New Age Artists

Chapter 652 Postcolonialism

end of June.

"Damn it, the ghost is still here!"

Li Ani, who was running for the American Film Critics Association and the Oscars in the United States, received news about Dongda from 20th Century Fox and Huayi Brothers. After the team analyzed the news, he rarely cursed in a low voice.

The "overthrow of Shen" incident can only be said to be a superficial success, and Li An's own image was damaged.

Relying on Western narratives and the influence of Wandao, the character can only be barely preserved.

The reputation is not bad, but it is mixed.

The release of "Life of Pi" has helped to improve his reputation. There were no strong films competing with this movie at the same time.

It was staggered with the Double Eleven comedy "Love Is Not Blind 33" by ten days, nearly two weeks, and directly suppressed "The Banquet", breaking 3 million in the first week, more than 1 million yuan, and then rose against the trend in the second week, earning 1.3 million yuan.

Li An's character is no longer perfect, and with the rise of Santong Entertainment, there are more visual blockbusters. The performance of "Life of Pi" is barely comparable to its previous life, and it did not benefit from the expansion of the Dongda market.

Because Tokyo University audiences like to watch the advantages of a movie, the narrative of "Life of Pi" still has some residual advantages, and coupled with the good 3D visual effects, it can maintain its previous performance.

This performance is already very impressive. The United States took in 2250 million US dollars in the first weekend. In terms of box office performance, the Eastern film market is second only to the United States, contributing more than one-third of the global box office.

Li An himself knew very well that Hollywood valued profits. No matter how well he did, if he could not provide profits, he would be kicked out.

The appeal and influence of the Dongda market directly affects the opportunities he can get.

Competition in Hollywood is fierce, especially in recent years with the depletion of original works and the rise of superhero movies. Some directors have no chance to make a comeback after their big productions have failed.

Only the Jewish gang, the New York gang, the Italian gang, these directors who have the support of the mountain groups behind them, have a chance to rise again.

After the failure of "The Hulk", Li An was able to make a breakthrough because he had support from Asia, or to be more precise, he had influence in the Chinese world.

The changes that are taking place in the Todai film circle appear to be limited to Todai’s internal operations, but the pace is gradual and unrelenting.

From "1942" to "Nanjing Nanjing", and now to "The Flowers of War".

The netizens involved did not understand what was happening, but Li An's team felt a deep sense of crisis.

The receiver, the listener, and the observer are three different realms.

In the past, the audience of Dongda University was just the recipient of narratives, but now they are becoming listeners and are moving towards being examiners.

The receiver is in a lower position, the listener is equal, and the examiner is implicitly superior.

Li An's "Life of Pi" is currently in theaters. The film involves multiple narratives of religion and faith, and the story is completely different when viewed from different perspectives.

If the audience of Tokyo University begins to examine movies, there is a possibility that "Life of Pi" will be interpreted as downplaying real history and emphasizing multiple narratives.

Li An himself is more inclined to be accepted by the international market. Li An is actually the spokesperson for Hollywood and Western narratives.

This is an objective fact.

Western narratives are closely tied to him, and the Chinese-speaking market is his backing.

He just wants the Chinese-speaking market to support him, rather than influencing him or even assimilating him.

David Unger, assistant agent of CAA, reminded Li: "Li, the Dongda market is very important to you. Keya Khayatian (CAA's top agent) is negotiating with Sony on the early plans for Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk."

David Womack, the executive producer for Lee An, also warned: "This is a very bad sign. James asked me to remind you."

James is James Shams, a producer and a PhD in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

My doctoral thesis supervisor was postcolonial theorist Gayatri Spivak, and my doctoral supervisor’s supervisor was a student of the American master of deconstructionist criticism Paul de Man.

Postcolonialism is a theory that studies the cultural, psychological, and power relations between colonizers and colonized after the end of colonial rule.

