Abstract:Movie industry is an important part of public entertainment, while it also helps to educate viewers in a subtle way. As we all know, there is never lack of Chinese elements in American movies. However, not all of them are fair, authentic and objective. Some of them are even misunderstandings and trespasses against China. In this essay, I would make an analysis on Chinese elements in American movies on their backgrounds, origins, features as well as their evolution and their influences on American viewers which are main points of this essay. According to their different categories, I would first make an introduction of representative movies with Chinese elements. In the introduction part, backgrounds, origins and features of these Chinese elements will also be discussed and summarized. In a chronological order from the 1930s to the present, I would then emphasize on analyzing the evolution and influences of these Chinese elements. In this part, I will focus on illustrating how they evolved as two countries had more and more communications and interactions. After that, I will analyze their influences on American viewers in three aspects. In the conclusion part, experts’ and critics’ views on this topic will be summarized. After that, I will illustrate my own points of view.

Key words: American movies; Chinese elements; evolution; influence