Cultural Values of Chinese Americans Portrayed in the Film ‘The Farewell’ (2019)

This study investigates the portrayal of Chinese American and Mainland Chinese cultural values in the media, focusing on the movie 'The Farewell' (2019). Cultural stereotypes persist in today's society, shaping perceptions of different cultures. Despite their shared Chinese heritage, the film portrays the Chinese American and Mainland Chinese characters differently in terms of their values. The study adapts Hofstede's (2011) cultural dimension theory to analyse the data. Through a qualitative content analysis, the study intends to identify the cultural values of Chinese and American cultures. The purpose of this study is to identify and compare the differences in the cultural values held by Chinese American and Mainland Chinese characters in the film ‘The Farewell’. There is a significant difference in the power distance between Chinese Americans and Mainland Chinese, while the uncertainty avoidance index shows that both Chinese Americans and Mainland Chinese share similar low levels of uncertainty avoidance. The implications of the study extend to promoting cultural sensitivity, fostering intercultural dialogue, and influencing future research and media practices to create more inclusive and accurate portrayals of cultural values in cinematic narratives