The conformation and negotiation of nationalism in China’s political animations—a case study of Year Hare Affair

ABSTRACT

Nationalism is a prominent theme in China’s cultural productions. While many studies research nationalistic representations of wars, revolutions and nation-building processes in Chinese socialist cinema and dramas, this article focuses on a marginal media form: political animations. It examines the patriotic discourses in popular Chinese animated series Year Hare Affair and presents three main findings. First, that the series characters represent personified/animalized nation states, reflecting the animator’s perceptions of ‘self’ and ‘other’ (and ‘friends’ or ‘enemies’), which are highly consistent with the Chinese authority’s stance and policy in foreign affairs. Second, that the animation’s key theme of ‘dreams of being a powerful nation’ explicitly demonstrates nationalist and developmental connotations, showing confirmation and resonation of Xi’s China Dream initiative. Third, that the animation also moderately deviates from the mainstream representations and offers re-interpretations of the official patriotic narratives with regard to China’s performance in international affairs. The analyses conclude a negotiation dynamic between the (half-) independent political animation and the state’s hegemony in China’s transformative political communication space.

KEYWORDS:

• Political animation
• China
• nationalism
• narrative analyses

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tianru Guan

Tianru Guan is an associate professor in School of Journalism and Communication, Wuhan University. Her academic interest lies in networked political communication spaces in various social contexts, more specifically, the social and political consequences of digital communication in China. Her recent publications appear on Media, Culture and Society, International Communication Gazette and Journal of Chinese Political Science.

Tingting Hu

Tingting Hu is a Research Fellow in School of Journalism and Communication, Wuhan University. She has received her PhD at Macquarie University and taught at University of Technology Sydney. Her research interest lies in the articulation of film, media and cultural studies with feminist theories, transmedia studies in various social and cultural contexts. Her recent publications appear in Feminist Media Studies and Asian Studies Review.