Wen 丨 Keva
In 2003, there was a case of "hepatitis B discrimination" in China. Reporter Han Fudong paid attention to this phenomenon, and under many interviews and investigations, published an article "China's 120 Million People's Anti-Discrimination Claims", which to a certain extent promoted the reform of subsequent relevant policies.
Based on this real event, the movie "More Than Endless" starring Bai Ke and Zhang Songwen rarely focuses on news themes, telling the story of Han Dong (played by Bai Ke), a "three-no-no youth" with no money, no education and no background, with the help of senior reporter Huang Jiang (played by Zhang Songwen), step by step to dig deep into the truth behind the "mining disaster" and "hepatitis B incident", revealing the complexity of news dissemination while showing the importance of the media in social development.
Han Dong and Huang Jiang, the mentor and apprentice, vividly demonstrated the professionalism and dedication of journalists who uphold the principles of truthfulness, fairness and objectivity, constantly dig into social problems, persist in seeking the truth in the face of difficulties and challenges, and transmit positive energy, so "Non-stop" has attracted the attention of a large number of journalists.
What will journalists think of this work focused on news topics?
In our conversations with journalists from different fields, colleagues affirmed the practical significance and social value of the content revealed in the film, from young journalists to Han Dong who saw the shadow of their newborn calves who were not afraid of tigers, and senior journalists who recalled the past of overcoming difficulties to report the truth from the experience of Huangjiang.
At the same time, as news people on the front line, they also put forward their own observations and suggestions to the film.
(The following content is based on the interviewee's self-statement)
A front-line traditional media senior investigative reporter Han Futao
"Like Huangjiang, I wear particularly torn clothes during secret visits"
He has been a journalist for more than 10 years and has been an investigative journalist for 7 years. Because the name is only one word different from the prototype, and he is fortunate enough to stay in the same unit, plus the word of mouth among his peers, he has a certain understanding of the general background of "More than Endless" very early. From an investigative journalist's point of view, I would give it eighty points.
Let's start with the well-shot part. As an investigative journalist, I think the character of Huang Jiang is quite real. In their daily work, investigative journalists are often stormy, even a little sloppy. In order to secretly visit the truth of the mining disaster, Huang Jiang deliberately soiled his clothes. In the past, I also had a particularly torn piece of clothing, which I kept every day and wore when I needed to. How do you think you can "mingle" with strangers in a short time? Definitely start with the form factor.
Compared with Han Dong, if I were a director, I would choose Huang Jiang as the protagonist. In terms of emotions, professional experience, and areas of responsibility, senior journalists face more difficulties than younger journalists, and there are more situations to explore.
The film mentions whether journalists can be sympathetic in "Mine Disaster Report" and "Hepatitis B Report", which is indeed a problem we face in reality.
When we do an unannounced investigation, we may find that ordinary people have made mistakes and even touched legal red lines, which means that once the report is issued, they will be punished. To some extent, journalists are often reluctant to see this. For example, in the movie, the reporter of the Observer took the lead in exposing the hepatitis B testing industry, resulting in the entire criminal gang being terminated. Others may think it's something to celebrate, but I think he should feel a sense of guilt in his heart.
In the past, I have done a lot of investigative reporting, and there will be cases where the person concerned will be punished. Maybe in the eyes of others, the results of the report are so good, you should be happy, right? But every time I couldn't be happy, and I sympathized with them. When I first entered the industry, I also asked my intern teacher how to judge whether a topic could be done, and he probably meant to expose illegal crimes on a legal basis. Later, when I talked to my colleagues, I gradually became more inclined to investigate topics and should take the public interest as the fundamental starting point. The public good should take precedence over personal feelings.
On the whole, the portrayal of investigative journalists in "More Than Endless" is still relatively thin. Investigative journalists must go through on-the-ground evidence before they can write a story.
By analogy with the "mining incident", if there is information that the incident caused 15 deaths, in the past, when we verified the death list for such incidents, we would confirm that a total of 15 people were killed after each person's name, age, and even the family of each person were found. But the film's portrayal of the complexity and difficulty of investigative journalists' work is simplified.
The final foothold of the film is that good reporting promotes the improvement of the system, which I agree with. To be honest, after so many years of being a journalist, I may have also made some reports that the industry feels is okay. But the only regret, or the reason I'm still doing investigative journalism, is that I don't think my reporting has reached this height, and I haven't let reporting push for some kind of institutional change...
Zhang Tong, senior social news commentator of a head news APP
"The contradiction between Huang Jiang and Han Dong on the retraction cannot withstand scrutiny"
The movie is worth seventy points.
As a journalist for four years, I have written a lot of hot commentaries and social observations, in my cognition, there are very few Chinese realist movies, let alone news themes, from this point of view, "More than Endless" is relatively rare.
There are very few realist films that convey deep values, and this film does it to some extent – it encourages resistance to incorrect perceptions.
