New masculinities in Chinese and Japanese combat films

Through an analysis of popular combat films and television shows, this article argues that there has been a transformation in the representation of the hero-soldier in both China and Japan. Using theories of masculinity and nationalism, it suggests that recent Chinese films reveal a turn towards hybrid heroism-victimhood, increased focus on the emasculation of Japanese soldiers, and tensions between the market and the state. Meanwhile, Japanese films illustrate continued differences between the ambiguous mainstream and the straightforward nationalism of the right, albeit with an overall trend towards the rehabilitation of the problematic image of the soldier. Such shifts in the imagining of the soldier-hero demonstrate the ways in which Chinese and Japanese discourses on national identity have changed over time.