The core issues include cultural hegemony, how the West packages colonial logic as a "civilizing mission" through discourse, such as literature and media, and shapes the inferiority complex of the colonized.

The identity is torn apart, trapping the colonized in a cultural gap where they resist Western definitions and find it difficult to rebuild their local traditions.

After completing implicit colonization and achieving political independence, how do economic globalization and language hegemony continue the unequal structure?

Homi Bhabha proposed the concept of "hybridity", emphasizing that the colonized people form resistance strategies by blending local and foreign cultures.

This theory is often used to analyze cross-cultural conflicts in movies and literature, such as the juxtaposition of Hinduism and Western rationality in Li An's Life of Pi.

This person is essentially an intermediary who reconstructs cultural products through academic discourse, providing intellectual legitimacy for Hollywood globalization by translating postcolonial school theories into production methodology.

Transforming postcolonial theory into an operational film language, such as the "de-nationalized martial arts" in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the text structure of "individual desire dissolving historical narrative" in Lust, Caution.

In 2012, he said through The Hollywood Reporter: "A real movie should make audiences in Taipei, Shanghai, and Los Angeles cry in the same way."

He discovered and created Li An.

From "The Wedding Banquet" to "Taking Woodstock", due to his focus on the position of CEO of Focus Features, he was not directly involved in "Life of Pi", but he still retained the priority purchase agreement for the adaptation rights of Ang Lee's works and had a great say.

Jiang Zhiqiang was also worried and said, "We must not let this spread. Shen Santong is an extremely scary person. He has a huge influence. We must cut it off at the beginning, otherwise it will be difficult to stop it."

Jiang Zhiqiang is Li Min's invisible escort in the mainland market. This year he is also planning to re-screen "Lust, Caution" in order to completely lift the ban on Tang Wei.

The re-release of "Titanic 3D" was a box office hit, and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a draft of the "Regulations on the Re-release of Excellent Films" for soliciting opinions. Jiang Zhiqiang had tried it.

Unfortunately, it did not succeed. Yu Dong of Berna Films publicly stated at the Shanghai Film Festival that the re-screening of Lust, Caution does not conform to the current market trend.

However, White Deer Plain, which was released in September 2012, failed in its attempt to cut 9 minutes from the original novel, which had great literary influence, due to controversy over its historical views.

This marks the failure of the tolerance test for the combination of "erotic drama + historical narrative".

In July this year, a cross-departmental organization was established, the "Major Revolutionary and Historical Film and Television Creation Leading Group", abbreviated as the "Major Office".

The "double review system" for historical films will be strengthened in the review process, with preliminary review at the provincial level and final review by the General Administration.

"1942" modifies the ending to weaken the narrative of suffering.

The original ending of the script was that Fan Dianyuan witnessed cannibalism on his way back home, his young daughter was abducted, and he eventually fell alone in the snow, with the camera fixed on a corpse hanging from a dead tree.

In the released version, Fan Dianyuan rescued the girl, and the two of them stumbled forward in the wilderness, with a voice-over sounding, guiding them to hope.

Avoid the emergence of historical cycle theories, the ending should reflect the inevitability of historical development, and avoid excessive despair.

The briefing mentioned: "Beware of the revival of historical nihilism through classics."

Jiang Zhiqiang feels helpless as the creative environment is becoming increasingly difficult!
The scale cannot be released!

Li An first called Zhang Yimou and said it very bluntly: "Mr. Zhang, you have such a good temper that people take advantage of you."

The main reason was that Li An didn't want to have a direct conflict with Shen Santong. The other party was never afraid of the end of his physical body, and if he was not careful, he would die as a result of heaven and earth. The key point was that Shen Santong was shameless and his power was too great.

Li An would rather let Zhang Yimou respond, ostensibly to support artistic freedom, and then use Western narratives to provide flanking support.

It is best to focus the topic on Zhang Yimou and limit it to him to avoid getting yourself into trouble.

