Jackie Chan has changed from a young boy to an old man now. He has made countless movies. He has been in film for more than 40 years and has created countless heroic images. He is still a mainstream first-line celebrity, and he has also won Hollywood awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award, for these achievements, no Chinese actor can follow him.
In recent years, some people love Jackie Chan very much. This is a bit similar to Wu Jing, who recently filmed "Wolf Warrior". It's not terrible to be hacked.
When the movie "Kung Fu Yoga" was filmed, Jackie Chan was 62 years old. Many people have long said that Jackie Chan is old and can't beat him, but Jackie Chan used his actions to tell everyone that although he played better than before , but his movies are still good. Age is not a problem, Stallone is 70 years old, and he is still a tough and invincible image in the movie. Sometimes you don't need to explain, people who like you will like you after all, and it's useless for people who don't like you to say more.
1. A tried-and-true routine
Some people might say that "Kung Fu Yoga" is just a refurbished work of an outdated routine, filled with a lot of familiar bridges. Yes, anyone who has seen Jackie Chan's previous movies can see the shadows of Jackie Chan's movies. In fact, "Kung Fu Yoga" also borrowed many bridges from other movies. In the plot, Jackie Chan in the movie took the initiative to say that he liked Raiders of the Lost Ark.
However, the trick is not new, it just works. Almost any successful work stands on the shoulders of giants, and many successful directors have spoken about the films and directors they admire, and even paid tribute to them in their own films.
Movies, since their birth, to the present, the scale and numbers are estimated to be so huge that it is almost impossible for one person to make a movie that does not have any similar plot to any previous movie. Similarly, any one It is impossible for scientists to abandon the research results of their predecessors and create a new theory entirely by themselves to achieve great scientific and technological inventions.
There is no shortage of Chinese movies that imitate Western routines. For example, "Twelve Angry Men" has an American version, a Russian version, and now there is a Chinese version. The routines are almost identical, but this does not affect the wonderfulness of this movie. If you haven't watched the previous ones, just watch the Chinese one, isn't it great?
In fact, many successful movies are like this. In Hollywood, where genre films are mature, there are many similar bridges and plots in the same type of movies, especially hero-themed movies. However, at the end of each time, when good people are in danger and dying, although we know good people We will definitely turn defeat into victory, and we will still be sweating. When the bad guy ends up being defeated, we are still rejoicing, even though it was expected, and we will be excited when the applause for the hero in the shadows rings out. Endless, it is difficult to restrain myself. That's what good genre films are. Although it's an old routine, we just eat it because it's delicious.
2.
Many of the movie images that Jackie Chan has made are civilian heroes. Unlike superheroes in Hollywood blockbusters, civilian heroes do not have superpowers and are flesh and blood, so it is more meaningful to dare to fight and fight bravely.
There were countless heroes in Chinese movies, but most of them were fighting heroes in the war years. After all, they are too far away from the era when we grew up. Since the reform, Hong Kong Film and Television has brought us a lot of scenes. Heroes, such as national heroes, mostly come from the times of crisis for the Chinese nation, such as Huo Yuanjia, Chen Zhen, Huo Dongge, and Ip Man; there are heroic policemen, most of them come from Hong Kong police and bandit films; there are legal and political heroes, most of them also come from Hong Kong's legal and political film and television dramas; there are also street heroes, although most of them come from underworld movies, but they are also advocating a spirit of stealing and morality.
Looking back now, since the reform, many movies have been imported, but at that time, the imported movies were strictly controlled, and it can be said that they were all positive energy, including many Western movies, such as imported Hollywood movies, mostly full of heroic stories, sci-fi plots, etc. The content also gave us a lot of positive understanding and positive evaluation of the West.
In addition, the most influential Hong Kong film is the Hong Kong film. There are many types of Hong Kong films, such as kung fu films, police and gangster films, and legal and political films. Youth, blood, and battle are the themes of those Hong Kong film and television dramas, and films full of blood and energy are that A generation of young people is full of positive energy, and more importantly, it has cultivated a generation of legal and political awareness, civilian awareness and bloody culture.
However, in the late 1990s, TV dramas with female cultural values represented by Aunt Qiongyao gradually became popular in the mainland, and the feminine style began to occupy more and more screens; It also gradually started to drift away from us.
I think the lack of heroic culture is by no means a trivial matter, it represents the lack of the soul of a nation or a cultural group. South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, because of the great pressure of war during the Cold War, and relying on the United States for protection, the lack of self-confidence in culture is very prominent, especially South Korea and Taiwan, in that era when war movies were full of the world, but The inability to make decent war movies is all due to their poor status and war performance during World War II, and Japan, as a defeated country, has no right to portray their war heroes, so there is a serious lack of culture in these three places. hero image.
