Disjunctures in Global Contra Flow: A Case Study of Dalian Wanda Group Open Access

Abstract

On January 12, 2016, Dalian Wanda Group, a Chinese conglomerate led by CEO Wang Jianlin, announced its acquisition of Legendary Entertainment for up to $3.5 billion, which is known for producing blockbuster films like Jurassic World and Inception. As China's largest cross-border cultural acquisition, it not only amplified Wanda's influence in the global film market but also highlighted the emergence of the global contra flow—a phenomenon characterized by the multi-directional movement of media in a polycentric system, where capital, talent, and cultural products flow from peripheral countries to Western markets. Hollywood has dominated the global media landscape for decades, but this shift challenges the dominance and reconfigures the distribution of cultural power. In this context, the thesis takes Dalian Wanda Group as a case study to explore how Wanda, as a non-Western company, attempted to reshape global media flows and the challenges it encountered during its overseas expansion journey. By analyzing Wanda's high-profile acquisitions, Sino-U.S. co-productions, and local theme park development, the thesis argues that disjunctures across financial, operational, and cultural domains significantly impeded Wanda's efforts to establish a strong global presence. These disjunctures ultimately disrupted and diminished the impact of global contra flow.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................1

Chapter 2. “Titles like Tsinghua or Peking Universities don’t beat having guts”: Dalian

Wanda Group’s aggressive acquisition trajectory from 2012 to 2018 ....................................14

Chapter 3. Matt Damon climbs the not-so-great “Wall” .........................................................25

Chapter 4. “Chinese Disney” ...................................................................................................37

Chapter 5. Conclusion..............................................................................................................50

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................54

About this Honors Thesis

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Emory College
Department	Film and Media Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Mass Communications Cinema
Keyword	Global Contra Flow Media industry studies Media Globalization Dalian Wanda Group Transnational Media Chinese Media Expansion
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Tanine Allison, Emory University Wang Jing, Emory University
Committee Members	Sandra Descourtis, Emory University

Last modified

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	Disjunctures in Global Contra Flow: A Case Study of Dalian Wanda Group ()	2025-04-09 11:50:43 -0400	Press to Select an action Download

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions