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Although the term “national cinema” is always used to illustrate movies mainly produced by one country， it is not appropriate to say this today because of the globalization.
In THE CONCEPT OF NATIONAL CINEMA， Andrew Higson provides four ways to define national cinema.They are economic-based approach， text-based approach， consumption-based approach and criticism-based approach. In economic-based approach， he thinks that there is a link between “national cinema” and “the domestic film industry”. In text-based approach， the key information is the content and style of a movie. As for consumption-based approach， the core is which kind of movies the audience likes. And criticism-based approach concerns what we think elites have deemed national treasures.
To some extent， this view is true. Nevertheless， with the development of globalization， Higson realized that national cinema had limit. The cross-border flows complicated this term. Actually， transnational cinema is more suitable to describe modern movies. In his later paper， THE LIMITING IMAGINATION OF NATIONAL CINEMA， he holds the view that nowadays most movies are transnational due to the cross-border flows of money， people， goods， and ideas connecting to all aspects of cinema.
Especially Hollywood is an example of this. Many people believe that Hollywood is American for some reasons. First and foremost， Hollywood is located in Los Angeles， so without any doubt， Hollywood is American. Besides， it is believed that Hollywood movies are totally financed by and made by American companies. More importantly， we view that Hollywood movies always tell us American stories. However， these opinions are wrong. Indeed， most companies have moved out of Hollywood and some even operate overseas， leaving only headquarters in America. In addition， taking the series of High School Musical as an example. They are considered to be totally American movies， but their contributors are not only Disney， but also other companies who come from other countries like Australia， Greece， England and so on. What’s more， one of the charms of Hollywood comes from the American picture. Benedict Anderson wrote in The Imagined Community that “nations are imagined as a community because although there may be universal inequality and exploitation within each nation， the nation is always conceived as a profound and equal comrade. In the end， it is this kind of fraternity that has driven millions of people in the past two centuries to be a nation—this limited imagination， to kill or die.”This vision of imagination makes people identify with each other and Hollywood movies show this imagination， turning Hamlet of a thousand people into a Hollywood Hamlet， and creating American myths one after another in images. However， nowadays Hollywood uses other nations’ cultures rather than its own to present American story. Actually， Hollywood is a group of financier-distributors-licensors， each of which is owned by a multinational corporation. These firms outsource production to independent companies worldwide， and they in true outsource parts of production to other firms. As a result， Hollywood is a brand for an international institution whose spiritual home is in America. Taking Columbia Pictures， a member of MPAA （Motion Picture Association of America） as an example. It is an American film， studio， and production company and film distributors. Meanwhile， it is also a member of the SONY Pictures Motion Picture Group. That is to say that all the movies produced by Columbia Pictures are in fact produced by SONY， a Japanese corporation. We can easily see the internationalism of this corporation. The movie Mulholland Drive is the best example to show the international flows. It tells a story that after a brutal car accident in Los Angeles， California， Rita is the sole survivor but suffers mass amnesia. Wandering into a stranger’s apartment in downtown area， her story strangely intertwines with Betty Elms， a perky young woman who wants to be famous in Hollywood. However， Betty is intrigued by Rita’s situation and is willing to put aside her dreams to pursue this mystery. The two women soon discover that nothing is as it seems in the city of dreams. It seems like a typical Hollywood movie. The story takes place in Hollywood， and the two heroines， Rita and Betty， want to be famous stars in Hollywood. Generally， in such a movie， we could only hear English， but Spanish could be heard sometimes in this movie. Spanish is the second largest language in the world only to Chinese. As far as I am concerned， this can express the internationalism of Hollywood， especially the second time we hear Spanish in this movie. Coco and Adam speak Spanish when they mention Sylvia North Story. At the same time， Camilla is a little bit embarrassed. That is because she cannot speak Spanish but the language of this movie is Spanish. We can know from this part that due to globalization， only English cannot meet audience’s requirement. Adding another language may make the movie more attractive. Speaking of one of the heroines， Betty， she comes from Ontario， Canada， and wants to be a well-known movie star in Hollywood. Actually， she is a reflection of many Hollywood stars that come from other countries and come to America solely to seek development and opportunities. Meanwhile， we can find that Hollywood is inclusive. It welcomes people all around the world and offers them equal chance to be celebrated. Because of this reason， today’s Hollywood is more international rather than national.
Besides， in reality， the two heroines， Laura Harring and Naomi Watts， both of them are not American. Laura Harring is a Mexican actress and Naomi Watts is an English actress. Like what is said in this movie， 25-year-old Naomi Watts came to Hollywood alone in 1993， but it was not until 2001 that David Lynch’s “Mulholland” made her popular. Why the director prefers the two actresses？ The answer is simple. Their acting skill must be very good， but more importantly， these two women who come from different countries can express Hollywood’s inclusiveness better.
