CASCultural and Arts Studies3083-39573083-3949Bio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty. Ltd.10.26689/CAS.v2i2.15402ArticleTranslators, Patrons, and Audiences: Three Modes of Performative Reading of the English Animated Film Mulanhttps://artdesignp.com/journal/CAS/2/2/10.26689/CAS.v2i2.15402ChaiShilun2026222026-04-30From the perspective of J. Miller’s theory of “performative reading,” the meaning of Disney’s animated film Mulan, an intersemiotic translation of the Northern Dynasties folk poem The Ballad of Mulan, does not end with the production of the film, but rather continues to generate through the constant performative reading of it. Translators carry out “framing performativity”, determining the film’s topic and meaning and “re-presenting” their translation process. The patron, the Walt Disney Company, enacts “instrumentalizing performativity.” Via the processes of symbolization and commercialization, it translates Mulan into a commodified node of its cultural economy. Audiences carry out “negotiating performativity.” Through the appreciation and critique, they continuously expand the meaning of the film, and distinct forms of cultural subjectivity are shown among Chinese and Western viewers. As these forms of reading both compensate for and generate cultural meanings, there still exists a potential capacity for an authentic cross-cultural dialogue. The interaction structure is mainly one-way, which calls for a more reciprocal mechanism of reading.Translators, Patrons, Audiences, Mulan, Performative reading

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