The problem of aesthetic misalignment can be discussed by the audience and the creator, but it is not necessary to put the hat of "insulting China" on people at every turn.
| Author: Liu Xiao Cui Cui Ah Ye
| Editor: Ah Ye
| Editor: Su Su
On the last weekend of 2021, three squirrels were suddenly pushed to the forefront.
The reason is that an advertisement two years ago was turned over by netizens and criticized: the female model in the promotional picture was "too small in eyes" and "suspected of insulting China"!
Three squirrels propaganda map caused controversy.
The topic landed on the hot search, and public opinion quickly fermented. Netizens are so angry, I am afraid that it is also related to the "squinting eyes" incident that broke out one after another this year - before There was a publicity photo of Chen Man shooting the "Hades" painting style for Dior, and then there was a "Lion Boy" anime image that was questioned as "small eyes and wide eye distance".
But it is worth noting that unlike Chen Man, who was "one-sided" and criticized, in the "Lion Boy" and the three squirrel storms, there was a dispute of views in the field of public opinion.
Three squirrel models were scolded on the hot search
On December 26, after the topic of "three squirrel models" rushed to the hot search, the comment area of the relevant Weibo was quickly occupied by annoyed netizens
In the condemnation, a large number of netizens poured into the Taobao live broadcast room of three squirrels to verbally attack the anchor, and the anchor was forced to go down half an hour later.
What's more, they even began to "human flesh" the models in the propaganda picture and sent personal attacks to them
The model concerned posted the bad comments she received from netizens.
In the face of sudden criticism and even insults, the three squirrels quickly apologized and declared: "The model is a Chinese, and its makeup is based on its personal characteristics, without deliberate ugliness." ”
The model in question sent out a soul question on Weibo: "My eyes are like this, even smaller than this in life... Shouldn't small eyes be Chinese? ”
The model concerned sent a long text in response to the controversy.
Since then, netizens with their own opinions have fallen into a "big scuffle". Some people say that the model herself is not wrong, attacking the model herself is not necessary, the fault is in the brand side, calling on everyone to boycott the brand; some people say that although the model in the propaganda map does not meet the "public aesthetics", it is not "ugly", people should respect the diversity of aesthetics, and do not do anything on the line.
There are also some netizens with single eyelids and small eyes who feel that they are "offended": "I have been 'squinting' for 28 years, and now I know that I am 'insulting in appearance'." ”
The "squinting" incident triggered a surge of emotions
Why are Chinese netizens so sensitive to "squinting"?
This can be traced back to the character created by the British writer Sachs Romer, Fu Manchu. He first appeared in 1913 in the book "The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu": thin and bald, thin eyebrows, long eyes, and sinister face, completely embodied the Western world's fear of the mysterious East at that time.
Cover of Fu Manchu's novel series.
Since then, the "Chinese" created according to Western aesthetics have mostly been images of high cheekbones, long mouths, and "squinting eyes", which is obviously not the "beauty" in the eyes of Chinese, and it is naturally difficult to obtain recognition and acceptance. However, the West turned a deaf ear to the voices of opposition, but more deliberately rendered the image of "squinting eyes", full of the arrogance and prejudice of "Orientalism".
Over time, "squinting" became synonymous with discrimination against Asians, and "pulling the corner of the eye" was also regarded as a discriminatory action full of ridicule in Westerners.
In recent years, Chinese netizens have paid more and more attention to the phenomenon of "squinting".
In 2018, in a video released by Dolce & Gabbana (D&G), the Asian female model was collapsing her nose, "squinting", and eating pizza with chopsticks, and her makeup and expressions were very uncomfortable. In the face of doubts, D&G's designers openly insulted China, which triggered protests and resistance from Chinese netizens.
· Screenshot of the D&G controversy video.
After that, the Marvel movie "Shangqi" and the Disney movie "Mulan" were also questioned because of the actor's appearance or makeup.
Netizens make long pictures to compare Asian girls before and after being put on makeup by Westerners.
In June this year, at the graduation design exhibition of the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University, the model's "squinting" style was scolded on the hot search; in November, Chen Man's photographic works were considered by netizens to be suspected of insulting China because of the "squinting" model's "hades style", causing an uproar.
Chen Man's photographic works have caused great controversy.
At this point, the views on the field of public opinion are still very unified: these "squinting" images look full of malice, the batch!