Simultaneously， this movie has five production companies， and two of them are French. Referring to distributors， the main one is Universal Pictures， and other distributors come from all over the world， such as Italy， Netherlands， Argentina and so on. It is very interesting when it comes to box office. Although it tells us little about a movie’s popularity for the reason that nowadays more and more people like watching TV at home rather than at cinema， box office is still very important. Such data gestures to the extent a film may have penetrated a national cultural sphere. We could find that the total box office of this movie Mulholland Drive is USD20， 117， 339， and America only covers USD7， 220， 243， which only accounts for 39.9%. The rest profit comes from other countries， like the United Kingdom， France and Spain. This phenomenon is related to audience’s view about Hollywood movies. To some extent， the so-called Hollywood movies are more popular in overseas market rather than domestic market. Like the Mulholland Drive， the rank of it is No.136 in 2001， while the number is much better in other European countries. In IT’S THE LANGUAGE OF FILM！ YOUNG FILM AUDIENCES ON HOLLYWOOD AND EUROPE， Philippe Meers concentrates on how young Flemish audiences perceived Hollywood and compares it with other European movies. His young interviewees were mainly drawn to the slickness， escapism， and plausible fantasies of Hollywood films， and to American-English as a language. However， they deemed local Flemish productions to be a combination of ignorance， indifference， dislike and even aversion， and French productions to be repellent due to their being screened at school. We can see clearly the cooperation between countries in money， people， and ideas from this movie as well. Although in WIKIPEDIA， the country of this movie is America， but I firmly believe it is not right. Its actors and actresses， capital， box office， and production companies are not only come from America but from other countries. These cross-border flows fully express its inner internationalism. That is why I firmly claim that Mulholland Drive is a typical example to express the feature of modern cinema.
Mulholland Drive seems like a typical American movie. It tells that two women chase their star dreams in Hollywood. The movie is full of American dream and American value， but if we consider it carefully， we would find some information hiding behind them， like the Spanish and the dream that can be explained by Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory. These do not belong to America， but these can generate consensus. That is why this is a great transnational movie.
Consequently， we can get a conclusion that in modern society， if a movie want to be successful， it is not enough containing only single element， it must cooperate with other countries in actors and actresses， capital and even ideas. And after the movie is finished， it is supposed to be spread to every corner of the world.
Meanwhile， under the background of globalization， cross-border movements are necessary and easier to achieve. If a movie is limited to national cinema， it may lose most audience after release， and thus causes loss.
Therefore， nowadays， for most people， Hollywood belongs to the globe rather than America because the cross-border movements can be seen in all aspects of Hollywood movies.
References：
[1]Andrew Higson（1989），THE CONCEPT OF NATIONAL CINEMA.
[2]Andrew Higson（2000），THE LIMITING IMAGINATION OF NATIONAL CINEMA，CINEMA
In THE CONCEPT OF NATIONAL CINEMA， Andrew Higson provides four ways to define national cinema.They are economic-based approach， text-based approach， consumption-based approach and criticism-based approach. In economic-based approach， he thinks that there is a link between “national cinema” and “the domestic film industry”. In text-based approach， the key information is the content and style of a movie. As for consumption-based approach， the core is which kind of movies the audience likes. And criticism-based approach concerns what we think elites have deemed national treasures.
To some extent， this view is true. Nevertheless， with the development of globalization， Higson realized that national cinema had limit. The cross-border flows complicated this term. Actually， transnational cinema is more suitable to describe modern movies. In his later paper， THE LIMITING IMAGINATION OF NATIONAL CINEMA， he holds the view that nowadays most movies are transnational due to the cross-border flows of money， people， goods， and ideas connecting to all aspects of cinema.
Especially Hollywood is an example of this. Many people believe that Hollywood is American for some reasons. First and foremost， Hollywood is located in Los Angeles， so without any doubt， Hollywood is American. Besides， it is believed that Hollywood movies are totally financed by and made by American companies. More importantly， we view that Hollywood movies always tell us American stories. However， these opinions are wrong. Indeed， most companies have moved out of Hollywood and some even operate overseas， leaving only headquarters in America. In addition， taking the series of High School Musical as an example. They are considered to be totally American movies， but their contributors are not only Disney， but also other companies who come from other countries like Australia， Greece， England and so on. What’s more， one of the charms of Hollywood comes from the American picture. Benedict Anderson wrote in The Imagined Community that “nations are imagined as a community because although there may be universal inequality and exploitation within each nation， the nation is always conceived as a profound and equal comrade. In the end， it is this kind of fraternity that has driven millions of people in the past two centuries to be a nation—this limited imagination， to kill or die.”This vision of imagination makes people identify with each other and Hollywood movies show this imagination， turning Hamlet of a thousand people into a Hollywood Hamlet， and creating American myths one after another in images. However， nowadays Hollywood uses other nations’ cultures rather than its own to present American story. Actually， Hollywood is a group of financier-distributors-licensors， each of which is owned by a multinational corporation. These firms outsource production to independent companies worldwide， and they in true outsource parts of production to other firms. As a result， Hollywood