In the American drama "Game of Thrones", the main storyline is unfolded in the Westeros continent on the west side, and the main body on the east side continent where Long Ma is located in the first few seasons of the story are all uncivilized barbarians, who seem to live in an uncertain state. the nomadic peoples. If you think about it carefully, you will find that many British and American film and television works such as "300 Spartans", the races from the East are like uncivilized human beings. What is the deep reason behind this expression? Is this how Westerners see us in the East?
1 The savages from the east in the movies
The imagery in "300 Spartan Warriors" is very intriguing. The warriors on the Spartan side are handsome and muscular, while the image from the Persian side is extremely wretched and ugly. What's more, many of the most capable soldiers in Persia are It's a faceless state with a mask on. When the Persian king ordered an attack, the Persian soldiers rushed forward like ants crossing the border.
Let's look at the characters in "Kingdom of Heaven". Although the Arab army fighting with the protagonists is not too ugly, but if you look carefully, you will find that the Europeans represented by the protagonists have a lot of roles in many roles. . On the other hand, in the Arab camp, the Sultan was the one who gave the order from beginning to end, and the others were just mechanically executing the order.
When watching the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, have you noticed that the evil place where the protagonists are going is also in the east. The Hobbits are a beautiful country like a utopia in the west. And the evil enemy is again from the East. What's more coincidental is that some of Sauron's (big villain) subordinates are also faceless. Not to mention the hideous orcs
2 The stereotype of the Eastern army - the same, no free will, only know how to obey the power
Summarizing the images of the oriental army in the above films, we can know some stereotypes of the oriental people in the west.
The Westerners in the movie are all individualistic beings, and everyone is different. But the army of the Orientals is the same. In order to reflect this state of no self, there is a faceless setting. A person's face is the first and most intuitive feature that distinguishes him from others. The audience of soldiers without a face can't tell who is who.
The protagonists of "Spartan 300" volunteered to fight against the Persians in order to defend their homeland. Although the purpose of the ring escort team in "The Lord of the Rings" was different, they also volunteered to join in order to prevent Sauron from taking over the whole of Middle-earth. On the other hand, the Persian army only obeyed the orders of the king, and the Nazgul and Orcs under Sauron were not united for lofty ideals at all. They submit to power only out of fear. There is no free will at all, just like the bees blindly and mechanically obeying the queen bee.
3 The evolution of personal images of Orientals in British and American films
The most recognizable oriental figure in early British and American cinema is Fu Manchu, a mysterious, evil figure. Ironically, the cosplayer is a white actor.
In the "Harry Potter" series of movies we are all familiar with, the role of the Oriental is Zhang Qiu, and she and Harry have a romance. But she gave in under the torture of the enemy, expressing that the Orientals are good lovers, but they are not brave and loyal enough.
The image of a new generation of Orientals represented by Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan has finally begun to be positive. Bruce Lee set off a kung fu craze, and Jackie Chan, as the leading actor, is naturally the embodiment of justice in the movie. However, these kung fu films give Europeans and Americans a new stereotype that Chinese people can master kung fu.
Recently, Hollywood has added a lot of Chinese elements to its movies, and both the official and personal images are unprecedentedly positive. Even an important collaborator in the process of solving international problems.
In "Gravity", the heroine Sandra Bullock finally drove back to Earth in a Chinese spaceship. The personal images of Chinese engineers in "The Martian" also began to appear more three-dimensional. "Independence Day 2" China and the United States have joined forces to fight aliens. And the role played by Angelababy also has a plot of falling in love with the second male.
4 The changing image of Easterners in the eyes of Westerners in history
After the Age of Navigation in the 16th and 17th centuries, the world became more connected. Many Western missionaries came to China, which was still in the Ming Dynasty at that time. Because it was before the European Industrial Revolution, there was not much difference between the East and the West. These missionaries had a lot of knowledge about China. compliments, and the belief that the Chinese are Caucasian as well as Europeans (the Chinese being called the Yellows came later).
They are particularly envious of China's imperial examination system, and they have reflected on the rule that only aristocrats can hold public office.
The time when the Western impressions of the East really turned into those stereotypes in the movies was after the Industrial Revolution, when the gap between the East and the West widened. The hurricane-like progress of European society since 1800 requires the opposite to know itself and explain itself. So the so-called stagnant pre-modern image of the free-spirited Oriental came into being at the right moment.
For example, Westerners will think that China is a repetition of yesterday, a cycle of rising and falling of a dynasty, with no progress at all. The so-called traditional barbaric pre-modern image of agrarian society. On this basis, the image of the Chinese has become a stereotype of cowardice, lack of courage, disloyalty, lack of self-awareness, and blind obedience to authority.
This is exactly the opposite of Europe's emphasis on bravery, loyalty, individualism, free will, pluralistic society, and the rule of law. From this antagonism and difference, Europeans believe that they have found their own reasons for progress. And subtly spread this idea through movies, American dramas, etc., so the above-mentioned "Game of Thrones" and those movies have this meaning.
Finally, let's take a look at how Tocqueville, who was in 1856, commented on China in the famous book "The Old Regime and the Great Revolution".
"Since they can't find anything around that fits this line of thinking, they go deep into Asia to find it. I'm not exaggerating to say that all of them praise China in their books. Just read their books and you'll be sure You will see their admiration for China, because of the lack of understanding of China, what they tell us is actually all nonsense. That weak and barbaric government at the mercy of a small group of Europeans is in their eyes the world that should be The most perfect example to be imitated by other countries, the Chinese government is like Britain and the United States in the minds of later French people. The monarch has no prejudice, and holds a ceremony every year to reward useful skills. The imperial examination determines all official positions, and philosophy belongs to them. Religion, literati are their nobility, and they are amazed to see such a country.”
It can be seen that the Europeans' impression of China at that time has begun to transition from positive to negative. Although such a stereotype is not directly expressed in the movie now, it is still vaguely visible if you observe it carefully.
View more about Game of Thrones reviews
