I'm from the future: you should go to China": Looper and the rise of China in American science-fiction cinema "

Date of Award

2014

Degree Name

M.A. in Communication

Department

Department of Communication

Advisor/Chair

Advisor: Joseph M. Valenzano III

Abstract

The past decade has seen a large number of film co-productions between Hollywood studios and Chinese production companies. These co-productions reflect the continued rise of the Chinese box office, and a desire by Hollywood to cash in on the emerging market. Among these co-productions is Looper, a cinematic collaboration between Tri-Star Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Along with its co-production status, Looper is significant in its unique portrayal of a future featuring a dystopic United States and a prosperous China. Viewing the film as a representative anecdote," this thesis argues that Looper represents United States cultural apprehensions towards China. By the circumstances of the film's production and its on-screen portrayal of the future, the film reflects the distinct American fear in which China is the dominant world economic power. The film accomplishes this through its appropriation of science-fiction cinematic conventions, particularly regarding utopia, dystopia, and "alienation of the familiar.""

Keywords

Looper (Motion picture) Criticism and interpretation, Xenophobia in motion pictures History and criticism, Science fiction films History and criticism, United States Relations China, China In motion pictures, Communication, Rhetoric, Film Studies, Looper, China, American cultural apprehensions, representative anecdote, science fiction, genre studies, co-productions, American science-fiction

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2014, author

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