The selfie of the other: The Chinese dream in films and tourism

Abstract

Lost in Thailand (Xu, 2012) and Finding Mr. Right (Xue, 2013) are two recent box office hits in China. Set in locales outside China, the films are designed to ride the wave of the country's booming outbound tourism. The narrative of travel connects profoundly with the discourse of the Chinese Dream in that it reproduces the allure of economic prosperity and materialistic bliss. On the other hand, the films also bring into play the introspection that questions the very meaning of this dream, the cost of monetary excess and moral degradation in particular. In various intercultural encounters of the characters, the Chinese self is tested and constructed in familiar but reconstituted spectacles and symbols of global dimensions.