying. But to be free to live mnlyifeo,wto choose whom I love. That is true happiness.”Yu: “Do you think so? Let me tell you a story.”Jen: “ About you and Li Mubai?”Yu: “Yes. Did you know I was once engaged to be married?”Jen: “No, really? ”Yu: “His name was Meng Sizhao. He was athberor to Li

46、Mubai by oath.Oneday, while in battle, he was killed by the sword of Li Mubais enemy.After, Li Mubai and I went through a lot together. Our feelings for eachother grew stronger. But how could we dishonor Mengs memory? So thefreedoms you talk about, I too desire it. But I have never tasted it.”Jen: “

47、Too bad for Meng, but its not your fault, or Li Mubais.”Yu: “I am not an aristocrat, as you are. but I must still respect a womansduties. From these conversations, we know that although Shulien and Li Mubai deeply fallin love with each other they could not or dare not get together for LiMubai sbroth

48、erhooadnd Shulien wsoman duty for the engagement.In their mind, Meng waskilled for saving Li Mubai. As his brother, it would be a loss of face for both himselfand Meng to marry Shulien. Now, Jen is forced to marriage a guy who she has neverseen before. All these heroes are not free, but they are all

49、 eager to get freedom and havethe “l(fā)ove r”ight. Chinese withholding love arouse becauseof the collectivistic culture.Traditional Chinese people care so much about others feelings and foresight. Therefore,they would take responsibility for others and live for others but not for themselves.Parents con

50、sent, social stratification and obligation become burdens to prevent peoplepursuing their freedom and the basic human right-love.3.3 Chinese and Western familys attitude toward their eldersThe integration of eastern and western culture is shown not only in the film storybut in the technique of expre

51、ssion. Ang lee uses western narrative model, especially Hollywood nsarrative skill to tell the audience a Chinese Wuxia story. Most of AngLee s film is using the typical thre-aect narrative mode, which includes three scenes.The first scene: the main heroes come into the big screen and finish the pre

52、mise part ofthe story。 the second seene: the heroes encounter crisis and struggle with it the thirdscene: crisis has been solved. This three-act narrative mode dominates the mainstreamHollywood films structure (Ding, 2001. Each scene could show its imposing dramaticpower. Using this narrative model

53、could establish tight structure so that it could attractaudiences attention.In Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, three-act narrative model has been usedproficiently. The first scene is introducing the following contents: Li Mubai and YuShulien have strong feelings for each other。 Li sends his sword

54、 Green Destiny to Sir Teso as to give up the life in Jia ng Hu。Li s master is pois oned by Fox Jen s parentsarrange a marriage for her but she desires for Jiang Hu free life. The second scene isshowing that because of the torrid love between Jen and Lo, Jen flees away from herwedd ing and steels the

55、 Gree n Desti ny to adve nture Jia ng Hu Li Mubai and Yu Shulientry to help and redirect Jen. The third scene is that Li kills Fox but is poisoned by Foxand died for saving Jenlisfe 。 Jen ends up jumping to the river because of deeplyremorseful.The three-act narrative model can be easily accepted by

56、 western audiences andChinese Wuxia is always a mysterious topic for western audiences. Therefore, thethree-act narrative model plus Chinese Wuxia make Crouching Tiger and HiddenDragon a big success in the whole world.3.4 The emotional expression of Chinese and Western CountriesCrouching Tiger and H

57、idden Dragon is a big winner in Academy Award. This filmhas produced favorable comments from western audiences. Although Ang Lee useswestern narrative mode to tell this story, his aim is to let the western audiences to acceptand apper ciate traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, Lees cultural orien

58、tationis hisnative culture-Chinese culture.Ang Lee integrates eastern and western culture to let western people can understandand follow this Chinese Wuxia story. From this film, western audiences are able to gointo eastern circumstance.Chinese natural landscape, huge desert area, view of life of Ta

59、oism and typicalChinese reserved love style are described in this film. Those essential elements intraditional Chinese culture are depicted vividly. Besides that, fight setting similar toChina opera and the explanation of Xia are the attractive labels to meet the curiosity ofthe audience with different culture background. In this way, Ang Lee effec