Zhang Yimou smiled bitterly: "I am really tired. I have been working with Zhang Weiping for more than ten years, and it has come to this point today. Forget it."

"Shen Santong's criticism is justified. Creators must always find a balance between art and reality. I, Zhang Yimou, have a clear conscience, just like when To Live was banned and later when Hero was criticized for being commercial."

In May this year, the railway advertisement was criticized, and Zhang Weiping also exposed his illegitimate child.

Zhang Yimou is really tired.

Zhang Weiping's media image was not good to begin with, and he couldn't do it. Zhang Yimou didn't want to do it even more. Not to mention him, even Mo Yan, who was good at talking, kept silent after the release of "1937".

Also using the technique of magical realism, the surreal scenes of the bronze Buddha weeping blood and the corpses lit by methane lamps in "1937" do not exaggerate despair, but rather create a collective resonance between individual suffering and national memory.

And what about Mo Yan’s works?
Zhang Yimou didn't want to put himself on the scale, so he confronted Shen Santong.

It is not possible to go into details, and Shen Santong is only 28 years old, while he is over . If he quarrels, he will lose, even if he wins.

It is better to remain silent, silence is golden.

Whether it is him or Mo Yan, as long as they have made contributions, the authorities will be respectful and will not watch Shen Santong destroy them all.

As for Li An?

Zhang Yimou just let it go. He was too lazy to think about the other party's little thoughts, nor did he want to ask about them.

Li An hung up the phone with a grim look on his face. This is the gap between our own people and outsiders.

"Since you won't come, I'll do it myself!"

At the end of a film critics' dinner, Li Min was interviewed and praised Zhang Yimou: "He has the courage to break through the censorship. The Flowers of War is a tragedy of limited creative freedom."

Speaking further for Zhang Yimou, "French philosopher Michel Foucault has a theory that discourse is power. The public opinion accusations promoted by some people (Shen Santong) are the new generation's desire to fight for discourse power."

“Chinese-language filmmakers are a big family.”

He rejected his previous proposal for a cross-strait and Hong Kong filmmakers alliance, implying that Shen Santong lacked martial ethics and was undermining industry unity.

Talking about Life of Pi, Li An emphasized: "It is an exploration of the human spirit that transcends cultural boundaries. I think the New York Times' evaluation is appropriate."

Religious metaphors are packaged as a common spiritual exploration of mankind, and Oscar public relations terms are used to transcend cultural boundaries to respond to questions about historical views.

At the same time, the New York Times' review of Life of Pi was released: a philosophical allegory that transcends national boundaries and establishes an academic firewall
After some responses, Li An built multiple firewalls for himself by both defense and attack.

Shunyi.

A villa with Chinese garden elements and European architectural structure. Five ginkgo trees in the courtyard are shaking off their gold foil-like leaves.

The main building is decorated in the style of old European money, low-key and luxurious, and the three-story gray and white Italian-style building stands in the dusk.

The floor-to-ceiling windows reflect the withered yellow lawn of the golf course in the distance. The intelligent temperature control system keeps the room temperature constant at 18°C. The children's room on the second floor is scattered with building blocks and toys, and the surveillance camera in the corner of the wall is flashing red light.

Shen Santong came to do Gao Yuanyuan's work.

A harmonious family is the foundation of everything. I hope Gao Yuanyuan can be more open-minded: "Yuanyuan, I know I have wronged you, but I can't help it. Look at the public opinion. I haven't done anything yet, but Li An has already jumped out."

Gao Yuanyuan hates this kind of rhetoric the most. Shen Santong used the same trick a few years ago.

In the past, I would say “I’m sorry, Yuanyuan, I can’t protect you”, but now I feel justified and can make up any excuse I want, because it’s all for her good.

As his business grew bigger, his excuses became more and more perfunctory. Gao Yuanyuan even suspected that Shen Santong deliberately put himself in the spotlight of public opinion so that he could have an excuse.

