Constructing an Alternative Science Fiction Cinema in China: A Case Study of Crazy Alien

ABSTRACT In the recent boom of Chinese science fiction cinema, Hao Ning's Crazy Alien provides a site to examine the formulation of a new vernacular. Loosely adapted from Cixin Liu's story, the comedy re‐orients Hollywood's template of an extraterrestrial encounter to feature ordinary Chinese caught between daily struggles and inter‐stellar conflicts. The convergence of genre convention, auteur imprint, and local tradition exemplifies its engagement with differing cultural practices. By setting the film against the development of Chinese sci‐fi cinema, this paper argues that Crazy Alien constructs an alternative narrative to expand the industrial, geographical, and cultural conceptualizations of sci‐fi cinema.