Keywords
Chinese diaspora, homosexuality, transnational film, cultural identity
Abstract
This project investigates representations of the Chinese homosexual diaspora in two transnational films - The Wedding Banquet (Ang Lee, 1993) and Happy Together (Wong Kar-Wai, 1997). Both diasporic films reflect the rise of mainland China, and its transnational importance, since the 1980s. I explore two signifiers of cultural identity: nation and sexuality. Through close textual analysis the two films' narratives, sequences and context are compared. The analysis demonstrates nation and sexuality are discursively constructed. In The Wedding Banquet national identity is constructed through patriarchal relations and homosexuality is subjected to the dominant Chinese heterosexual discourse. In Happy Together national identity is constituted by its political context (the handover of Hong Kong) and homosexuality is represented as an intimate relationship in a transnational setting.
Primary Advisor
Dr. M. Darroch
Program Reader
Dr. J. Virdi, Advisor
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Communication, Media and Film
Document Type
Major Research Paper
Convocation Year
2015