Six Hundred and Five - Cultural Differences

Anyone who is engaged in media, film, television, etc., or has studied related majors will have a perception, and this perception is generally recognized by academic education, that is, it belongs to the nation, and it belongs to the world. At this point, it is basically There is no debate.

This statement is universal, even in other countries and regions, but Wayne's sudden and surprising answer is tantamount to publicly denying the concepts that have been ingrained in everyone's minds for so many years.

If this sentence were said by someone else, it might be okay, but his identity is completely different, especially when the movie "The Dark Knight" has firmly secured the top spot at the box office in film history, what he said It will be even more controversial.

“The more national it is, the more global it is.”

The moment he decided to speak his true thoughts, Wayne was already prepared to cause trouble with his remarks. However, throughout the entire interview, he just said all kinds of clichés that everyone liked to hear, which obviously made him feel a little unwilling. , so he decided to talk about the practical stuff at the end.

"I think this is how film schools in any country or region teach filmmakers." Ignoring the host's slightly changed expression, he also ignored the director's frantic gestures. Since he chose to speak, then... You must finish your point of view.

Even when he saw the red light on the camera flashing and knew that he was in close-up mode, he continued: "Even at the University of Southern California where I once studied, the more national, the more global. This is a movie with artistic connotations that is first of all national, secondly artistic, and thirdly a film with universal human nature.

Only such movies can arouse strong resonance among audiences from different countries, different ethnic groups and different regions. I actually don’t deny this, because my teacher also taught me this. For example, Asia, which is relatively close to everyone, has the famous Kitano Takeshi, Yin Lang's Abbas, Wanwan Province's Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Lao Mouzi in this land.

They have very much in common. It can be said that they all use their own nation's rich cultural connotation, national destiny, national personality and national prospects to construct their own style of film shots, and all of them have won recognition in the world film circle. favor, enhancing their status as international directors. "

When they heard that except for Wayne's denial at the beginning, everything after that was based on facts, Bai Wensha and the staff in the studio breathed a sigh of relief subconsciously.

Judging from the current situation, there is no need for the host to guide you to skip this topic. Even if this foreigner expresses his views, the method he uses is very smart. If everything is based on facts, at least it is not unreasonable to deny that most people Deeply held beliefs.

"Isn't this wrong?" Bai Wensa took over the words calmly and continued to ask: "Since you yourself have received the same education and agree with this point of view, why do you say that what belongs to the nation is not to the world?"

"Please note that there is a prerequisite before my opinion is expressed, and that is my identity as a friend."

"The Sword Comes"

Nodding slightly to the camera, Wayne's serious face disappeared and a smile appeared on his face. "Personally, I also very much agree with this point of view, but if it comes to today's topic, I will tell you that the nation is never the world. Of course, what I am talking about is only about the film industry."

After pondering for a moment, he continued: "For a market that is still in the early stages of development, if you want to make great strides forward from the beginning, or even go international, you will definitely face this problem. This was the case in Hollywood back then, The same is true for this land today.

From a friend's point of view, I personally recommend focusing on the modern film industry system to develop the market, but please note that I did not say to completely abandon traditional national culture. The main reason why Hollywood movies can be marketed around the world is that they are inclusive and no one clings to the so-called tradition..."

"Nonsense, this is Chi Luoluo's capitalist thinking."

In a tube building in the capital, a young man with small eyes and an old look was so angry that he threw his cup when he saw Wayne's statement on TV.

As a film director, and a well-known film director, Lai Lai felt that the foreigners on TV were just like the event at the film school, they were still trying to please others. To mislead the filmmakers here.

"Well, no, why are you so angry?"

The young master who was sitting on the sofa watching TV with him reached out and pushed him, bent down and picked up the big teapot from the ground. "I think what the foreigner said is quite interesting. Besides, he will be leaving in two days. If you don't like hearing it, just treat it as a joke."

"This guy has bad intentions..."

"Hey, hey, hey, come on, even if you curse at home, people won't hear you."

The young master shook his head, turned his head and ignored his friends beside him, and continued to watch the TV show that was about to end, enjoying it.

In the living room of another Tongzilou building in the same capital, Feng Pants, who was showing his rotten teeth and smoking, was laughing while watching TV. He picked up the big tea jar on the coffee table and took a big sip with a sizzling sound.