As for the source of hero images in European and American film and television dramas, it can be understood by referring to their World War II history and post-war status.
Although Hong Kong was once a British colony, it has stubbornly grown film heroes with Chinese cultural characteristics. This is because it is close to the mainland. Over the past century, the elites and civilians from the mainland have been pouring in constantly, and they have been striving for peace and prosperity. The construction is filled with a down-to-earth civilian atmosphere. Not only did Chinese culture not become extinct in the colonies, but because the earliest achievements of urbanization were full of cultural self-confidence, the integration of Chinese culture and modern urban culture in Hong Kong was very successful. Watching Hong Kong movies feels very close to the American Hollywood film and television culture spirit. This is not because he is deliberately learning to imitate, but because his unique geographical location and development history have given it unique cultural confidence and innovation capabilities. Heroes, not only did not die there, but grew very tenacious.
In the past, there were also many hero themes, urban life themes, and police and bandit themes in Chinese films. They also flourished for a while in the 1980s and 1990s, but they were soon led to an oblique direction.
This is due to the adoration of the West by the culture and directors of the previous generation.
But we don’t have to criticize them. Thinking about it is inevitable. When the opening was first changed, the United States needed to win over China to jointly deal with the Soviet Union, and as China approached, China was able to contact the United States at a closer distance, and the blockade was lifted, and funds and Technology, began to enter the world, and to the road of development.
Those who went abroad must have been greatly shocked. Now many interviews with cultural people can hear their personal accounts. They saw the gap and chose to leave. There is nothing to say. As a cultural person in the new era, the director cannot escape this kind of ideological influence. Coupled with the deliberate guidance of Western film critics and film festivals, Chinese films have become more and more in the quagmire of reflection and self-digging. Fighting spirit and optimism.
In this way, under the sarcasm and criticism from countless people, China has grown from a muddy and stubborn child despised by others to a strong and sturdy young man. There is suffering, but there must be more struggle and greatness. Otherwise, there would never be such an achievement.
However, many directors in China have not yet jumped out of their habitual thinking and are still sparing no effort to promote the old society. Obviously, this has long been unable to meet the cultural needs of modern Chinese people. A new age aesthetic.
Think about it, when Jackie Chan started traveling around the world in the movie, making friends with Western aristocrats with high noses and blue eyes, fighting gangsters from various countries, and defeating all kinds of "big lobs", many Chinese film critics were still there. There is endless debate about the anti-Japanese plot in domestic film and television dramas, and the gap between the realms is evident.
Just like Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao's sketch "The Prince and the Postman", blindly bowing down to the foreigners, kneeling and licking the eyes can't gain the respect of the foreigners. To gain the respect of the opponents, you have to work hard and work hard.
A few years ago, those crap comedy films could earn hundreds of millions at the box office, so film companies and directors should reflect on it, why? Not because of how good those comedy movies are! Not to mention the rubbish audience level! It's because everyone is too tired of those directors who always love to be masters. If you want to educate people, you can go home and educate your children yourself. You don't need to be so eloquent.
Culture belongs to the superstructure, and naturally must be attached to the economic foundation. However, the economic and social foundation also needs the superstructure of culture to be objectively displayed and reflected.
There are many directors and cultural people like this. They can't see how the country's current construction achievements come from, so their films will not reflect the construction workers like "Changjiang No. 7"; nor will they reflect Folk traffic and social conditions like in "People are in a bad way" will not be reflected in commercial success like "China Partner", whose movies only indulge in the past and add boring lectures. Their faces make them farther and farther away from the current era.
Therefore, when "Wolf Warriors 2" appeared, people's emotions were finally released, regardless of whether the film was impeccably shot or not, whether it was a classic or not. It is enough to prove the denial of the Chinese people to past directors and films.
What is the pulse of the times, we dare not speak lightly, but the market will give us a real answer.
Perhaps, what filmmakers should learn more from Hong Kong directors is to try to touch and grasp the heartbeat and pulse of this era, reflect the current living conditions and cultural pursuits of people, and actively contribute to the creation of the spiritual culture of this society. work.
At present, perhaps the most important thing for us is to call for the self-confidence of Chinese cultural people, call for the masculinity and bloody nature of Chinese films, and call for heroes who belong to our nation and culture.
Therefore, at the moment when the country intends to guide Hong Kong directors to co-produce films with the Mainland, I am extremely supportive, and sincerely hope that the co-production will produce more and better films. 3. The use of Zhang Yixing in the film "Kung Fu Yoga"
by Xiao Xianrou is a bold attempt, and it is also an expression of Hong Kong filmmakers' tolerance, openness and innovation. In recent years, young students such as Zhang Yixing and Lu Han have become the little fresh meat that female culture talks about, and it has become a cultural phenomenon. The rise of women's pornography shows the improvement of women's status. Movies and televisions are also based on economic interests to please female audiences. This is in line with the laws of the market and is normal.