is a brand for an international institution whose spiritual home is in America. Taking Columbia Pictures， a member of MPAA （Motion Picture Association of America） as an example. It is an American film， studio， and production company and film distributors. Meanwhile， it is also a member of the SONY Pictures Motion Picture Group. That is to say that all the movies produced by Columbia Pictures are in fact produced by SONY， a Japanese corporation. We can easily see the internationalism of this corporation. The movie Mulholland Drive is the best example to show the international flows. It tells a story that after a brutal car accident in Los Angeles， California， Rita is the sole survivor but suffers mass amnesia. Wandering into a stranger’s apartment in downtown area， her story strangely intertwines with Betty Elms， a perky young woman who wants to be famous in Hollywood. However， Betty is intrigued by Rita’s situation and is willing to put aside her dreams to pursue this mystery. The two women soon discover that nothing is as it seems in the city of dreams. It seems like a typical Hollywood movie. The story takes place in Hollywood， and the two heroines， Rita and Betty， want to be famous stars in Hollywood. Generally， in such a movie， we could only hear English， but Spanish could be heard sometimes in this movie. Spanish is the second largest language in the world only to Chinese. As far as I am concerned， this can express the internationalism of Hollywood， especially the second time we hear Spanish in this movie. Coco and Adam speak Spanish when they mention Sylvia North Story. At the same time， Camilla is a little bit embarrassed. That is because she cannot speak Spanish but the language of this movie is Spanish. We can know from this part that due to globalization， only English cannot meet audience’s requirement. Adding another language may make the movie more attractive. Speaking of one of the heroines， Betty， she comes from Ontario， Canada， and wants to be a well-known movie star in Hollywood. Actually， she is a reflection of many Hollywood stars that come from other countries and come to America solely to seek development and opportunities. Meanwhile， we can find that Hollywood is inclusive. It welcomes people all around the world and offers them equal chance to be celebrated. Because of this reason， today’s Hollywood is more international rather than national.
Besides， in reality， the two heroines， Laura Harring and Naomi Watts， both of them are not American. Laura Harring is a Mexican actress and Naomi Watts is an English actress. Like what is said in this movie， 25-year-old Naomi Watts came to Hollywood alone in 1993， but it was not until 2001 that David Lynch’s “Mulholland” made her popular. Why the director prefers the two actresses？ The answer is simple. Their acting skill must be very good， but more importantly， these two women who come from different countries can express Hollywood’s inclusiveness better.
Simultaneously， this movie has five production companies， and two of them are French. Referring to distributors， the main one is Universal Pictures， and other distributors come from all over the world， such as Italy， Netherlands， Argentina and so on. It is very interesting when it comes to box office. Although it tells us little about a movie’s popularity for the reason that nowadays more and more people like watching TV at home rather than at cinema， box office is still very important. Such data gestures to the extent a film may have penetrated a national cultural sphere. We could find that the total box office of this movie Mulholland Drive is USD20， 117， 339， and America only covers USD7， 220， 243， which only accounts for 39.9%. The rest profit comes from other countries， like the United Kingdom， France and Spain. This phenomenon is related to audience’s view about Hollywood movies. To some extent， the so-called Hollywood movies are more popular in overseas market rather than domestic market. Like the Mulholland Drive， the rank of it is No.136 in 2001， while the number is much better in other European countries. In IT’S THE LANGUAGE OF FILM！ YOUNG FILM AUDIENCES ON HOLLYWOOD AND EUROPE， Philippe Meers concentrates on how young Flemish audiences perceived Hollywood and compares it with other European movies. His young interviewees were mainly drawn to the slickness， escapism， and plausible fantasies of Hollywood films， and to American-English as a language. However， they deemed local Flemish productions to be a combination of ignorance， indifference， dislike and even aversion， and French productions to be repellent due to their being screened at school. We can see clearly the cooperation between countries in money， people， and ideas from this movie as well. Although in WIKIPEDIA， the country of this movie is America， but I firmly believe it is not right. Its actors and actresses， capital， box office， and production companies are not only come from America but from other countries. These cross-border flows fully express its inner internationalism. That is why I firmly claim that Mulholland Drive is a typical example to express the feature of modern cinema.
Mulholland Drive seems like a typical American movie. It tells that two women chase their star dreams in Hollywood. The movie is full of American dream and American value， but if we consider it carefully， we would find some information hiding behind them， like the Spanish and the dream that can be explained by Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory. These do not belong to America， but these can generate consensus. That is why this is a great transnational movie.
Consequently， we can get a conclusion that in modern society， if a movie want to be successful， it is not enough containing only single element， it must cooperate with other countries in actors and actresses， capital and even ideas. And after the movie is finished， it is supposed to be spread to every corner of the world.
Meanwhile， under the background of globalization， cross-border movements are necessary and easier to achieve. If a movie is limited to national cinema， it may lose most audience after release， and thus causes loss.
Therefore， nowadays， for most people， Hollywood belongs to the globe rather than America because the cross-border movements can be seen in all aspects of Hollywood movies.
References：
[1]Andrew Higson（1989），THE CONCEPT OF NATIONAL CINEMA.
[2]Andrew Higson（2000），THE LIMITING IMAGINATION OF NATIONAL CINEMA，CINEMA