From ‘parrot’ to ‘butterfly’: China's hybridization of Hollywood in distribution systems in the 1920s and 1930s

This article examines the relations between Hollywood and the Chinese film industry in the distribution system in the 1920s and 1930s. It shows that the distribution system of China naively mimicked Hollywood in the 1920s. After a decade, the distribution system grew into maturity, and its uniqueness emerged. I characterize hybridization as a way of explaining the process of China's response to Hollywood in the field of distribution. It suggests that the analysis of power relations is key to identifying different patterns, stages and types of mixing in the process of China's response to Hollywood.