Theorizing Ambivalence in Ang Lee\u27s Transnational Cinema: The Discourse of Chinese Identity Between the Local and the Global

Using ambivalence as a theoretical framework, this study examines Ang Lee\u27s cinematic discourse of Chinese identity, which is co-constructed with the audiences from different cultural communities. I focus on Ang Lee\u27s transnational films Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Lust, Caution as my two case studies. By analyzing the audience discourse from Taiwan, Mainland China, and overseas Chinese communities, I am able to conceptualize their reactions as communicative moments that co-construct the meaning of the film text. I suggest that ambivalence is a self-representational strategy for the ethnic Other, who is historically denied access to representation, to contest and subvert the conventional stereotyping and simplification of one\u27s subjectivity. Additionally, this research provides a good example of the familiar cycle of ambivalent emotion toward the West, in the aftermath of postcolonialism. China and Taiwan\u27s long history of engaging in a subordinate relationship with the West enhances the resurgence of ambivalence. Representations become a significant and predominant way to mediate one\u27s bodily experiences, to connect and collaborate with one another, and to form and inform one\u27s cultural identity. My research furthers the theorization of the ways in which new media technologies impact and alter the human interactions between peoples from various cultural, social, and political contexts