The cultural politics of race in Chinese cinema: Nationalism and the changing representation of whiteness in <i>Big Shot’s Funeral</i> and <i>Crazy Alien</i>

Research on whiteness in Western cinema has effectively revealed how cinematic representation contributes to formulating, perpetuating, normalizing, and contesting white superiority cultural discourses. However, little research considers Chinese imagines negotiates whiteness. Using the visual-textual analysis method, this article examines representations of identities Big Shot’s Funeral (2001, dir. Feng Xiaogang) Crazy Alien (2019, Ning Hao). These are two well-received post-socialist dark comedy films depicting encounters between people Westerners contemporary China. Approaching racial identity as a form social positioning, I analyze various meanings ascribed films, these articulate Chineseness nationalist sentiments. show that is simultaneously reinforced contested films. While doing so, will also highlight theories’ lack analytical power explaining discourse transforms across different geographical locations.