Abstract
Up till the present, most researches on Ang Lee’s films focused on cultural difference and cultural clash in the area of cultural studies. The identity problems facing by the Asian diasporas are neglected by past researchers. Based on the exploration of cultural identity from the perspective of diaspora in cross-cultural world, this paper picks up the Chinese English film The Wedding Banquet as an exemplification to interpret cultural identity politics of the immigrants in America. In the film The Wedding Banquet, the protagonists' identities are fragmented as the coming of the joyous parents comes from Taiwan for the wedding. This exploration of identity can help us to understand the exilic essence of the immigrants’ identity. For the immigrants, identity is always floating and travelling, without a final destination, except some temporary location. The happy ending of the film could be viewed as the “hybridization” of cultural recognition and as the ultimate solution to the identity problem and the Chinese-American cultural confrontation.
Highlights
1.1 Situating Ang Lee’s Film the Wedding BanquetAng Lee was born in Taiwan while educated in America.On the one hand, being influenced by his family, he was rooted with the traditional Chinese culture like Taoism and Confucianism
It could be understandable that Chinese immigrants often find themselves in an identity dilemma when they are in America, especially where are different kinds of racism, which encourage the breakdown of their traditional Chinese values, and they have to struggle with a new culture. They are often confronted with such questions as: What is their place in America? What are their responsibilities? What should they teach their children? How many of the Chinese ways are to be trained? In what ways are they to keep their ethnic identity but still become Americans? So, how to define oneself and how to locate oneself becomes a common puzzle for the immigrants
Given the racialized and politicized themes in the film The Wedding Banquet as well as the director’s personal ethnic background as an Asian director, great attention have been paid on the film The Wedding Banquet
Summary
Ang Lee was born in Taiwan while educated in America.On the one hand, being influenced by his family, he was rooted with the traditional Chinese culture like Taoism and Confucianism. The prizes won include the nomination for the best foreign film at the 1994 Academy Awards, the Golden Space Needle of the Seattle International Film Festival and the Golden Bear by the Berlin International Film Festival. It tells a story about a young Chinese Immigrant-Wei-Tung’s life in America. After several chaotic scenes of generational and cultural conflicts in the Gao’s family, the film ends with a reconciliation: Wei-wei agrees to give birth to Wei-Tung’s baby while Mr and Mrs Gao return to Taiwan with an acceptance of the gay couple’s partnership
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