How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 186 The Advantages of Brokers
The battle of ideas is fought without gunfire.

The famous Hans Morgenthau set the tone for the dissemination of knowledge in the West.

'Successful imperialist policy is not about conquering and controlling the economy, but about controlling people's minds.'

There is a fundamental difference between cultural export and cognitive invasion.

Cultural export is sharing, invitation, and an extension of cultural confidence.

Cognitive intrusion, on the other hand, is a form of PUA that deceives and distorts cognition. Its purpose is to make people deny and disintegrate themselves mentally, and then submit to a new cognition that is packaged as 'powerful'.

Superhero movies are an iteration and upgrade of American individualistic superhero movies. They are essentially the same, with the core being a grand narrative created by a hero single-handedly changing a backward civilization or saving the world. At the same time, the dialogue conveys the concepts of 'freedom' and 'goodness'.

The core characteristic of this kind of script is that it seems to glorify individual heroes, but in reality it undermines individual will and tames it, substituting it into certain unified stereotypes.

The entire plot serves to subtly remind the audience that supporting characters and bystanders are incompetent, and that only by relying on heroes can they survive and solve problems; heroes will solve everything.

The underlying cultural symbol that resolves everything is the dominant elitism.

Cognitive invasion in superhero movies typically involves four steps.

First: Forced transformation, using the protagonist's superpowers to highlight the gap between him and ordinary people, deliberately creating a non-existent hero to make the audience identify with and belittle their own will, by making the 'villain/ordinary supporting characters' speechless and powerless, and selectively eliminating specific native culture and ideas through dialogue and plot, making people feel a value confusion after 'I have learned something new'.

For example, in Iron Man 2, the villain Whiplash has a typical Soviet background. His revenge is because his father was banished by Iron Man's father for using the Tesseract to make money. But if you look closely, the Iron Man family also made their fortune by relying on alien technology. The script only describes the protagonist's experiences to shape his character, but treats the villain in a stereotypical way. This is a typical example of a lack of dialogue.

Second: malicious manipulation, using film box office figures to elevate cultural works to an absolute objective dominant position of the 'majority,' thereby laying a foundation to dismantle all doubts.

For example, when "Iron Man 2" broke 100 million yuan at the box office in its first week, it brought in previous Marvel films such as "Iron Man 1" and "Spider-Man", which established Marvel's box office dominance and created a publicity strategy that made it seem like "the whole world is watching this movie, and you're abnormal if you don't watch it".

This attracts even more casual moviegoers to the cinema. These people may not be movie/comic book enthusiasts, but because of their large numbers, they directly drown out the voices of genuine movie/comic book viewers, silencing those who truly discuss the plot and the film.

Third: Covert infiltration: The script, dialogue and character design will package and exaggerate some concepts such as 'advanced ideas' and 'civilized progress'.

For example, in Iron Man 2, the villainous family's reason for revenge was that "the Stark family stole the fruits of research and development." However, in terms of the outcome, there was at least some factual basis. Otherwise, Whiplash wouldn't have been able to overpower Iron Man by conjuring energy with his hands. This indirectly proves the hypocrisy of the Stark family, who, after monopolizing the market with their capital advantage, claimed to be peaceful but still cooperated with the military, standing on the moral high ground and shining with the light of humanity.

Fourth: Long-term erosion: Changes in cognition are slow and gradual, so it takes a long period of time and daily permeation to reshape cognition.

For example, starting with the first generation of superheroes, the Soviet Union, North Korea, and Iran have been stereotyped and stigmatized. The Black Widow character's "abandonment of darkness for light" behavior is even more deliberate. The line "With great power comes great responsibility" in Spider-Man, the protagonist's self-description in Iron Man 2 that "global peace is a byproduct of my life," and the extravagant and hedonistic atmosphere of the protagonist's birthday party in the plot are all related to this purpose.

In the post titled "Why can Hollywood make good superhero movies? Because they have actually seen them," the four steps are also subtly dissected by digging into the deliberately weakened and intellectually degraded aspects of the structure in "Iron Man 2."

The real-life cases of Chinese "true superheroes" stand in stark contrast to their fictional counterparts, which boosted the popularity of "Iron Man 2" to a new level. However, this did not affect the film's box office growth; in fact, it even drove a surge in sales on movie streaming websites the following day.

Most people were just curious and wanted to see if it was as dissected in the post.