Until this three-squirrel model incident.
In response to the controversy over the incident, Peking University professor Zhang Yiwu posted: "The Chinese public's current international experience has been quite rich, and with more understanding of these ways of expression from the West, questioning or discussion has become inevitable, which requires Chinese image expression to be more diverse." When this discussion spreads online, it inevitably provokes relatively intense or not necessarily appropriate expressions. ”
Chinese efforts to break the "aesthetic prejudice" of the West against the East and hope to regain the right to speak aesthetically, which is beyond reproach. But the question now is, are people overly sensitive?
Take the "Lion Boy" involved in the storm, this animated film shows the oriental elements such as the Lingnan Lion Dance, telling the story of the protagonist as a left-behind teenager, who has experienced many hardships to learn the lion dance and finally grown into a "male lion".
The values that the film wants to convey are courage, struggle and hope. However, because the creator designed a pair of unpleasant "small eyes" for the protagonist, some netizens believe that this is "ugly the image of the Chinese people" and clamor to "boycott" the film.
The anime characters in "Lion Boy" have been questioned for their "small eyes and wide eye distance".
Can "squinting eyes" be directly equated with "insulting China"?
Behind the surging emotions, it is also necessary to think and clarify what everyone wants to oppose and resist – it should be the long-standing prejudices, discrimination and stereotypes of the West, not just a certain appearance.
We must treat it rationally and be vigilant against opposites and divisions
Westerners use "squinting eyes" to rigidize the image of Asians, but if they deny or even attack "small eyes" in order to resist their aesthetic bullying, is it not instead standing with them? If in the future, film and television dramas and promotional photos only use the character image of "Kazilan's big eyes", will this become another kind of aesthetic bullying?
Attacking the "squinting" appearance in a purely angry manner is obviously extreme and overheated. This kind of "judging people by their appearance" is tantamount to using Western prejudices as a dagger and inserting them into their own compatriots.
Small eyes certainly have a unique beauty.
The depiction of the eyes in traditional Chinese art works is very rich - apricot eyes, hanging eyes, willow leaf eyes, fox eyes, peach blossom eyes... In Chinese opera performances, actors will also deliberately "bite their eyes" when making up makeup, pull their hair up and tie them up, pick up the corners of their eyes, and slender eyes, so that DanJiao's eyebrows can be put into the sideburns and phoenix eyes are affectionate.
The figures in ancient Chinese paintings are also small eyes.
In artistic creation, we must take a clear-cut stand against the West's deliberate use of "squinting eyes" to express its anti-China evil intentions, but this does not mean that we must go to the other extreme, as long as we see "squinting eyes" and "small eyes", we will be identified as "insulting China".
We need to have a more inclusive, open, and confident aesthetic perspective and mindset.
So, how should we tell whether "squinting" is an artistic creation or an insulting act?
Zhihu netizen "Fat Fat" gave an example: "If I say that Cantonese people generally have large brains, obvious cheekbones, and thick lips in appearance, this is not discrimination, because the object of my discussion is a group that is closer to the tropics." But if I learn cantonese cantonese and roll up my lips with my hands, this is discrimination and insult. Its root lies in the need for objectivity and the subjective malice of partial generalization. ”
The problem of aesthetic misalignment can be discussed by the audience and the creator, but it is not necessary to put the hat of "insulting China" on people at every turn. Otherwise, as long as one person holds the "gun" of "insulting China", which is about the bottom line of Chinese, he can snipe at anyone. Once the network public opinion environment becomes very popular, it will have negative interference with literary and artistic creation, enterprise development, or social atmosphere.
Over the past year, netizens have been arguing fiercely about this issue on social media. Although everyone has different views, the ultimate demand of most people may be the same, that is, they hope that Chinese culture, Chinese can be truly respected. Zhang Yiwu believes that the emergence of related controversies is valuable for changing stereotypes and establishing an aesthetic that is more in line with Chinese self-perception.
However, as the People's Daily commented: "squinting" has become a special topic setting, and we should be vigilant against the problem of insulting China, and we should also be vigilant against using the "squinting" issue to confuse domestic public opinion, and even force the side to take sides to create divisions. There is no one who is perfect in his heart. For the topic of "squinting", respect for aesthetic pluralism is the first layer, vigilance against opposition and division is the second layer, and call for rational treatment is the highest level.