Today, mainland China makes up a large part of the videogame industry, with successful titles not only catering the Chinese gaming audience, the largest in the world, but also gaining international...Show moreToday, mainland China makes up a large part of the videogame industry, with successful titles not only catering the Chinese gaming audience, the largest in the world, but also gaining international popularity (Yong and Downing 2008, 515–29). However, former research has shown that inequal gender dynamics in the videogame industry lead to a predominantly male environment, that portrays women in sexist stereotypes (Vysotsky and Allaway 2018, 101). Chinese videogames are no exception to this; in a South China Morning Post (SCMP) interview with a female game concept artist based in Chengdu, there was a strong belief there is “a tacit agreement that female characters in games are supposed to be ‘pretty’ and ‘sexy’ (Shen 2020).” For instance, when designing a new character, the instructions read: “It needs to give people an urge to masturbate (Shen 2020).” This research aims to find the link between gender representations in videogames and traditional Chinese cultural values, comparing and analysing mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and Chinese diaspora games, which are Chinese games made in a different environment than the homeland. The choice for analysing both mainland Chinese, Taiwanese and diaspora games, based on the respective differences between both societies which makes a comparison possible, requires an explanation that has historical roots.Show less
In recent years, China has thoroughly changed its position on climate justice and climate governance. They have went from advocating for climate justice and for their right to industrialize to...Show moreIn recent years, China has thoroughly changed its position on climate justice and climate governance. They have went from advocating for climate justice and for their right to industrialize to making global climate governance a key part of their national and international identity. The Green Belt and Road Initiative has been a key factor in how China now profiles itself. In this paper, I argue how the Green Belt and Road Initiative can play a role in China’s global climate leadership ambitions, but also highlight some of its flaws that could hinder it instead.Show less
This research finds itself in the literature on the collective historical memory in China, a field within Sino-Japanese relations. Current scholarship in this sub-field has also discussed China’s...Show moreThis research finds itself in the literature on the collective historical memory in China, a field within Sino-Japanese relations. Current scholarship in this sub-field has also discussed China’s national identity (e.g., Suzuki 2007), official historical narratives (e.g., Vickers 2013), and the space for alternative narratives (e.g., Wang and Chew 2021). Recent studies have identified changes in China’s official history discourse, most notably the transition from a victimhood narrative to one of triumph (e.g., Mitter 2020). Based on these existing papers, it appears that the space for alternative narratives is an unsaturated topic compared to identity politics and official historical discourse, despite its potential for researching a wide variety of niche case studies. Authors that have already explored this topic, like Denton (2014) and Wang and Chew (2021), suggest that, besides the party-state, other factors like the market, popular culture, and the internet also influence this space for alternative narratives. This research explores the medium of cinema to learn how the production of a historical war drama comes about and what that says about the environment for memory-making in China. In particular, I analyze the Chinese war film ‘The Eight Hundred’ in the context of alternative historical memory. Uncovering the construction process of historical memory in China will provide insight into the practices of non-state actors. As such, the research question of this thesis is: How are the state and market currently involved in the process of memory-making through the production of historical war films in China?Show less
In dit scriptie is er op basis van voorbeelden uit series een vergelijking gemaakt in de uitingen van homoseksualiteit in Chinese donghua en Japanse anime. Ook is er kort ingegaan op de...Show moreIn dit scriptie is er op basis van voorbeelden uit series een vergelijking gemaakt in de uitingen van homoseksualiteit in Chinese donghua en Japanse anime. Ook is er kort ingegaan op de geschiedenis van animatie en het ontstaan van homoseksualiteit in geanimeerde series en films.Show less
China had garnered so much success with the exportation of porcelain in Europe around the late 16th century, however much later towards the end of the 17th century there is an abrupt downfall. This...Show moreChina had garnered so much success with the exportation of porcelain in Europe around the late 16th century, however much later towards the end of the 17th century there is an abrupt downfall. This thesis aims to show how European ideology and advancement played a key role in the downfall of Chinese porcelain in Europe. China was a role model when it came to the making of porcelain, with their mysterious techniques and the use of ingredients not yet known to the Europeans. They were placed on a pedestal and regarded as one of the best at this craftsmanship. However, that mystery surrounding the production of porcelain died down after the Europeans figured out the techniques and the ingredients used. China was also highly regarded at one point in time by the Enlightened thinkers of Europe. However as the years progressed more negative views were brought to light and the once highly regarded China was now seen as inferior and backwards.Show less
In the People's Republic of China, the state takes a didactic approach towards the diffusion of media and forbids the depiction of homoerotic relationships on the big and small screen. Chinese web...Show moreIn the People's Republic of China, the state takes a didactic approach towards the diffusion of media and forbids the depiction of homoerotic relationships on the big and small screen. Chinese web series "The Untamed" (Chen Qing Ling 陈情令) however adapts a web novel containing an explicit homoerotic romance to public acclaim. This exploratory study examines how the directors of this series navigated government censorship and conveyed the homoerotic subtext between the two protagonists. In order to answer this, the thesis makes use of visual discourse analysis (divided into the layers of the image, the soundscape and the montage) on shot protocols as outlined as in Schneider (2012) while also building upon the theoretical frameworks of Van Leeuwen (1996; 2008), Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006) and Iedema (2004). The analysis is contextualized by a literature review spanning the topics of the history of homosexuality in China, the importance of representation and television, homosexual representation in the Chinese media landscape to end with the topic of the state approach to media and censorship mechanisms of web series. The thesis concludes that the directors successfully depicted homoerotic subtext by using a wide range of audio-visual and narrative techniques while leaving enough space for deniability, which might bring about more adaptations of such materials and influence public opinion about homosexual individuals.Show less
Since the initial commercialization of the men’s Chinese professional football league, Chinese actors have started investing increasingly more resources in the foreign football sphere. Players,...Show moreSince the initial commercialization of the men’s Chinese professional football league, Chinese actors have started investing increasingly more resources in the foreign football sphere. Players, coaches, trainers and even clubs from all over the world have all been the subject of Chinese investment over the last few decades. Although spending has increased exponentially, the level of both the Chinese professional competition as well as the men’s national team have not improved at the same rate. This study uses existing literature from both academic sources as well as marketing and news reports on the subject to better understand the reasons to why investing in globalized resources has increased while also providing possible explanations to why the level of competitiveness has not been influenced as much. The study suggests that through the frameworks of soft power and state corporatism we can understand the levels of spending as larger state-driven strategy to both stimulate the football industry as well as to improve China’s soft power through international competitions. This study also suggests that based on the current academic and professional discourse surrounding Chinese competitive football, the reason for professional Chinese clubs’ relative low level of performance is due to a lack of incentive for the clubs to invest in future talent development. Although this study’s conclusions remain to be theories based on the interpretations of other academic researchers and experts, it still confirms that there is still much urgency for further research on this subjectShow less