But without a doubt, the discussion about 'real superheroes' and 'fake superheroes' quickly overshadowed the discussion about counterfeit products on various platforms.

After all, compared to the movie audience, the e-commerce consumer group is still relatively small.

This post was quickly reposted on foreign websites, and many well-known film critics and TV broadcasters stood up to oppose its views, believing it to be an attempt to sensationalize commercial films by forcibly elevating them to a political level.

The crew of "Steel 2" even claimed they would sue the person who posted the message.

However, there were more supportive comments from netizens on foreign websites, mainly from Marvel comic book fans who had a lot of complaints about comic book adaptations. So they took this opportunity to join in the fun, and the conflict between the original comic book fans and the comic book adaptation fans began.

However, what truly sparked a significant discussion was an article on the MS platform titled "What Kind of Combat Suit Do Our Female Characters Need?"

The post cites examples such as the female character's bulletproof vest in the 05 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" being a cropped style, and the Bond girls in the "007" and "Resident Evil" series all wearing high heels, high-slit dresses, or bodycon skirts while fighting. Is it really reasonable for the female lead in "Jurassic Park" to be chased by dinosaurs while wearing high heels?

In almost all of these films, the male characters are fully armed, while the female characters are dressed less and less, questioning all film producers whether the concept of a 'female lead' even exists in the world, or whether the greatest value of all female characters is simply to be watched.

It also included a comparison image of Iron Man's armor and Black Widow's leather suit, along with a line of dialogue for Black Widow.

"Dude, you want me dressed like this to fight aliens? That would make me, a mere mortal, a god among gods."

Just as the topic of 'anti-submarine warfare' was still gaining traction, a new round of controversy has reignited. However, this time it concerns movie fans worldwide, and most people suddenly realized this after seeing the trending topic.

How come I never noticed before that there was anything illogical about a female character wearing high heels being chased by a dinosaur?

However, this was followed by a backlash from screenwriters and directors: "Movies are artistic creations, not documentaries. In '300,' the male protagonists were all wearing only briefs."

This round of discussions sparked by "Iron Man 2" has left many Hollywood marketing teams feeling rather overwhelmed.

Because this reverse marketing tactic is novel, they cannot determine which company developed this new strategy. However, this discussion clearly carries some risk of being "enlightening" the audience. Promotional campaigns that make the audience think are not necessarily good promotional campaigns.

However, from an objective point of view, the fact that "Iron Man 2" has seen a significant increase in box office revenue worldwide suggests that this reverse publicity effect seems to be quite effective, and it can also refine the audience and create more controversy among smaller groups.

The dilemma of choosing between the two hemispheres of their brains has left them in a state of internal struggle.

Compared to the mess on the external internet.

The Chinese nation becomes much clearer.

Once the data and true story of the "real superhero" were presented, the discussion instantly shifted to mocking the "fake superhero." A few public figures who pretended to be rational and objective wanted to learn from outside experiences and refute the post as "exaggerating the movie's nature," but they were almost driven to quit the internet by netizens as soon as the Weibo post was published, and in the end, they could only delete the post and shut up.

It must be said that netizens in 2010 were the most combative and determined group of people.

It even sparked a wave of 'anti-British' sentiment.

"Imagine you've studied hard for over two years, worked overtime until 10 PM every day after graduation, bought a car on a five-year installment plan, and have a two-bedroom apartment with a thirty-year loan, only to have it smashed by a villain sitting on it while being knocked away by a superhero. Would you still enjoy watching 'Iron Man 2'?"

Wang Yao also arranged for the professor and his team to remake and parody superhero storylines from the perspective of ordinary people.

When grand narratives are deconstructed and transformed into objective facts, all the false beauty will crumble on its own. Although "Iron Man 2" achieved record-breaking box office results, its critical reception was not as exaggerated as expected.

The Ip Man 2 production team seized the opportunity and proactively contacted Ren Quan, hoping that Kanpianer.com could help promote the film again, and they were willing to increase the commission for future box office revenue to 30%.

"Legend of the Condor Heroes 2" has accumulated 1.6 million yuan in box office revenue in one month since its release. It aims to reach 2 million yuan and become the first film to reach 2 million yuan in box office revenue this year. "The Big Soldier" has surpassed 2 million yuan in global box office revenue.

"Ye 2" had originally given up on achieving a domestic box office of 2 million yuan, since its potential had been largely exhausted after a month of release. However, the recent "anti-hero" controversy gave them a glimmer of hope. In any case, all the investment has been recouped, and the production company has made at least tens of millions of yuan in profit. Giving the bulk of the revenue to Kanpianer.com is not a loss for them.

