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A multimodal analysis of Chinese-American female characters in two children's picturebooks
Author
Hu, Lizao
Supervisor
Netto-Shek, Jo-Ann
Abstract
Against the current multicultural context where multimodal texts are prevalent, this study investigated the representations of Chinese-American female characters in children’s picturebooks. Two culturally conscious picturebooks about Chinese girls in America— Watercress and Eyes that Kiss in the Corners — were selected according to six criteria. By applying the developing methodology of the qualitative multimodal content analysis (MMCA) that combined the goals of qualitative content analysis with the social semiotic view of multimodality (Serafini & Reid, 2019), this study aimed to uncover the semiotic choices used by the authors and illustrators to portray Chinese-American female characters and depict their cultural identity.
To research the goals, the selected picturebooks were analysed respectively from two dimensions. The first analysis involved an in-depth analysis of the semiotic features in each page spread. With reference to the concepts of visual grammar and multimodality (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006; Painter et al., 2013) and Halliday’s (1978) metafunctions, this dimension of analysis set three initial analytical categories: verbal elements, visual elements, and verbal-visual elements. Building on the first analysis that offered semiotic evidence in a bottom-up manner, the second analysis extended across the narrative pages and across the individual picturebook and interpret the ways of the characters’ representations and identity construction through a top-down strategy. Six central themes were derived with regard to verbal, visual, and visual-visual meaning-making about the characters’ representations and identity construction.
In terms of the depiction of Chinese-American female characters, the analytical results showed that various semiotic resources were employed to construct the characters’ physical attributes, emotional world, and family relationships. To be specific, they were used to i) ascribe feminine features and Chinse-culture attributes to characters’ physical representations, ii) represent varying degrees of emotional variation of the Chinese-American girls, and iii) highlight the inseparable family bonds across generations. The analysis also revealed the protagnists’ formative experiences of identity construction, which were about the cultural negotiations of their heritage culture — Chinese culture —in multicultural contexts. During this process, two strategies were unpacked in the selected picturebooks: the depiction of oppression in Watercress, and the celebration of difference in Eyes that Kiss in the Corners.
This research not only contributed to the understanding of the nature of the meanings that can be conveyed by verbal and visual choices in relation to gender and cultural representations, but also provided a glimpse into Chinese-American girls’ complex process of identity construction in multicultural contexts. It is hoped that the study's findings could address the importance of multicultural education and promote the use of culturally interrogating books as “mirrors, windows, and doors” (Sims Bishop, 1990) to deal with social and cultural images during the process of acculturation.
To research the goals, the selected picturebooks were analysed respectively from two dimensions. The first analysis involved an in-depth analysis of the semiotic features in each page spread. With reference to the concepts of visual grammar and multimodality (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006; Painter et al., 2013) and Halliday’s (1978) metafunctions, this dimension of analysis set three initial analytical categories: verbal elements, visual elements, and verbal-visual elements. Building on the first analysis that offered semiotic evidence in a bottom-up manner, the second analysis extended across the narrative pages and across the individual picturebook and interpret the ways of the characters’ representations and identity construction through a top-down strategy. Six central themes were derived with regard to verbal, visual, and visual-visual meaning-making about the characters’ representations and identity construction.
In terms of the depiction of Chinese-American female characters, the analytical results showed that various semiotic resources were employed to construct the characters’ physical attributes, emotional world, and family relationships. To be specific, they were used to i) ascribe feminine features and Chinse-culture attributes to characters’ physical representations, ii) represent varying degrees of emotional variation of the Chinese-American girls, and iii) highlight the inseparable family bonds across generations. The analysis also revealed the protagnists’ formative experiences of identity construction, which were about the cultural negotiations of their heritage culture — Chinese culture —in multicultural contexts. During this process, two strategies were unpacked in the selected picturebooks: the depiction of oppression in Watercress, and the celebration of difference in Eyes that Kiss in the Corners.
This research not only contributed to the understanding of the nature of the meanings that can be conveyed by verbal and visual choices in relation to gender and cultural representations, but also provided a glimpse into Chinese-American girls’ complex process of identity construction in multicultural contexts. It is hoped that the study's findings could address the importance of multicultural education and promote the use of culturally interrogating books as “mirrors, windows, and doors” (Sims Bishop, 1990) to deal with social and cultural images during the process of acculturation.
Date Issued
2023
Call Number
P299.M6 Hu
Date Submitted
2023