With the rise of China's hard and soft power.
The "export of culture" that was out of reach in the past few decades is now becoming readily available.
Southeast Asia is full of Chinese TV dramas.
Europeans can open their mouths to sing "A Cut of Plum".
There are even foreign male fans who personally create kitchen knives to give to Li Ziqi.
However, behind the scenery, there is still a problem that plagues many Singaporeans:
That is China's commercial blockbuster, why has it never been able to eat all globally like Hollywood?
At first, it turned out that it was because there was not enough money.
Commercial blockbusters rely on big scenes and special effects, so they need to be on a budget.
23 years ago, Shanghai Film Studio backed the newly established national digital special effects base and made the first CG special effects blockbuster "Emergency Landing" in New China.
The movie "Emergency Landing"
Although the pure computer drawing and the model special photography are eye-catching.
But compared to the American films of the same period, they still do not seem to be the product of an era.
For example, in the same year's "Perfect Storm" filmed in the United States, the digitally generated monstrous tsunami was a mountain that Chinese CG special effects could not surpass at that time.
"Perfect Storm" filmed in the United States in the same year
In the 90s, the investment of tens of millions of domestic films was considered a blockbuster.
It can be converted into US dollars, only a few million.
In 2002, Zhang Yimou's "Heroes" invested more than 200 million, and it was only a small and medium-cost production volume in Hollywood.
Capital used to be the biggest obstacle to China's commercial blockbuster going global.
Later, we had more money.
Wu Ershan's "Fengsheng" trilogy claims to have invested 3 billion yuan, and it is enough to shoot "The Lord of the Rings".
The production and publicity of "The Wandering Earth 2" also far exceeded 100 million US dollars.
"Feng Shen"
However, it is of little use.
At the end of 2022, the American film "Avatar 2" achieved a box office of 1.689 billion yuan in Chinese mainland.
A few months later, the same sci-fi blockbuster, China's "The Wandering Earth 2" only got 5 million US dollars at the box office in North America, less than 35 million yuan at the current exchange rate.
The gap between the two is like a chasm.
Not even as much as the $6.88 million box office of the Indian film "Pashtuns," which was released at the same time.
The box office ceiling of Chinese mainland commercial blockbusters in North America still belongs to the $53.71 million record of "Heroes" 21 years ago.
Why can't our commercial blockbusters conquer several mainstream film markets in the world, including Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea, in addition to our own country?
Since the invention of cinema, it has been roughly divided into two types:
One is called art film.
For example, Bella Tal's "Horse of Turin".
The content of the whole film is almost as: watch you set up a carriage, watch you drive a carriage, watch you unload a carriage, watch you blow in the wind, and the wind blows.
Repetitive and "boring", few people can watch it.
Another example is the classic sci-fi film "2001: A Space Odyssey".
Imaginative "stories", dull and awesome flying.
These films are designed to explore the art and technique of cinema.
Therefore, the vast majority of ordinary audiences do not understand it, and naturally they will not have much empathy for them.
"2001: A Space Odyssey"
The other kind of film is called a commercial genre.
I hope that the more people watch, the better.
For example, the first "Hollywood blockbuster" "Dead World" introduced by New China, and Schwarzenegger's "True Lies" in which he drove a fighter jet to bombard skyscrapers.
They usually employ simple and crude moves to attract the audience:
First, the big scenes are endless, and the special effects are full, which greatly satisfies the curiosity and excitement.
The movie "True Lies"
The second is to promote their mainstream values, earn the greatest empathy, and influence more people to enter the theater.
In the movie "Independence Day", the President of the United States calls for the fight against aliens
Simply put, commercial blockbusters belong to a mass cultural product.
It has the effect of subtly influencing the public's thinking and even lifestyle.
A famous case, John Hinckley, the murderer of US President Reagan, made this "bold move" by imitating the assassination of the male protagonist of the movie "Taxi Driver".
This is also an important reason why the mainland will adopt an "approval system" instead of a "registration system" for theatrical films.
Because the potential influence of the film is actually greater than we think, it is easy to see the problem without "filtering".
Because the core role of commercial genre films is to spread values and influence the moviegoers.
Therefore, if you want to spread values efficiently, you must try to establish empathy with the largest number of audiences.
It just so happens that Hollywood movies know this.
They usually wrap their value system in a shell that is most universally human and throw it around the world.
And throw one accurately.
Movie "Braveheart"
Like how different is "The Wandering Earth 2" and "Avatar 2"?
Compared with similar Hollywood movies, "The Wandering Earth 2" has a more flamboyant national mood, which is more in line with the psychological demands of the Chinese people to actively participate in world affairs.
Movie "The Wandering Earth 2"
It can be seen through the bad reviews of some professional film critics on Rotten Tomatoes Network.
