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The Creation and Operation Strategy of Disney’s Mulan: Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Discount

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  • Rui Chen

    (Department of Cultural Industry Management, School of Literature, Journalism and Communication, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Zhiyi Chen

    (Department of Cultural Industry Management, School of Literature, Journalism and Communication, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China)

  • Yongzhong Yang

    (School of Business, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore Disney Mulan’s cultural appropriation strategy and the cultural discount phenomenon formed in the Chinese market from the perspective of users and discuss the creation and operation strategy of the film. In 2020, Disney released a new film that originated in China, Mulan, but received negative reviews from the Chinese consumer market. Taking this as an example, this paper uses NVivo and ROSTCM to conduct content-coding and text analysis on creators’ interview records and consumer comments and seeks for the differences in understanding between Chinese audiences and creative teams. The results show that cultural appropriation is an effective strategy for film creation, but cultural appropriation based on misinterpretation will lead to cultural discounts in the operation of films. Therefore, corresponding strategies during film creation and operation should be adopted to better realize the sustainable development of culture.

Suggested Citation

  • Rui Chen & Zhiyi Chen & Yongzhong Yang, 2021. "The Creation and Operation Strategy of Disney’s Mulan: Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Discount," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:5:p:2751-:d:509969
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    References listed on IDEAS

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