The Chinese Image in Sino-Hollywood Co-Produced Blockbusters During the Era of Globalization

This thesis explores the global-local interplay among three key players, which are Hollywood, the Chinese government, and Chinese film industry, by analyzing representations of China and Chinese culture in three kinds of modes of film cooperation between Hollywood and China in the era of globalization. Drawing on both the analysis of three factors respectively and the elaboration of tripartite push-and-pull, a spectrum of film collaboration has been built to find out how the leveraging powers work, indicating that the images of China in selected films manifest a shared cultural identity that is hybridized and market-friendly. By further discussing China’s position in the global competition, it reveals China’s ambition to brand itself as a global media power instead of a media capital

Adoption Rhetorics: A Lexicon of Kinship

There exist myriad intimacies from friendship to allyship but kinship—biological kinship—is still a dominating criterion by which all other intimacies are measured, even in statements that express an association stronger than consanguinity. Consequently, modern plenary adoption is construed as the Other to biological kinship, which is the rhetorical touchstone for intimacy. Using Kenneth Burke’s “Semantic and Poetic Meaning,” this dissertation examines the semantic and poetic meaning of adoption and the ways they intersect, shift over time, and can produce greater understanding and usefulness through prescriptive adoption languages, film, comics, and poetry. Prescriptive adoption languages are lexicons put forth by interest groups to normalize adoption and those involved in adoption, resisting the primacy of biology as a dominant signifier of kinship while also replicating the referents of biological kinship, and thus reiterating adoption’s position as an imitation of biological kinship. The Kung Fu Panda trilogy (2008-2016), Lion (2016), Superman: American Alien by Max Landis (2015-2016), Loki: Agent of Asgard by Al Ewing (2014-2016), and The Adoption Papers by Jackie Kay (1991) are texts that use the language of their medium and the language of adoption to convey the complex feelings around the apparatus of adoption. Lion and the Kung Fu Panda trilogy explore the semantic and poetic meanings of adoption, search, and reunion through Google Earth and the principle of qi, reflecting the emotional journeys those in the adoption constellation partake in to understand their role as kin in community. The adoptee comic book characters Superman and Loki are figures of belonging while at the same time representatives of the oxymoronic position many transracial and intercountry adoptees find themselves in as perpetual outsiders in a binary world with power that complicates the established familial and biological formations of power and kinship. This dissertation closes with an examination of polyvocality as a means of building an imaginary polyphonic kinship in Jackie Kay’s poetry collection/memoir The Adoption Papers. The texts examined reveal that far from causing a clean break, adoption creates a multiplicity of bonds between parties that exist both internally and externally, with continuous reassessment and reevaluation of those ties over time. The semantic and poetic meanings of adoption show how this modern international legal practice, plenary adoption, is both an anesthetic legal ceremony and an ongoing lived experience filled with an abundance of mixed feelings for adoptees and their kin

Adoption Rhetorics: A Lexicon of Kinship

There exist myriad intimacies from friendship to allyship but kinship—biological kinship—is still a dominating criterion by which all other intimacies are measured, even in statements that express an association stronger than consanguinity. Consequently, modern plenary adoption is construed as the Other to biological kinship, which is the rhetorical touchstone for intimacy. Using Kenneth Burke’s “Semantic and Poetic Meaning,” this dissertation examines the semantic and poetic meaning of adoption and the ways they intersect, shift over time, and can produce greater understanding and usefulness through prescriptive adoption languages, film, comics, and poetry. Prescriptive adoption languages are lexicons put forth by interest groups to normalize adoption and those involved in adoption, resisting the primacy of biology as a dominant signifier of kinship while also replicating the referents of biological kinship, and thus reiterating adoption’s position as an imitation of biological kinship. The Kung Fu Panda trilogy (2008-2016), Lion (2016), Superman: American Alien by Max Landis (2015-2016), Loki: Agent of Asgard by Al Ewing (2014-2016), and The Adoption Papers by Jackie Kay (1991) are texts that use the language of their medium and the language of adoption to convey the complex feelings around the apparatus of adoption. Lion and the Kung Fu Panda trilogy explore the semantic and poetic meanings of adoption, search, and reunion through Google Earth and the principle of qi, reflecting the emotional journeys those in the adoption constellation partake in to understand their role as kin in community. The adoptee comic book characters Superman and Loki are figures of belonging while at the same time representatives of the oxymoronic position many transracial and intercountry adoptees find themselves in as perpetual outsiders in a binary world with power that complicates the established familial and biological formations of power and kinship. This dissertation closes with an examination of polyvocality as a means of building an imaginary polyphonic kinship in Jackie Kay’s poetry collection/memoir The Adoption Papers. The texts examined reveal that far from causing a clean break, adoption creates a multiplicity of bonds between parties that exist both internally and externally, with continuous reassessment and reevaluation of those ties over time. The semantic and poetic meanings of adoption show how this modern international legal practice, plenary adoption, is both an anesthetic legal ceremony and an ongoing lived experience filled with an abundance of mixed feelings for adoptees and their kin