Consider this an early promotional event for "Legend of the White Snake 3".

Ren Quan discussed it with Wang Yao, and since there was no guarantee of a minimum return and no risk involved, he agreed.

Kanpianer.com held a small event at its own cinemas, offering Mixue lemonade with the purchase of a ticket to the movie "Ye 2". Since acquiring a stake in Mixue, Kanpianer.com now has another beverage option.

Then they started posting emojis in the discussion threads for various games like "Leaf 2" and "Steel 2".

In a humorous comic book style, Master Ip punches Iron Man, Superman, Batman, and other superhero characters, accompanied by the caption "I want foreigners to die."

The meme quickly went viral on Baidu Tieba, spawning various versions of "I want foreigners to die," and sparking a surge in anti-British sentiment. Leveraging the popularity of "Iron Man 2," Wang Yao not only successfully helped CEO Ma divert attention, but also saw a surge in traffic across his various social media platforms, achieving success both domestically and internationally.

Children's Day is usually a good day for listed companies to release their Q2 forecast reports, which can boost their stock prices.

Alibaba released its Q2 revenue forecast immediately. Taobao's quarterly sales GMV exceeded 100 billion yuan for the first time, with apparel accounting for 20% of the total transaction volume, exceeding 20 billion yuan. Because merchants on Taobao's C2C platform can join for free, revenue relies solely on advertising, but there was still 1 billion yuan in advertising revenue.

Despite a year-on-year revenue growth of over 70%, indicating a very optimistic outlook for the company and favorable financial statements, public opinion has been diverted. However, the steady decline in Alibaba's stock price and potential risks have not been alleviated.

Besides the crisis of trust, the main reason is that Alibaba's old rival eBay has been disparaging it overseas, which has significantly downgraded its investment evaluation abroad and affected the assessment of its future listing.

After all, capital values ​​brand premium the most. If Alibaba doesn't resolve the issue of brand trust, its future IPO prospects will be uncertain.

Just then, JD.com dropped a bombshell.

Chow Tai Fook, one of China's most famous jewelry brands, has opened its own store here, as has Unilever, an internationally renowned brand. JD.com provides them with services such as "genuine product guarantee, ten times compensation for fakes", "cash on delivery" and "additional price protection".

To ensure the absolute rights and interests of both brands and consumers.

This announcement sent shockwaves through the e-commerce industry, as it essentially gave JD.com a significant advantage in the brand-owned B2C sector by taking the lead.

The entry of an international brand has little impact on consumers because most people don't even know how many brands this brand has or what they sell; they only know that it is a Fortune 500 company.

However, it means something different for other brands and potential investors. If other brands want to go e-commerce, they will definitely choose JD.com as their first choice.

Moreover, Chow Tai Fook's entry has special significance, as this is a brand that sells jewelry and gold.

It's often said that gold has a price but jade is priceless, but everyone knows that gold is a better store of value. And now that such an expensive item can be bought online, it's a very attractive prospect for the average consumer.

For a time, JD.com captured both B-end trust and C-end exposure, enjoying unparalleled success.

"When did Dongzi become so bold? Wasn't he about to go bankrupt?" Ma Yun's first reaction upon hearing this news was silence.

“I haven’t heard any news about a Series C funding round.” Cai Chongxin also frowned.

The recent difficulties faced by Carol the Tiger and the counterfeit scandal have left the two looking somewhat haggard.

“That means a kind person paid for it.” Ma Yun smiled, but a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

B-end brands are the most important core resource in the e-commerce industry. Although Taobao now occupies more than 70% of the e-commerce market, if there are any unexpected events in the B-end brand business, Alibaba may be significantly affected.

They had never thought that any other company in China, besides themselves, would dare to enter the brand market competition at this time.

Because China lacks a brand DNA, all its brands come from international markets. These established brands, which have long dominated the offline market, look down on e-commerce, which they see as a "child."

Therefore, if you want to cooperate with them, you have to accept all kinds of harsh and unreasonable terms. Ma Yun is not a person who will back down. He wants to influence the sales of these big brands through the C2C platform, and then independently incubate Taobao Mall, accumulate and select a group of precise users, and then find an opportunity to negotiate.

But now JD.com's involvement has somewhat disrupted his plans.

"Go and find out what price JD.com paid," Ma Yun said, her face grim.

