Document details

Problematic Encounters with Wolf Warrior II: Antithetic Reception of “China in Africa” Amongst Chinese and African Audiences

"China in Africa’ has become an irresistible topic in any discussion of China, with the former’s growing engagement with the latter. The unprecedented popularity of Wolf Warrior II in China, which is set in Africa, is a testament to how official propaganda of national selfconfidence can be affirmed by the public in the form of pop culture. The film’s controversial and stereotypical portrayal of Africa and its deliberate imitation of the Hollywood genre are the reasons for its attention among different groups. To date, however, feedback from international audiences, both in terms of common feelings and conflicting opinions, has remained under-researched. In order to provide an exploratory study on how Wolf Warrior II is interpreted by Chinese and African audiences in different cultural and social contexts, a comparative analysis of the film’s reception among Chinese and African post-secondary students in different countries was conducted. Ten focus groups were organised, five in mainland China and five in Canada, with a total of thirty-one college students from China and Africa participating. The results showed that Chinese and African audiences have vastly different or even opposing understandings of the ‘China in Africa’ discourse presented in the film. This seems to reflect a problematic but under-addressed aspect of the China-Africa relationship." (Abstract)