Gao Yuanyuan said unhappily, "Can you please stop making trouble and live a good life?"

Shen Santong advised: "Yuanyuan, we can't lose sight of the big picture. In our industry, there are too many people who can't distinguish between friend and foe. What is the difference between us and Hollywood? It's an enemy-enemy conflict!"

"They are here to destroy our market. Many of us talk about developing Chinese-language films or domestic films, but in practice, we don't follow through."

"Do you know how difficult it is for me now? I can't be too radical, otherwise it will cause confrontation and the situation will be difficult to handle."

"When Xiao Bailong was beaten, many people spoke out, but it was definitely not okay to let this emotion run wild, because the main contradiction at that time was how Chinese films could survive the impact of Hollywood, and simply taking revenge could not solve the problem."

"Now I am the same, I have to be careful."

Shen Santong's distress was half true and half false.

Despite his great achievements now, the official authorities are still cautiously optimistic about him and only report his achievements and results.

Whether it is People's Daily, the Xinwen Lianbo, or Xinhua News Agency, they are all objective reports and have never had any relevant endorsements.

Not to mention the argument that he is regarded as a "cultural savior", it is not even an exaggeration.

The leader doesn’t count it in private, and it doesn’t count it in public.

Shen Santong is too young, only 28 years old. In addition, he is unwilling to take on some institutional positions and be included in organizational management. It is hard to say what will happen to him in the future.

In the field of literature and art, those who understand know that they are just afraid of being slapped in the face in the future.

What if Shen Santong has a brain seizure one day and wants to pursue the three major international awards or an Oscar? It would be better to just give up. The damage caused would be too great.

Similarly, just because Shen Santong said that what he did was right, does that mean he can kill all the people in the country?
Not to mention him, Zhang Yimou also felt that he was right, and Lu Chuan also felt that he was not wrong.

Shen Santong's obvious target this time was not Feng Xiaogang, Lu Chuan, or Zhang Yimou, but Li An.

I have to say that the other party or the other team has a very keen sense of smell.

The contradictions in the cultural field today have changed from surviving to becoming bigger and stronger, reflecting cultural confidence and cultural awareness, and singing the main melody.

The industrial sector is competing with foreign capital for market share in a real way, and it is appropriate for the film industry to do the same.

Expelling Hollywood blockbusters is not enough, it will also produce unnecessary impacts, not just cultural impacts, but also involve other policy linkages.

But expelling the agents of external ideology is like beating a dog, and it is justified.

It is not easy for Shen Santong to take action against people like Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang and Lu Chuan, and he has no name or position to do so.

In the field of art, Shen Santong and they have equal social status, and they are both "well-known directors."

Even if he is to be eliminated, it should be the market and the audience who should eliminate him, Shen Santong.

And they exist, Shen Santong is right.

If they no longer exist and are eliminated, can Shen Santong still continue to be right?
It should be noted that contradictions are constantly changing and transforming into each other.

And there is no need to do so. They are just on the surface. The key is to promote industry innovation, and that is the real tiger.

There is no need for Li An to exist.

It can be eliminated ecologically.

As the spokesperson for Western narrative, Li Amin has no need to exist. At most, he can survive as the representative of director Wandao.

No one can say anything when it comes to touching Li An. Shen Santong has every right to do so and is settling Shen's personal grudges.

Gao Yuanyuan didn't buy it at all: "Aren't you also cooperating with Hollywood?"

Shen Santong was speechless: "How can it be the same? That was an equal cooperation."

A chubby little boy about two years old came running over like a gust of wind, "Dad, Dad."

Shen Linxi, whose nickname comes from the daily labor of "fishing by the river", is Xixi.

It was named by Gao Yuanyuan, meaning that when you grow up, you should be an upright man.

Shen Santong was helpless about the behavior of using the child to seduce him.

None of them are sensible.

(End of this chapter)