上海乃窮鄉僻壤？美劇對中國不乏歧視

The rise of China has prompted US film and TV series directors to include Chinese elements in their works. The way China is portrayed in American TV series - one of the most representative cultural products of American society, values and ideologies - largely reflects mainstream American views about China's political system, social issues, economic development model and its rising global status.

Chinese elements are evident in American movies and TV programs in three forms. First is the increasing presence of actors and actresses of Chinese origin in US films and TV series. Stereotypes of Chinese, like the murderous Dr Fu Manchu and the benevolent and heroic detective Charlie Chen, have been replaced by a new generation of Chinese-Americans, such as the characters played by Lucy Liu, making Chinese people more modern and diversified in their looks and values. Though largely confined to supporting roles, the Chinese characters have graduated from domestic servants, laundry workers and waiters to scientists in forensic laboratories and research institutions, government officials and highly skilled professionals.

Second is the rapid growth in the product placement by Chinese brands, which appear in popular shows like The Big Bang Theory and Homeland. This has happened because proactive Chinese enterprises are approaching American producers and screenwriters to get greater exposure for their brands.

And third is the blending of more China-related plots into US movies and TV programs. This blending, however, has revealed American mainstream prejudice against and misunderstanding of China and its culture.

"If sent back to China, she will work as a slave in Shanghai." This was what Gabrielle says in Season III of Desperate Housewives of her maid, an illegal immigrant. To even suggest that a person could be forced to work as a "slave" anywhere in today's China, let alone Shanghai which is one of its most dynamic and open cities, is ridiculous. Talking about Chinese society and politics, Gabrielle portrays Shanghai as a poor and remote place, laments the lack of freedom and democracy in China, and says that repatriation from the US to China would be like falling from paradise into hell. Does this mean many Americans still see China as an impoverished and secluded country without democracy and freedom?

In Season XII of South Park, Eric Cartmen, a plump boy, has a nightmare the night he watches the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics: he sees many Chinese beating drums at the same tempo as in the opening ceremony, their eyes blazing with something close to evil. A scared Eric cries out "the Chinese are gonna occupy the whole world ... America is gonna be defeated by them."

South Park uses a naive boy's character to portray Americans' most politically incorrect views and fears. The rise of China has fueled the "China threat" theory. Eric's nightmare reflects something in the American subconscious: what Americans fear most is not an economically strong China, but a highly uniform and collective China. This is because the development model and values underpinning the rapidly growing Chinese economy is in conflict with the American value system.

In 1979, the year Beijing and Washington established diplomatic relations, Deng Xiaoping wound up his visit to the US with a number of agreements on bilateral cultural exchange. The next year, China Central Television telecast The Man from Atlantis, the first ever American TV series shown in China. Three decades later, Chinese people no longer have to wait for CCTV to telecast an American program, because they can freely choose what and when to watch thanks to the Internet.

American TV shows are produced for the mainstream American audience, not for avid Chinese viewers closely following American shows. But because of the Internet, many of those shows have generated a large audience in China, mainly among university students and white-collar workers, who are usually well educated and have independent views.

Their understanding of American society and values comes largely from what they see in American TV shows and films. But since these viewers are sensitive, they can identify the clash between Eastern and Western cultures and are critical of the prejudice against Chinese people in American shows. Their criticisms are not blind patriotism or narrow nationalism, instead they are the result of the absurd feeling they have after watching Chinese culture being misinterpreted and distorted.

