Nationalism and heroism with Chinese characteristics: a critical discourse analysis of Wolf Warrior II

ABSTRACT

Intense controversy has surrounded the expressions of nationalism and stereotypes of African nations in the successful Chinese blockbuster Wolf Warrior II (2017). In the context of the strained U.S.–China relationship and China’s expansive economic development in the Global South, a new heroic screen trope of ‘China in Africa’ has emerged, one that borrows from earlier forms of nationalism in Chinese cinema. This article argues that, far from merely reproducing clichés from Hollywood action cinema, Wolf Warrior II expresses a hegemonic political discourse fermented through China’s international diplomacy across the post-Revolutionary and post-socialist periods. Using the methodology of critical discourse analysis, this study identifies the historical precedents for and ideological shifts within the nationalist discourse of ‘China in Africa’ and provides contemporary contexts for the asymmetrical power relationships between China and African nations in the Global South.

KEYWORDS:

• Wolf Warrior II
• China in Africa
• critical discourse analysis
• nationalism
• heroism
• action cinema

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr Timothy Laurie for his help with the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The Chinese New Year Gala, also known as CCTV New Year’s Gala and abbreviated as ‘Chunwan’ in Chinese, is a live TV programme broadcasted on CCTV to celebrate the turn of the Lunar New Year.

2. As an actor, Wu Jing now regularly revisits this saviour role: for example, in the more recent science fiction blockbuster, The Wandering Earth (2019), Wu Jing’s character Liu Peiqiang joins a team of Chinese astronauts to save the entire human population from a dying sun.

3. The authors would like to point out that the leading actor of Wolf Warrior II Wu Jing started his acting career as a martial arts star by appearing in the 1995 Wuxia TV series ‘Tai Chi Boxer.’

4. The Taking of Tiger Mountain was itself an adaptation of Qu Bo’s 1957 novel Tracks in the Snowy Forest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yu Xiang

Yu Xiang is an assistant professor of media and communication studies at Shanghai University in Shanghai, China. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Westminster in London, UK. Her research interests lie in the areas of international communication, cultural studies, and critical discourse analysis.

Jinpu Wang

Jinpu Wang is a doctoral student at the Department of Sociology, Syracuse University. His research interests include international migration, social stratification, education, and family change. His ongoing dissertation project explores the links between the experiences of Chinese diaspora communities in West Africa and China’s internal social transition.