Communicating Ethics in Movies: from Superheroes to a Community of Shared Future
By Hu Zhengrong and Zhang Lei |
chinawatch.cn |
Updated: 2019-04-28 10:05
Ethics are embodied in cultural products, movies are no exception. For example, Hollywood, the American dream factory that churns out the largest number of motion pictures, is adept at packaging ethics in its products.
But recent years has been a go-go period for the Chinese movie industry. Our domestic movies, with improved narratives and special effects, rival Western imports at the Chinese box office. However, they have barely cracked the international market.
To make a foray into foreign markets, movie productions should have three sets of corelations: the uniqueness and the universality of ethics; the inclusiveness and exclusiveness of ethics and the abstractness and specificity of ethics.
Corny superhero movies, which can be traced back to Christianity and even to ancient Greek stories, have replicated a more modern recipe.
Joseph Campbell, in his book The Hero’s Journey, summarized a formula of creating Western superheroes. An ordinary man became the chosen one. He embarks on an adventure that deviates from his mundane life. He will be seduced by sirens or other evil spirits, and helped by fairies or other mystic forces. He will gain some supernatural power, grow from zero to hero, defeat the demons and make peace with an estranged father role. At the end of the day, he is a superhero juggling with a life as an average man and a sacred mission as a crusader in another dark world.
Campell’s hero theory is validated in a raft of superhero movies like Superman, Spiderman, Captain Americaand Aquaman. Those heroes usually save the world with their superpowers, which can be a natural gift, or a skill acquired by accident or by enhancement technologies. Their storylines have a very similar pattern, despite different twists and turns.
Of course, superhero movies are more than meet the eye. They are seasoned with lots of ethical elements, such as a free spirit, the supremacy of love, individualistic heroism and technology worship. They balance the conflicts and the inclusiveness, fuel the tension and offer some symbolic solutions as a solace to people. For instance, in The Avengerssequels, Captain America, as a die-hard conservatist, is having a face-off with Iron Man, a hardcore liberal. Putting two heroes of opposing political views in the same frame please both sides of the aisle. The design is a stroke of genius, a think-out-of-the-box move and one of the reasons why Hollyw ood productions still stay ahead. Besides, we also clearly see the three attributes mentioned earlier in the Avengers movies.
Chinese Movies: PromotingtheCommunity ofaShared Future
In early 2019, Wandering Earth, a critically acclaimed and commercially successful Chinese movie, sparked some debate. It impressed the movie-goers with a riveting plot, rich imagination, vivid characters and dazzling special effects. At a deeper level, it holds the banner of “a community of shared future”. It expressed people’s love for their homeland, their dedication to family and their commitment to saving the earth. Meanwhile, its portrayal of complicated emotions and individual characters is very accurate.
But how does Wandering Earthpresent the three attributes? Is it preaching some ideological ideas to the audience? Is it too obvious? Is it too narrow-minded? Does it win the hearts of most people? Does it reek of nationalism? Is inclusiveness neglected? Will people approve the hero’s last-ditch effort to fight for a glimmer of hope? At the end of the movie, rescue teams from other nations join hands, but the big heroes who turn the tables and save the day are always the Chinese. Will heroes of different nationalities better deliver the spirit of building a community of shared future?
Chinese movies are trying to communicate ethics when dip their toe in the global market. But, Chinese film-makers should avoid a confrontation of values, balance their uniqueness and the universality, and resort to appealing narratives to bridge the cultural gap and offer more inclusive and symbolic solutions to solve problems. Then Chinese movies can resonate with more people across the world.
Hu Zhengrong is editor-in-chief of China Educational Television (ETV).
Zhang Lei is researcher of National Communication Innovation Research Center in Communication University of China, and executive director of Sino-Foreign Cultural Exchanges and Publicity Research Center affiliated to Ministry of Education.
This article was translated by Hou Sheng.
The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.All rights reserved. Copying or sharing of any content for other than personal use is prohibited without prior written permission.
Ethics are embodied in cultural products, movies are no exception. For example, Hollywood, the American dream factory that churns out the largest number of motion pictures, is adept at packaging ethics in its products.
But recent years has been a go-go period for the Chinese movie industry. Our domestic movies, with improved narratives and special effects, rival Western imports at the Chinese box office. However, they have barely cracked the international market.
To make a foray into foreign markets, movie productions should have three sets of corelations: the uniqueness and the universality of ethics; the inclusiveness and exclusiveness of ethics and the abstractness and specificity of ethics.
Corny superhero movies, which can be traced back to Christianity and even to ancient Greek stories, have replicated a more modern recipe.
Joseph Campbell, in his book The Hero’s Journey, summarized a formula of creating Western superheroes. An ordinary man became the chosen one. He embarks on an adventure that deviates from his mundane life. He will be seduced by sirens or other evil spirits, and helped by fairies or other mystic forces. He will gain some supernatural power, grow from zero to hero, defeat the demons and make peace with an estranged father role. At the end of the day, he is a superhero juggling with a life as an average man and a sacred mission as a crusader in another dark world.
Campell’s hero theory is validated in a raft of superhero movies like Superman, Spiderman, Captain Americaand Aquaman. Those heroes usually save the world with their superpowers, which can be a natural gift, or a skill acquired by accident or by enhancement technologies. Their storylines have a very similar pattern, despite different twists and turns.
Of course, superhero movies are more than meet the eye. They are seasoned with lots of ethical elements, such as a free spirit, the supremacy of love, individualistic heroism and technology worship. They balance the conflicts and the inclusiveness, fuel the tension and offer some symbolic solutions as a solace to people. For instance, in The Avengerssequels, Captain America, as a die-hard conservatist, is having a face-off with Iron Man, a hardcore liberal. Putting two heroes of opposing political views in the same frame please both sides of the aisle. The design is a stroke of genius, a think-out-of-the-box move and one of the reasons why Hollyw ood productions still stay ahead. Besides, we also clearly see the three attributes mentioned earlier in the Avengers movies.
Chinese Movies: PromotingtheCommunity ofaShared Future
In early 2019, Wandering Earth, a critically acclaimed and commercially successful Chinese movie, sparked some debate. It impressed the movie-goers with a riveting plot, rich imagination, vivid characters and dazzling special effects. At a deeper level, it holds the banner of “a community of shared future”. It expressed people’s love for their homeland, their dedication to family and their commitment to saving the earth. Meanwhile, its portrayal of complicated emotions and individual characters is very accurate.
But how does Wandering Earthpresent the three attributes? Is it preaching some ideological ideas to the audience? Is it too obvious? Is it too narrow-minded? Does it win the hearts of most people? Does it reek of nationalism? Is inclusiveness neglected? Will people approve the hero’s last-ditch effort to fight for a glimmer of hope? At the end of the movie, rescue teams from other nations join hands, but the big heroes who turn the tables and save the day are always the Chinese. Will heroes of different nationalities better deliver the spirit of building a community of shared future?
Chinese movies are trying to communicate ethics when dip their toe in the global market. But, Chinese film-makers should avoid a confrontation of values, balance their uniqueness and the universality, and resort to appealing narratives to bridge the cultural gap and offer more inclusive and symbolic solutions to solve problems. Then Chinese movies can resonate with more people across the world.
Hu Zhengrong is editor-in-chief of China Educational Television (ETV).
Zhang Lei is researcher of National Communication Innovation Research Center in Communication University of China, and executive director of Sino-Foreign Cultural Exchanges and Publicity Research Center affiliated to Ministry of Education.
This article was translated by Hou Sheng.
The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.All rights reserved. Copying or sharing of any content for other than personal use is prohibited without prior written permission.
