"Consuming" China: Images of China in German and American television advertisements of the twenty-first century

Abstract

Examining the representation of China and the Chinese people in German and American television advertisements aired between 2008 and 2012, this essay provides a critical analysis to illustrate how these images and their function in commercials reflect popular views of China in German and American society. I argue that the place that China holds in the German imagination is drastically different from that in the American view. Specifically, the German perception of China is evidently influenced by remnants of older European orientalist, or even colonialist worldviews, while the American view of China reflects various responses to the notion of globalization.