phenomenon of narrationism seems to be more and more obvious in Hollywood movies. Recently, there are "Percy Jackson and the Thief of Fire" and "The Battle of the Titans" in recent films based on ancient Greek mythology. Of course, there are two types of doctrines. One is that if handled properly, it will not only maintain the essence of foreign culture but also incorporate some realistic brushstrokes; With its reputation of "cultural rape," I'm afraid that's the case with Chris Columbus's new work, Percy Jackson and the Fire Thief.
Myths can best reflect the spiritual character and humanistic characteristics of a nation. Like the Taoist gods in Chinese mythology, the gods are strictly hierarchical and perform their respective duties, but most of them are resolute, upright, kind, and amiable. The ideals of self-cultivation, ordering the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world are inseparable, and the Buddhist myth of "beyond the Three Realms, not in the Five Elements" corresponds to the ancient wisdom of detachment in the East. It is not difficult to see from this that whether it is living high in the temple or far away from the rivers and lakes, the Chinese people hope to achieve the ideal life state of "being poor and being alone, and being able to help the world".
Countries like Greece and Japan with relatively limited geographical environment and relatively scarce resources must survive by overcoming natural difficulties and even plundering the resources of neighboring countries. Their myths correspond to a spirit of conquest. In Japanese mythology, there is a story of Susano's death to kill the Hachichi orochi, and there are countless similar legends in ancient Greek mythology. Hercules made twelve great achievements, Jason's search for the golden fleece, Odysseus' travels and other stories all reflect the ancient Greek people's worship of the strong. Moreover, the strong people here are not only physically strong, but also the incarnation of wisdom. For example, Perhus killed Medusa with the principle of mirror reflection is a good example. Relatively speaking, the flaws of personal character seem to be somewhat irrelevant in their concept, the gods on Mount Olympus each have their own flaws, or they are all real, no different from mortals, but can live forever That's it. With the courage and strength to conquer nature, the unity of wisdom and martial arts is the perfect personality in the ideal of the Greek nation.
Although the movie "Percy Jackson and the Thief of Fire" wears the cloak of ancient Greek mythology, it is incompatible with the epic pattern of those heroic legends, and it also deviates from the martial spirit with conquest as the ultimate goal. It is just a film with the theme of finding the father children's movies. The protagonist of the movie, Percy Jackson, doesn't know anything about his life experience and lives in an ordinary world, but at the beginning of the movie, Zeus identified Percy as the culprit who stole the thunder and lightning. If this can be explained as Zeus' personal stubbornness The reason is that the king of the gods seems to be too reckless and stupid. Compared with the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in "Harry Potter", Percy knew his identity and the half-length school he entered after the crisis. It's like a Boy Scout camp with an ancient Greek war theme. And when Medusa, played by Uma Thurman, came on stage, the atmosphere of the cottage reached its peak. The witch who should have died under the sword of Perseus, the son of Zeus, died in the hands of the son of Poseidon. Could it be that Percy Didn't know Medusa and his dad had an affair in the Age of Mythology?
In fact, these shining events in the legend of heroes are strung together and copied into Percy Jackson's personal file, which does not violate any creative rules. No one stipulates that movies cannot be as fantasy and fiction as online novels. The biggest misfortune of "Percy Jackson and the Thief" lies not in this, but in its own shame compared to the great success of the "Harry Potter" series of the same theme.
Whether it is the story pattern or the audio-visual effects, "Harry Potter" is the top grade in the magic theme movie. Moreover, the young wizard written by Jack Rowling entered the screen world as early as 9 years ago, and has become an uncompromising memory of the growth of a generation. Compared with the success of the movie box office, the audience has long been established with the screen image. Kindness seems to be more valuable. As the old saying goes, "you are born and you are born", "Percy Jackson and the Thief of Fire" with a similar theme will naturally not be able to take advantage of the well-established "Harry Potter", and it does not have the ability to compete with the latter in all aspects. Capital. But on the other hand, although the scale of "Harry Potter" is grand, it is also coming to an end. After Harry, who can continue the magical frontier, if the sequel of "Percy Jackson and the Mythical Thief" can make up for the shortcomings and improve the level It seems to be up to the task.
In fact, the biggest feeling after watching this movie is not whether the movie is wonderful or not, but a kind of worry. Although this film seems immature and immature, don't forget that another "Titan Battle" a few days later is the original story of ancient Greek mythology. It is not difficult to imagine this ancient Greek hero with masculine beauty and shocking audio-visual effects as its selling points. The theme works will show how the conquest spirit of the Greek nation is vividly and heartily. But whether it's done right or wrong, Hollywood borrows ancient Greek culture. Of course, this kind of iron hoof has not ignored the extensive and profound Chinese culture, and "Kung Fu Panda" is an obvious example.
In He Ping's "The Swordsman in the Town of Two Flags", the rite of passage about breaking idols, standing in the moment, facing reality, and conquering oneself in a freehand martial arts way seems to become a rite of passage in "Kung Fu Panda" when the wordless scriptures are unfolded. Dim and silent. I can't believe that the kung fu-themed works made by foreigners, or cartoons, can touch the essence of oriental culture. It can be seen that Hollywood's emphasis on the cultures of various countries in the world is not a child's play, but has entered a more serious and orthodox exploration system. And when the turtle master in the movie soared beautifully, China actually produced "Three Shots and Shooting the Case Surprise", a work that imitated the Coen brothers but couldn't grasp the essence of looking directly at "evil" in their movies. In the end, it can only be a messy frown.
To say that this is a kind of sadness may be a bit extreme, but if there is a day when an Oriental-themed movie made by Hollywood can make the Orientals admire themselves, it is indeed an embarrassment. Startled but turned back, when will this hate be saved? "Percy Jackson and the Thief of Fire", "Clash of Titans" and "Kung Fu Panda" can appear today, but won't there be an orthodox martial arts film like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" directed by a foreigner tomorrow?
View more about Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief reviews
