A Brief Analysis of American culture From Kung Fu Panda

【摘 要】《功夫熊貓》是美國夢工廠于2008年6月出品的一部動畫大片。在中國的暑期銀幕上更是大受歡迎。而透過這部帶有中國特色的美國動畫中，我們可以看到美國文化的許多核心價值觀，為我們更好的了解美國做了鋪墊，也便于我們研究中美文化的異同。

【關(guān)鍵詞】《功夫熊貓》；中國特色；美國文化；價值觀

Kung Fu Panda is an animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation in June 2008.It took five years to film the animation.It is more invincible in the screen of China’s summer and it has easily broken through the four hundred million mark. This movie tells us that： every difficulty can be overcome as long as you tried your utmost persistently.

The movie Kung Fu Panda looks like a kung-fu novel， in accordance with Chinese-style plot development. It is mainly about a fat panda's dream to become a master of kung fu， and a coincidental let that dream become a reality. Of course， Po （the panda） has gone through a series of twists and turns before reaching success.

First， the power-distance theory takes hold. Hosted classified the cultures of different countries from the point of view of power-distance from big to small. People in the high-power-distance countries believe power， and they think power is a fact in the real life. This culture conveys a concept that different persons are not equal in the world and everyone has his own position in the society. However， from where the people in the low-power-distance countries stand， everyone has chance to get power and the social estate system is not reasonable.

In Chinese traditional culture， the three cardinal guides and the five constant virtues as specified in the feudal ethical code reflect the strict class system fully. In ， Master's five apprentices always treat him cap in hand and never disobey his orders. They are for fear that they offend Master. However， Po doesn't have the concept of Chinese class system. He jokes with Master and sometimes questions Master's order. The contrast of Po and five apprentices is very striking and sharp.We can see from this that the American culture belong to the weaker power and influence， so Po just like a American teenager which is full of humor and dreams.

Next， people in different culture have a special tolerance which distinguishes from other culture and a solution to face with changes to the uncertain things. In the mind of the Chinese， pandas are national treasure which seems to be charmingly naive； they are always built to a figure of cute. Nobody will imagine it as an awkward， gluttonous guy with a wore under pant. But the American directors overturn the traditional figure of Chinese pandas and create a new figure which will make all of us feel astonished. Furthermore， the directors’ arrangements in the characters relationship beyond all expectations. As the thought habit in Chinese audiences， ’like father， like son’， but the panda Po’s father is deliberately a duck！ Maybe this is a hint which is hidden for the sequel， but this anti-novel imagination let the Chinese audiences feel a little uncomfortable.

Finally， we will talk about individualism and collectivism. Hosted noted that in the individual culture of the \"I\" is the first. Personal goals are better than collective goals. People didn’t attach to an organization emotionally. Everyone has to have his personal property， the rights of the thoughts and opinions. As opposed to collectivism， people in this culture always divided social groups into inside and outside the group. People depend on the care of the group of insiders， such as： relatives， clan， and organizations. And in this way， people should also be loyal to this group.

In the traditional concept of the Chinese people， people think that unity is strength， and people must get together to overcome the sufferings. The designs of the Chinese martial arts are united justice forces combat to defeat the forces of evil.Po passed through numerous and solved the snow leopard Taro single-handedly. Besides， he also saved， the folks at the Peace Valley. Just like Hollywood blockbusters， people who can save mankind and the planet in a hero， rather than a group. The video highlighted individual achievements. \"Kung Fu Panda\" come out Po's dream， which coincides with the beginning of the movie of Po.

As the represents of the Chinese and the Western cultures， Chinese-American cultural differences has not be neglected. Because each ethnic group has its own history， culture， values and moral standards， it is a certainty that Chinese culture is different from American culture in many respects. The characteristic of China： Such as kung-fu， the praiseworthy team spirit. The characteristic of America： Strong sense of self-worth， the courage and consciousness in danger. Every ethnic group has its own splendid national culture. Therefore， on the precondition of mutual understanding and mutual respect， the coexistence of Chinese-American culture is practicable. It is necessary to improve the quality of communication between the two different cultures， in order to achieve a better intercultural communication.