Fictional representation of China is one way of increasing understanding between the Chinese and American people. Yet we should not forget that a TV show is a form of performing arts that relies on fabrication and exaggeration, whereas exchanges, understanding, and trust between the two countries should be based on sincerity, goodwill and inclusiveness.隨着中國的崛起，美國的電影和電視劇導演越來越多地在自己的作品中加入中國元素。作爲美國社會、價值觀和意識形態最具代表性的文化載體之一，美國電視連續劇所刻畫的中國很大程度上反映了美國主流對於中國政治制度、社會問題、經濟發展模式和逐漸上升的國際地位的看法。

在美國影視作品中，有三種體現中國元素的形式是顯而易見的。一是影視作品中華裔演員的增加。曾經僵化刻板的中國人形象，如邪惡兇殘的傅滿楚博士（Fu Manchu）和熱心英勇陳查理偵探（Charlie Chan），已被新一代美籍華裔演員所取代，如劉玉玲（Lucy Liu），她飾演的角色讓中國人的形象在衣着打扮和價值觀上更現代化和多元化。儘管主要限於配角，但已經告別了此前美劇中法醫實驗室和科研機構的科學家、政府官員以及高科技人士的家庭傭人、洗熨工和服務員等華人角色。

二是美劇中中國品牌植入式廣告的迅猛增長。例如，在十分流行的電視劇《生活大爆炸》和《國土安全》中就頻繁出現中國品牌。這個現象緣於一些有前瞻性的中國企業家接觸美國製片人和編劇，尋求他們的品牌在影視作品中有更大的曝光度。

三是在美劇中融入更多與中國相關的情節。然而，這種“混合”屢屢體現出美國主流對於中國和中國文化的誤解和歧視。

“如果送回中國，她將成爲在上海的苦工。”這是《絕望的主婦》第三季中加布裏埃爾談及她的非法移民女傭時的臺詞。其實，哪怕說某個人在今天中國的任何地方都意味着強迫做“苦工”都已屬十分荒謬，何況上海是中國最活躍和最開放的城市。此外，在談及中國社會和政治時，加布裏埃爾將上海形容爲窮鄉僻壤。這是否意味着，在許多美國人眼中，中國依然是窮困潦倒和與世隔絕的國家？

在《南方公園》第十二季中，埃裏克•卡特曼，一個胖嘟嘟的男孩，在觀看2008年北京奧運會開幕式的當晚做了個噩夢，在夢中，他看見許多中國人以同樣的節奏敲鑼打鼓，就像在開幕式上所看到的那樣，他們的眼睛燃燒着着近乎邪惡的目光。極度害怕的埃裏克哭喊道“中國人將要佔領世界……美國要被他們打敗了。”

《南方公園》借用一個天真男孩的角色表達了美國人多數政治上不正確的觀點和恐懼。中國崛起催生了“中國威脅論”。埃裏克的夢魘反映了美國人潛意識裏的某些想法：美國人最恐懼的並不是經濟上強大的中國，而是高度統一和集體主義的中國。這是因爲，支撐中國經濟迅速增長的發展模式和價值觀與美國的價值系統相沖突。

1979年中美建交時，鄧小平訪問美國，簽署了一攬子雙邊文化交流的項目。次年，中國中央電視臺播出《大西洋底來的人》，這是有史以來中國上映的第一部美國連續劇。30年後，中國人再也無需等中央電視臺的美國節目，他們可以在互聯網上隨時選擇自己想看的美劇。

美國電視連續劇服務於主流美國觀衆的，而非狂熱追蹤美劇的中國觀衆。但在互聯網時代，大多數美劇也有數量衆多的中國粉絲，他們主要是那些受過良好教育、有獨立思想的大學生和白領階層。

這些人對美國社會和美國價值觀的瞭解很大程度上基於他們所看過的美國影視作品。但這些觀衆很敏感，能辨別其中中西文化的衝突，對美國影視作品中歧視中國人的現象持批評態度。他們的批評並非盲目的愛國主義和狹隘民族主義，相反，這些批評是因爲他們看到中國文化被誤解和扭曲後感到十分荒唐。

影視劇是種表演藝術。然而，我們也不應忘記，電視劇只是基於虛構和誇張的表演藝術形式。無論如何，兩國的交流、理解和信任必須建立在真實、友好和包容的基礎之上。