Heroism as Narrative Strategy: Children’s Animation and Modernity in Chinese TV

Abstract

Entertaining animated television programs often carry significant educational and national discourses that are rarely given much scholarly attention. This article examines the Chinese children’s animation program Boonie Bears and explores its narrative strategies in portraying heroism. By employing content analyses, in-depth interviews, and focus groups, the article discusses how producers construct animation heroes according to the ideological framework of the Communist Party, economic preferences embedded in the Chinese market, and broader cultural expectations held by society. Finally, this article offers a preliminary exploration of the collaboration between political power and market forces in children’s animation, thus revealing the changing needs and interests of the government, producers, and audiences in the process of modernization, and the social significance of animation in Chinese modernity.

On Cultural Differences of Heroes: Evidence From Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures

“…More specifically, superheroes tend to be perceived as those who are willing to shoulder greater responsibilities to fulfill others’ needs. In a related vein, Zeng and Chan (2020) found that the narratives of heroism in Chinese culture were more likely to emphasize that heroes should sacrifice their own interests to serve collective interests. Zhouxiang and Hong (2019) also argued that top Chinese athletes have usually been regarded as national heroes and they have played an important part in the construction of nationalism and patriotism.…”

“…However, previous studies did not consider the influence of cultural differences on perceptions of different types of heroes. As mentioned previously, the narratives of heroism in Chinese culture tend to emphasize that heroes should sacrifice their own interests to serve one’s country and focus on the construction of nationalism and patriotism ( Chen et al, 2016 ; Zeng & Chan, 2020 ). The findings from Studies 1–4 demonstrated that Chinese participants were more likely to use patriotic to define a hero compared with American participants.…”