Some foreigners complained about the "wolf warrior plot" in the film:
"Tough national sentiment"
On the other hand, "The Wandering Earth 2" also emphasizes collective values, individual sacrifice and dedication to the collective (human beings, countries).
Movie "The Wandering Earth 2"
Hollywood films, on the other hand, emphasize personal values, and individual sacrifices are often linked to family and affection.
One of the clearest examples is also sacrificing oneself to save all humanity.
The scene of "The Wandering Earth 2" in which astronauts over 50 years old detonate nuclear bombs is a righteous awe-inspiring, the purest sacrifice, and very noble.
In the Hollywood movie "Peerless Catastrophe", the male protagonist played by Bruce Willis, although in the end he also sacrificed himself to detonate a nuclear bomb to save the earth.
But on top of this arc, there is an additional layer of his father, replacing his "son-in-law" to die and fulfill his daughter's personal "distractions".
It is also this "distraction" that makes him more like an ordinary person than a hero of great glory.
Movie "Peerless Tribulation"
Similarly, the footnote of "Avatar 2" is also family affection.
The male protagonist Jack even "abandoned" the entire tribe for his family.
The war between races was finally projected on the battle between the two "families".
Although parents are short and tacky, most people can empathize with the motive.
Movie "Avatar 2"
Including "Breaking Bad", an American drama that mainstream Chinese values may consider the three views to be incorrect.
The male protagonist from a chemistry teacher to a top drug lord, crime and selfish desires are also grafted on family factors, and there is a bracket of empathy:
Because he was suffering from cancer, he gave his life to leave a large amount of living expenses and tuition fees for his family.
This kind of family and affection extended by personal value is often more likely to inspire the audience's sympathy and recognition.
American drama "Breaking Bad"
Another example is "Wolf Warrior 2" and "Top Gun 2", military blockbusters in China and the United States.
The story structure is similar.
They are all lone heroes, and they all have a painful past that cannot be looked back on and buried deep memories.
In the end, they also completed the counterattack and sublimation of fallen heroes through military missions.
But "Top Gun 2" hides the values promoted by the US military behind the feelings and personal pathos of the male protagonist.
First establish the role, and then use the audience's attention to personal fate to substitute empathy.
On the other hand, "Wolf Warrior 2" lacks such ingenuity, and the expression of values is too straightforward.
The personal charm of the male protagonist is limited to the explosion of force and the national mood.
"Man come with me!"
The movie "Wolf Warrior 2"
Therefore, it is difficult for our commercial blockbusters to occupy overseas markets, not because our values are wrong, on the contrary, our values are more positive than similar films in most countries.
However, Hollywood is more flattering, more hidden, and more subtle when it comes to exporting its own values.
They first find the greatest human empathy, and then embed the point of view in it.
It's like "The Wandering Earth 2" compared to "Avatar 2".
Although the former is touching, it is difficult for the audience to find their own shadow from the protagonist.
The latter puts the perspective very small, so that the audience can better assume the role.
If you still don't understand this difference, we can take a look at Zhang Songwen, who suddenly became popular this year.
In the past, the villains in anti-corruption dramas and anti-black dramas basically wrote a bad word on their faces, commonly known as Facebook.
It seems that they are inherently vicious.
TV series "Punishment"
TV series "Crazy"
However, Gao Qiqiang's rise from mermaid to grassroots can inspire the audience's empathy more than Wei Guangzheng's positive role.
Anyone who has seen it can think: Is it An Xin and us ordinary people who have more in common, or Gao Qiqiang?
TV series "Crazy"
This leads to a long-standing problem of Chinese film and television works - not paying attention to the complexity of the characters.
Often heroes have no flaws, and bad guys have no merits.
The most extreme example is the "showcase" of the 60-70s of the last century, good pure, bad absolute.
But human nature is complex, and people have many facets.
Dealing with characters and stories simply, it's easy to make emotions empty.
Finally, when extended to our commercial blockbusters, it is not easy to arouse the empathy of the audience around the world.
You see, the captain is also adapted from a true story.
"Captain Sully" is obviously one level higher than "Captain China" in terms of narrative and emotional resonance.
Even the movie name you can see the difference in value orientation, all are "captain", one is titled the name of the country, the other is the captain's name.
Although mass cultural products have the effect of exporting values.
However, blindly holding high and hitting "forced indoctrination" is not necessarily efficient.
It is said that movies are mirrors of real life.
Is this too utilitarian and formalistic way of cultural creation also worthy of reflection by our whole society:
Black and white is not the truth, and the multi-faceted is the origin.
Only by grasping the empathy of human civilization can Chinese literary and artistic works have the opportunity to expand a larger stage in the world.
Realize the Great Leap Forward in the true sense of our "soft power".
Text/Poluk
(Image from Internet infringement deleted)