The first half of "More Than Ending" gradually portrays Han Dong and Huang Jiang as professional and meticulous journalists, while the second half highlights the problem of discrimination against carriers of hepatitis B patients.
No one is born to be discriminated against. Whether based on personal development, public opinion environment, cultural environment, or popular science environment, there should be no discrimination against hepatitis B virus carriers. With the help of the "novice reporter" Han Dong's pursuit of journalistic ideals, the film reflects the public's pursuit of social fairness and institutional perfection, and such values are indeed rare in realistic movies.
But it is worth mentioning that not only hepatitis B virus carriers should not be discriminated against, even real hepatitis B patients, should not be discriminated against, which is not discussed in depth in the movie.
In terms of specific plot performance, the contradiction between Huang Jiang and Han Dong over whether to withdraw the hepatitis B report is difficult to withstand scrutiny. The latter finally requested a temporary retraction on the eve of publication because of the deviation of the direction of the report, which seems to tell that they have not experienced the process of repeated deliberation in normal news gathering. In terms of traditional news gathering and media consensus, it is very difficult to round back this design.
The film attributes the core of the retraction contradiction to the cognitive differences between new and old reporters, which is a bit simplistic. When Huang Jiang accused Han Dong of temporarily retracting the draft, he only saw his sympathy for the interviewee, but did not see through the deep problems behind the hepatitis B testing industry chain. As a veteran investigative journalist, he has an absolute ability to appreciate the complexity behind the story, but he ends up blaming the new reporter for his shortcomings, which is inconsistent with his thoughtful personality.
Around the turn of the millennium, the highlight of traditional media, when perhaps without a prestigious school degree, with a sense of courage and outstanding ability, can find their place in a large number of opportunities. The film highlights the spirit of the "three no-youth" Han Beipiao's pursuit of journalistic ideals. But among the same interns, journalism students from elite schools may not have to be portrayed as crotch-pullers.
"The best is yet to come", the literal translation of the English name of the movie, the best has not yet come. "More than Endless" is conveying the value of never stopping in pursuit of journalistic ideals. News people, you must find the truth in your heart.
Xi Chao, entertainment reporter of a cultural broadcasting, film and television group
"Han Dong evokes memories of my pursuit of journalistic ideals"
Graduated from a bachelor's degree in materials science, he has experienced cross-examination journalism and communication without success. At the beginning, what I wanted to do most was an investigative reporter, but then it became a film and television publicity, and in the past two years, he transformed into an entertainment reporter, and Han Dong reminded me of my former ideal.
I have similarities with Han Dong. After graduating from high school, when he came to Beijing to look for journalism-related jobs, he handed over not academic certificates, but what he had written before. I was looking for a job, too. Materials science is not the same as journalism. But when I was in college, I wrote a lot of articles and novels, and when the newspaper saw these stepping stones, they didn't care much about my original major, and more judged whether my writing ability was enough to support the news report.
It's a pity that Han Dong has a point that I don't have. I was touched that he had hit a wall so many times with his journalistic ideals, and that he could still persist in chasing his dream of becoming an investigative journalist. Instead of becoming an investigative journalist, I switched to film and television because I did interview many times, but in the end, I didn't have the right opportunity.
There is still a big difference between entertainment journalists and investigative journalists. During our interviews with artists, artist promotions are strictly monitored on so-called sensitive issues. But like investigative journalists, even if they encounter resistance, they will use all means to overcome it, and maybe they can get what they want.
For example, when Han Dong and Huangjiang faced reports of the mining disaster, they would disguise themselves as secretly visit to collect various evidence, secretly hold a voice recorder to talk to people near the factory, and pretend to be the families of the victims to sneak into the hotel to check the pension compensation; Including the later hepatitis B report, Han Dong directly infiltrated the gang leader to do odd jobs, which is a very restored work process of investigative journalists.
It's a bit of a pity that the film portrays the group of investigative journalists a bit stylized. From beginning to end, it only shows their process of obtaining news leads, but in the process, it does not highlight the threats and dangers they may encounter. You know, whether it is a mental threat, a threat of violence, or a material temptation, the process of investigative journalists reporting is extremely uncertain. Many journalists can not die for the sake of the truth, and they have a feeling of unsung heroes.
epilogue
Douban 7.3 points, as the young director Wang Jing's feature film debut, "More than Endless" is well completed.
It may not leave a brilliant brilliance in the history of Chinese films, but from the perspective of news-themed films, it is believed that it will play a positive role in promoting the future development of China's media industry.
The media is an important part of society, and the information reported directly affects the public's concepts and thoughts, and it must not only play the role of supervisor and disseminator, but also undertake social responsibility and historical mission. Through truthful, fair and objective reporting, journalists can better serve the public and better promote social progress and development.
Behind every truth report, we should pay tribute to the majority of journalists!
(Some images courtesy of interviewees.) ）