Title
Worldbuilding Across Cultures: A Comparative Study of Western and Eastern Fantasy in the Animation and Film Industry
1. Introduction
Fantasy is one of the most globally consumed genres in contemporary cinema and animation. However, fantasy is not culturally neutral. The way fictional worlds are constructed—mythology, social hierarchy, magic systems, visual design, morality, and narrative structure—often reflects the cultural frameworks from which they emerge.
This thesis proposes to examine how Western and Eastern cultural traditions influence fantasy worldbuilding in animated and cinematic works, and how these differences shape audience perception, identity, and global media exchange.
2. Research Problem
While fantasy is frequently treated as universal escapism, its worldbuilding strategies often encode cultural values. Western fantasy frequently draws from medieval European traditions, Christian cosmology, and individualistic hero narratives. In contrast, Eastern fantasy—particularly from East Asia—often incorporates Shinto, Buddhist, Taoist, or Confucian philosophies, collective identity, animism, and cyclical views of time.
Despite increasing globalization in the animation and film industries, there is limited comparative research analyzing:
- How cultural philosophy influences fantasy world construction
- How mythological systems shape narrative structures
- How globalization affects hybridization of fantasy aesthetics
This study aims to address that gap.
3. Research Questions
- How do Western and Eastern cultural traditions influence fantasy worldbuilding in animation and film?
- In what ways do narrative structures differ between Western and Eastern fantasy storytelling?
- How do mythological, religious, and philosophical systems shape representations of magic, nature, and heroism?
- How has globalization influenced cross-cultural fantasy production in contemporary animation?