THE CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION PATHWAYS AND STRATEGIES OF BLACK MYTH WUKONG FROM A HIGHLOW-CONTEXT CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
Volume 1, Issue 2, Pp 36-40, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/jtah3044
Author(s)
Wei Xia
Affiliation(s)
School of Applied Foreign Languages, Zhejiang Yuexiu University, Shaoxing 312000, Zhejiang, China.
Corresponding Author
Wei Xia
ABSTRACT
Against the backdrop of digital technologies driving the deepening globalization of culture, video games have emerged as a critical medium for the international dissemination of high-context cultures. This study employs Edward T. Hall’s high/low-context cultural theory to analyze the cross-cultural communication practices of Black Myth Wukong, a Chinese AAA action role-playing game based on the classic literary work Journey to the West. Through textual analysis and case studies, the research reveals that the game achieves adaptive transformation of the classic narrative from high-context culture to low-context markets via strategies such as "explicit metaphorization" and "semiotic translation." This provides a three-dimensional pathway—"technological empowerment, cultural translation, and audience empathy"—for the digital dissemination of Chinese culture. The study expands the explanatory boundaries of Hall’s theory in digital media contexts and offers theoretical insights for innovating China’s international cultural communication strategies.
KEYWORDS
High/low-context culture; Cross-cultural communication; Black Myth Wukong; Cultural translation
CITE THIS PAPER
Wei Xia. The cross-cultural communication pathways and strategies of black myth wukong from a highlow-context cultural perspective. Journal of Trends in Arts and Humanities. 2024, 1(2): 36-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/jtah3044.
REFERENCES
[1] Chen Y, Liu H. Cultural adaptation in global video games: A case study of Genshin Impact. Games and Culture, 2023, 18(2): 145–167.
[2] Consalvo M. Atari to Zelda: Japan’s videogames in global contexts. MIT Press, 2016.
[3] Dymek M, Szczepaniak J (Eds.). Global games: Production, circulation and policy in the networked era. Routledge, 2022.
[4] Eco U. A theory of semiotics. Indiana University Press, 1976.
[5] Hofstede G, Hofstede G J, Minkov M. Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill, 2010.
[6] Hoskins C, Mirus R. Reasons for the US dominance of the international trade in television programmes. Media, Culture & Society, 1988, 10(4): 499–515.
[7] Jenkins H. Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. NYU Press, 2006.
[8] Kraidy M M. Hybridity, or the cultural logic of globalization. Temple University Press, 2005.
[9] Li M. From "cultural discount" to "cultural premium": The transformation of international communication strategies for Chinese video games. Publishing Perspective, 2023, (8): 56–60.
[10] Nakamura Y. Transmedia storytelling and cultural hybridity: Black Myth: Wukong as a case of Sino-global convergence. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2023, 26(3): 331–348.
[11] Shi A B, Wang C. Theoretical innovation in cross-cultural communication in the digital media era. Journal of Journalism and Communication Research, 2021, 28(3): 5–21.
[12] Wu X, Zhou L. Translating Chinese cultural symbols in digital game narratives: A case study of Naraka: Bladepoint. Modern Communication, 2022, 44(12): 102–108.
[13] Zhang W, Li J. International communication paths of Chinese video games: A case study of Genshin Impact. International Journalism Review, 2022, 44(5): 89–105.