"A guaranteed sales volume of 10 billion yuan per year is too high a price to pay." Liu Qiangdong held the newly signed contract, his face full of pain.

Lianli's annual revenue in China is less than 10 billion yuan. As a Fortune Global 500 company, its global revenue exceeds 360 billion yuan annually. The huge Chinese market only accounts for about 2.5% of its revenue, which obviously means there is still a lot of room for development.

Liu Qiangdong only saw the immediate pressure of needing an extra billion in sales, but failed to see the brand's potential in China's future.

“What’s there to be afraid of? 7% of Lianli’s revenue comes from four main categories: shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste, and laundry detergent. The school season is just around the corner. As long as JD.com cooperates in making good SKU combinations, plus the traffic from Mulan Street, achieving 5 million in revenue by the end of the year shouldn’t be difficult.” Wang Yao checked the contract in his hand without looking up.

He came to Beijing to take over [Online Banking], and took the opportunity to stop by JD.com for a visit.

"But you're really capable, managing to get Lianli's authorization. Are they not planning to go into the offline market?" Liu Qiangdong looked at the art pen in Wang Yao's hand with envy in his eyes.

It's not that he can't afford it, it's just that his simple and honest personality makes him unable to use such luxurious and high-profile things, otherwise his honest and upright persona would collapse.

Although e-commerce has not yet faced large-scale rejection from offline channels, many distributors have stated that they can only choose between online and offline channels, making it extremely difficult to recruit traditional brands to join e-commerce platforms during this period.

After all, no normal brand would give up a stable offline channel to gamble on an online channel with an uncertain future.

“I established a joint venture subsidiary with WMA, mainly responsible for brand promotion and e-commerce cooperation. They are quite optimistic about the Chinese market, but they can't compete with Procter & Gamble. They don't plan to continue investing in traditional media and are looking to see if they can find a new path in the new media arena,” Wang Yao explained.

Both of the variety shows, "Fairy Robe" from China and "Superman" from Korea, were successful. Chen Yun submitted the relevant data to the WMA headquarters and posted that Wang Yao was going to film Carole's autobiography, "Queen of Silicon Valley," claiming that he had secured the lead role for the leading lady Anne Hathaway and captured a large share of the audience market in China.

Ultimately, both parties contributed resources as equity to establish a 50/50 subsidiary, WT, whose first international brand to serve was Union.

Lianli generously provided a $5 million marketing budget, without any sales targets, and offered a 10% commission rebate on sales through new media channels. Wang Yao then signed a contract with JD.com under the guise of an "agent," guaranteeing a minimum sales volume of 500 million plus 5% commission.

With resources coming and going, there can be at least tens of millions in profit.

This is the advantage of resource brokers.

"Big companies are really something else. They can just give up on the main battlefield without any worries about not being able to take it back," Liu Qiangdong remarked.

"If you had unlimited bullets, you'd be even more reckless than it." Wang Yao chuckled. "Keep a close eye on Ershe's delivery business, or if things go wrong, we'll all be finished."

"Don't worry, I've assembled an elite logistics team specifically for these major projects, and they're all on a social security responsibility system," Liu Qiangdong said seriously.

Having learned from Alibaba's mistakes, he dares not make a mistake with counterfeit goods and has been strictly investigating his self-operated stores recently.

"If you can't hold on with the funds, remember to let me know in advance so I can raise money." Wang Yao said, seeing that it was almost time to leave.

"Don't worry, I'll be even more anxious than you when the time comes. Where are you going? Let's have dinner together later," Liu Qiangdong said with a smile.

"President Bernard is treating us to dinner later," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"There must be quite a few celebrities here," Liu Qiangdong said with a smile. "I really envy President Wang's extravagant and carefree life, unlike me who's struggling every day and doesn't even have a home."

"If you want to go, I can show you around, but I can't guarantee you'll be on the gossip headlines the next day," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Forget it, hanging out with you will make me too likely to be in the news." Liu Qiangdong quickly shook his head. "But if JD.com is choosing a spokesperson for its events in the future, you have to include me. I think Huo Siyan from Huayi is pretty good, she'd be perfect for the back-to-school season promotion."

"You know him?" Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly.

"No, I met her once at a dinner party. She seemed quite innocent-looking," Liu Qiangdong said with a guilty smile.

"We'll see," Wang Yao smiled, neither agreeing nor refusing.

(End of this chapter)