Panda Diplomacy: China\u27s Use of Soft Power to Influence the World

Although giant pandas lack a long-standing history in Imperial China, they hold a strong connection to the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese Nationalism in the modern day. This research attempts to answer the question of whether giant pandas are an influential tool of soft power and achieve the purpose of promoting a “softer” image of China globally. Through a literature review and the method of a survey, research revealed that giant pandas are a successful tool of soft power. Overall animals serve a larger purpose in policy than simply a pet object. They can influence people and nations

Porphyrin-based metal-organic frameworks for solar fuel synthesis photocatalysis: band gap tuning via iron substitutions

Photocatalysts based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are very promising due to a combination of high tuneability and convenient porous structure. Introducing porphyrin units within MOFs is a potential route to engineer these natural photosynthesis molecular catalysts into artificial photosynthesis heterogeneous catalysts. Using computer simulations based on density functional theory, we explore how to modify the electronic structure of porphyrin-based MOFs to make them suitable for the photocatalysis of solar fuel synthesis via water splitting or carbon dioxide reduction. In particular we have investigated the effect that Fe substitutions have on the electronic properties of porphyrin-based metal organic frameworks. By aligning the electron levels with a vacuum reference, we show that Fe at the porphyrin metal centre has the effect of slightly raising the position of the valence band edge, whereas Fe at the octahedral metal node has the ability to significantly lower the position of the conduction band edge on the absolute scale. Iron is therefore a very useful dopant to engineer the band structure and alignment of these MOFs. We find that the porphyrin-based structure with Al in the octahedral sites and Zn in the porphyrin centres has a band gap that is slightly too wide to take advantage of visible-light solar radiation, while the structure with Fe in the octahedral sites has bandgaps that are too narrow for water splitting photocatalysis. We then show that the optimal composition is achieved by partial substitution of Al by Fe at the octahedral sites, while keeping Zn at the porphyrin centres. Our study demonstrates that porphyrin-based MOFs can be engineered to display intrinsic photocatalytic activity in solar fuel synthesis reactions

MOF the beaten track: unusual structures and uncommon applications of metal-organic frameworks

Abstract Over the past few decades, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have proved themselves as strong contenders in the world of porous materials, standing alongside established classes of compounds such as zeolites and activated carbons. Following extensive investigation into the porosity of these materials and their gas uptake properties, the MOF community are now branching away from these heavily researched areas, and venturing into unexplored avenues. Ranging from novel synthetic routes to post-synthetic functionalisation of frameworks, host–guest properties to sensing abilities, this review takes a sidestep away from increasingly ‘traditional’ approaches in the field, and details some of the more curious qualities of this relatively young family of materials

Design and Advanced Manufacturing of NU-1000 Metal–Organic Frameworks with Future Perspectives for Environmental and Renewable Energy Applications

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) represent a relatively new family of materials that attract lots of attention thanks to their unique features such as hierarchical porosity, active metal centers, versatility of linkers/metal nodes, and large surface area. Among the extended list of MOFs, Zr-based-MOFs demonstrate comparably superior chemical and thermal stabilities, making them ideal candidates for energy and environmental applications. As a Zr-MOF, NU-1000 is first synthesized at Northwestern University. A comprehensive review of various approaches to the synthesis of NU-1000 MOFs for obtaining unique surface properties (e.g., diverse surface morphologies, large surface area, and particular pore size distribution) and their applications in the catalysis (electro-, and photo-catalysis), CO2 reduction, batteries, hydrogen storage, gas storage/separation, and other environmental fields are presented. The review further outlines the current challenges in the development of NU-1000 MOFs and their derivatives in practical applications, revealing areas for future investigation