However, if women only like small fresh meat, not heroes, it is a manifestation of cultural imbalance. Some people think that women are such a cultural need. It seems that the preferences of heroes and women are two things that can never be combined, but is this really the case? Isn't there a little bit of bad guidance from the media?
If you look at Europe and the United States, do women also like small fresh meat? Obviously not, this kind of small fresh meat culture is obviously more from Asia, especially South Korea, of course, Taiwan also contributed a lot.
The negative cultural characteristics of Han and Taiwan have been discussed before. I won't say much more. I just want to talk about why the small fresh meat culture is indiscriminately spread in East Asia. I think, if it is really the needs of women's culture, there must be a problem of weight and guidance.
What is the male image that Western women like? Beckham, the heartthrob of the year, also had long and flowing hair, but after cutting it short, it showed the masculine qualities of men. The handsome guys in Hollywood movies are mostly handsome and clean (but not milky) when they first debuted, but after they become famous, they will soon move towards a more mature and masculine direction, which is almost always the case.
Look at the female characters in Hollywood movies. Most of the most popular are capable and professional professional female images, and Hollywood is rapidly cultivating female superheroes. Their images are by no means weak and elegant. , but full of masculine, sexy, and even assertive.
Women in oriental movies can accompany men and even work hard. Most of them are in Hong Kong movies. The women in Jackie Chan movies, that is, the dragon girls, almost all follow Jackie Chan in various harsh environments. They survive in the sinister environment with men and fight against evil forces, no matter how big their role in the plot is. , at least it can be seen that they will also have ruthlessness and hard work. In addition, the mobile force series like Galaxy Imaging are also very classic, calm, professional, responsible and agile, all make us feel different about such women.
I firmly believe that a culture that is too feminine will make a nation lose its fighting spirit, combat effectiveness, and even creativity. Moreover, the masculinity and femininity of a national culture, Guan Jian sees whether the male culture affects the female culture, or the female culture affects the male culture.
Xiao Xianrou Zhang Yixing's participation in "Kung Fu Yoga" this time is actually a bold and appropriate attempt by Jackie Chan. On the one hand, we have seen Zhang Yixing's willingness to break through his own image and open up a wider play. On the other hand, we have seen the Hong Kong director Good at taking advantage of the innovative qualities of various actors, especially director Tang Jili.
Zhang Yixing's performance in "Kung Fu Yoga" objectively did not challenge the original image and acting skills too much, but the plot design of entering the female wolf circle to save people was well designed to self-deprecate, and at the same time it seemed to tell everyone, Xiao Xianrou can also bravely save people in distressed places, that is, it conforms to and makes good use of the original image of Xiao Xianrou, and sets up a plot design that is in line with the temperament of the whole film, which can be said to be very successful.
A successful business culture must be good at using various cultural circle resources to obtain business interests. Tang Jili accurately saw the commercial value of Xiaoxianrou cultural circle, which increased the popularity value and business return of "Kung Fu Yoga". . From this point of view, some people say that the filming of "Party Founding" is too out of line with the temperament of the times. In fact, it is a bit demanding. If you want to attract more people to watch the movie, you must respect the preferences and preferences of various groups of people. Favorite, and being able to guide and utilize it well, to increase the popularity and audience of the movie, this is the real way of survival for the movie. Hong Kong directors obviously understand this better than mainland directors.
Moreover, in the eyes of Hong Kong directors, even women can fight hard, not to mention little fresh meat.
Tang Jili, especially a well-known director who pushes the mainstream hero values, a few years ago, he filmed the TV series "Jing Zhong Yue Fei", which shows his pursuit of values!
When some so-called cultural celebrities and history lecturers are now trolling China's historical heroes, and subverting history and attracting attention with all kinds of strange remarks, when history is about to be pursued by these so-called scholars who have no morals When playing bad games, directors like Tang Jili are extremely rare and precious. They really understand what the most important values and cultural spirit of our nation are, and they work hard to preach them. The backbone of Chinese culture!
It is ridiculous to think that some so-called cultural people criticize Hollywood movies for being more and more politically correct and afraid to offend the audience. Wait and see, the more real Hollywood blockbusters in the future, the less they will dare to offend Chinese audiences. Movies that touch on China and Chinese people will definitely not become really successful blockbusters.
And Chinese films will surely follow their own cultural pursuits one step at a time, find their own footprints, find their own characteristics, and create a screen image that is accepted and liked by this era.
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