"Now I'm talking about some people's pain points, haha, whoever jumps in pain will feel uncomfortable..."

Wayne's words on TV were quite polite. He was just talking about the film industry, talking about how to learn from Hollywood's successful experience and how to make movies that people love to watch in a short period of time, explaining the importance of audience liking. In fact, The ultimate goal is to quickly expand your local market.

However, the meaning behind these words may have a different subtext in the ears of some sensitive people. It's not feasible to cling to the so-called traditional national culture. Apart from winning awards, such films are of no use to the development of the film market, and no one in the audience wants to watch them.

Think about some of the so-called national films that have won awards. They deliberately expose the bad habits of national culture and have such delusional ideas to go global. Are such films really useful for the development of marketization? Apart from those foreigners who grin at the jokes at film festivals, can it be loved by the local public?

The same words have completely different meanings when heard by people who have left the scene at different times. This person is just afraid of thinking too much and being criticized for hurtful things.

In the eyes of ordinary viewers, they feel that the foreigner on TV is very down-to-earth and the ideas he proposes are sincere. Who doesn’t want to make movies that everyone likes in their own country?

The program on TV has come to an end, and the director in the studio is also working hard. No one knows now whether Wayne's final discussion of the national topic in the movie will cause a lot of controversy afterwards, but at least from their perspective. It seems that what this foreigner said is not too outrageous.

Excluding the introduction and ending of this program, there is actually only a little over ten minutes in the middle. When the interview officially ended, Bai Wensa was sorting out the manuscripts on the table while taking a few hidden glances at Wayne beside him.

After hesitating for a while, he still chose to stand up, moved to the man who was being helped by the staff to remove the recording equipment, and said politely: "Director Greenberg, can't movies that express national culture really go global? "

"Hi Bai."

Hearing the host's voice, Wayne raised his head in surprise and said with a smile: "This is how I personally see it. How should I put it? This is like the difference between Eastern and Western food cultures. Except for a very special few people, , it’s impossible for most people to adapt to each other’s food.”

The reason is simple. Eating one meal may be regarded as a taste of something new, and it may taste delicious. But if a person here eats meat three times a day, or a North American eats rice and stir-fries for every meal, then it is not. Enjoy the food, but the horror movie scene.

Bai Wensa nodded in agreement. As a senior media reporter and host, he has a very thorough understanding of this aspect. Food is also an indispensable part of their respective national cultures, let alone allowing foreigners to eat Chinese food for a long time. , even here in Guangdong and Guangxi, there are a lot of differences in eating habits.

"So, my point of view is to retain the national elements that can be accepted by most people in the world, such as kung fu." As he spoke, Wayne also performed a Bruce Lee signature move with both hands. His performance made a lot of work in the studio The staff laughed.

"Then through continuous learning and reference, we add the successful elements of modern commercial films. I personally feel that this is the best way to integrate national culture with the world. Of course, this is just my opinion."

He didn't say these words in the official program just now. When talking about the film industry in general terms, it's okay to explain it in any way, but if it involves specific methods, that's another matter.

And one thing Wayne is very sure of is that if he wants to make his film industry bigger, he must embark on the road of commercialization. Don't worry about overseas affairs for now, and produce a large number of movies that local movie fans love to watch. is the right way.

Eastern culture itself is completely opposite to the Western culture. Especially in movies, the way of expressing some things is completely opposite.

Take Zhou Xingxing's movie "The God of Cookery" for example. This movie took over 40 million at the box office in Hong Kong in 1996. It can be said that it was extremely popular. It also made the king of comedy go silent because of "Westward Journey". After more than a year, it immediately turned around.

But many people don't know that this movie was also released in North America at the end of 1996, but the box office was only a few hundred thousand, and the main contributors to this box office were theaters around the Chinese community.

However, compared to the miserable North American box office, the wild ideas and expressions in the movie "God of Cookery" have successfully attracted the attention of many Hollywood filmmakers. In early 1997, 20th Century Fox also specially found Zhou Xingxing, hoping that Able to make a North American version of God of Cookery.

It's a pity that there are still huge differences in food culture involved, and in the end the cooperation between the two parties failed because of these differences.

The same difference is found in "Infernal Affairs". Orientals can't understand the American version of f**k and f**k, rough and bloody scenes, and absurd ending. Westerners also cannot understand the so-called Chinese romance in the original movie.

Therefore, what is national never belongs to the world.