The Americanized Journey of Chinese Immigrants: Representation of Chinese Immigrant in Disney’s Elemental (2023)
Keywords:
Chinese Immigrant, Hollywood, Immigration, Representation, SemioticAbstract
Immigration has always been an international humanism problem. This research aimed to understand how Chinese immigrants is treated by the original citizen represented in digital media, such as movie. Using Roland Barthes’ 2-step semiotic, this research found several evidence that Disney’s Elemental movie contain myth representations of the Chinese. The first result is the “Yellow Peril” from the fire element to show that western civilizations still consider Chinese people as invaders to their land, therefore they are a danger (as symbolized by the danger of fire). Second, how the Fire Element was presented as a second-class citizen. They are required to change their name, abandon their native language, and live in a suburban area in order to be accepted in The Elemental City. The last result is the way the Fire Element distant themselves by not wanting to mate or be in a relationship with the other elements. The anti-mix race is one thing that all of the elements have in common. The last finding is traditional Confucian-styled parenting that highlighted how values were passed down to younger generation: the traditions, the family business, and the family heirloom. For next research, this result could challenge the implementation of policies at the US Government level to protect the rights of all immigrants, not only Chinese immigrant specifically.
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