Viewing and viewing again : film narrative and the time-travelling spectator

Having had a time-travel-like experience of witnessing an audience response at a Disney 4D screen performance in 2010 that mirrored that at the fabled screening of L’Arrivée d’un train en gare de la Ciotat in 1895, this thesis argues that there is an inherent quality of time-travel in cinema. This thesis investigates if Film Studies and concepts of time travel can inform one another to create new ideas on film spectatorship. The natural place to start is to study films that feature time-travel narratives. Time travel in films has three key characteristics, each of which is tackled by individual chapters: (1) complicated narrative structures; (2) an aesthetic of repeats; and (3) adherence to a strict cause-and-effect logic. First, this thesis studies narrative structures developing on David Bordwell’s cognitivist work, and, combining with ideas from analytic philosopher Jack W Meiland, continental philosopher Henri Bergson and mathematician Hermann Minkowski, this thesis presents graphical representations of time travel and film narration. Next, the thesis deals with the idea of revisits and repeats, where the Freudian concept of nachträglichkeit (“deferred action”) is useful in trying to understand ‘repeating’ cinematic experiences, such as the knowledge of ‘twist’ endings (à la The Usual Suspects) during repeated viewings. The fact that this thesis uses a psychoanalytic concept to complement a Post-Theory cognitive approach is an attempt to reconcile the dichotomy between the two often antagonistic paradigms. Finally, two opposing systems of thinking, of cause-and-effect and of chance, are pitted against one another; it is then argued that cinema is where these two incompatible logics coexist harmoniously, making cinema a time machine and the spectator a time traveller

The Chinese film industry : features and trends, 2010-2016

The thesis will analyse the evolution of the Chinese film industry between 2010 and 2016. During this period, the Chinese film industry experienced rapid development and underwent massive structural change and expansion. The years 2010 to 2016, also gave rise to a number of important events and phenomena within the Chinese film industry, including technological changes that impacted upon traditional entertainment practices, new Internet-driven innovations, an enormous influx of capital, generous government incentives and an overall explosion in media saturation and popularity. My research poses the following questions; what are the key features of the Chinese film industry between 2010 and 2016? What developments transpired within the Chinese film industry between the years 2010 and 2016 and how might we understand and rationalise these contemporary trends. This thesis adopts a political economy approach. It is the assertion of my research that developments within the Chinese film industry must be considered within the wider socio-economic and political context of contemporary China. This thesis provides a macro-level study of the contemporary Chinese film industry, with focus given to four key areas of research, namely policy, production, distribution and exhibition. These four study areas provide a fitting entry point to better understand the shifting dynamics of the Chinese film industry between 2010 and 2016. The intention of this thesis is to map out contemporary trends within the Chinese film industry. My research, aimed at both academics and industry insiders alike, adopts an industry perspective with the aim of both enriching further scholarship on Chinese cinema, while simultaneously serving as a source of knowledge and understanding for those working within the industry. It is hoped that this thesis will enhance further the academic studies on Chinese cinema by providing an industrial bedrock upon which additional analysis can be based, while also providing the industry with insight that will facilitate the continued health and sustainability of cinema in China."This work was supported by the Institute for Global Cinema and Creative Cultures - IGCCC [waiver scholarship, 2015]." -- Fundin

Development of the Global Film Industry

"The global film industry has witnessed significant transformation in the past few years. Regions outside the US have begun to prosper while non-traditional production companies, such as Netflix have assumed a larger market share, and online movies adapted from literature have continued to gain in popularity. How have these trends shaped the global film industry? This book answers this question by analysing an increasingly globalised business through a global lens. Development of the Global Film Industry examines the recent history and current state of the business in all parts of the world. While many existing studies focus on the internal workings of the industry such as production, distribution, and screening, this study takes a ‘big picture’ view encompassing the transnational integration of the cultural and entertainment industry as a whole, and paying more attention to the coordinated development of the film industry in the light of influence from literature, television, animation, games and other sectors. This volume is a critical reference for students, scholars and the public to help them understand the major trends facing the global film industry in today’s world.