Don’t think, feel: Mediatization of Chinese masculinities through martial arts films

Abstract

This article demonstrates representations of racialized speech styles of Chinese masculinities in popular wushu ‘martial arts films’. For the detailed analysis, I concentrate on four blockbuster films that represent general depictions of wushu heroes and their expected Chinese masculinities. By focusing on discursive practices employed in the films, such as the heroes’ reticence and use of formulaic or philosophical speech styles, in combination with visual arts, I discussed how these mediatizations index masculinity in ways that mesh with the audiences’ expectations for Chinese martial arts figures, as such figures have developed through mediatization.