Sun Jiashan Chinese Academy of Art
The "main theme" is not a static and rigid concept but is constantly developing and upgrading
HoWide (hereinafter referred to as HoWide): Also a high-profile domestic blockbuster in the summer of this year, "Building the Army" "There are many differences between "Wolf Warriors 2", but they all belong to the generally recognized category of "main melody". How do you define the definition of "main melody" movie?
Sun Jiashan (hereinafter referred to as Sun): I don't think we can use a static textbook description to define the "main theme." The "main theme" is not an essential concept, but is constantly moving forward. I have summarized in my previous research that from 1987 to 2017, 30 years have passed since the "main melody" has gone today. During these 30 years, it can be roughly divided into 4 stages of development. The first stage of
was around the 1990s, and the "main theme" films in this stage were represented by the "Great Battle" series, "The Founding Ceremony" and "The Battle of Crossing the River". Such films basically maintain a relatively official and orthodox narrative of history. At that time, marketization and industrialization reform were only the initial stage, the old and new systems had not yet been converted, and there was no influx of foreign films such as Hollywood. Therefore, the "main theme" films at that stage were very good in a relatively closed market environment. Box office performance. "Kong Fansen" in 1996, "Opium War" in 1997, "Zhou Enlai Diplomacy" in 1998, etc. all topped the box office. In 1997, "Opium War" even became the second runner-up in the national box office with 72 million box office. Second to "Jurassic Park 4" at 72.1 million. Most of the "main melody" films at that stage were fully funded and produced by the state, and there were institutional guarantees for distribution and screening. For example, during the filming of "The Great Battle", the PLA troops were mobilized as extras, and it also received direct military support when the filming funds were insufficient. This is completely unimaginable today. Many misunderstandings about the "main theme" still remain at that stage. The second stage of
is at the turn of the century, including a series of films with the theme of "Long March", and works with artistic film characteristics such as "Red River Valley", "Yellow River Love" and "Purple Sun". After Feng Xiaogang's "Party A and Party B" in 1997 opened the curtain of typified exploration of the mainland film market in the form of a New Year film, the "main theme" film also began to gradually move closer to the market. For example, a series of "Long March" theme films fully absorbed the mature commercial genres of TV dramas that were in the ascendant in the newly emerging mass culture market, such as "Explain Qianlong" and "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" in the late 1990s. , Began to use the "main theme" of the Long March theme into "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"-style "joking", quite a brilliant Zhuge Liang-like image of Chairman Mao, and also coincided with the society on which the "Going Down the Altar" series of best sellers in the late 1990s relied on. Cultural psychology. At this stage, the strong official investment color of the past "main theme" began to fade, and the "main theme" film began to try to explore a market-oriented operation path in the investment sense.
In the third stage, although there are only a few representative films such as "The Founding of the Country" and "The Founding of the Party", they showed sufficient symptom. The "main theme" of this stage has not only found a very market-oriented mode of operation in terms of capital investment, but also has begun to boldly use the production methods of mainstream blockbusters such as Hollywood in the content production, trying to complete its "main theme". The "grafting" of China's localization has a significant turning point in the development of the "main theme".
Therefore, the fourth phase started from Operation Mekong in 2016, represented by "The Founding of the Army" and "Wolf Warrior 2", including "Extraordinary Mission" and "Operation Red Sea" scheduled to be released at the end of 2017. Series of works. The "main melody" of this stage today is more complicated than any previous stage. From the narrative structure, character setting, conflict rhythm to visual effects, it is beginning to have the basic characteristics of Hollywood-style mainstream blockbusters. Moreover, due to multi-level changes such as investment structure and production attribution, today’s "main theme" film and television works have considerable autonomy compared with the previous stage where the state marked cultural boundaries. The "survey" of cultural boundaries is also in business Completed on the basis of logical exploration.
Therefore, from the above development context, it is not difficult to see that the "main theme" movie is indeed adapting to the market step by step.Embracing genre films step by step, but also looking for autonomy step by step.
Why did the "main theme" suddenly become popular? First of all, because the audience has almost completely changed
outside the painting: we have observed that from "Wolf Warrior", "Operation Mekong" to "In the Name of the People", to today's "Army Founding" and "Wolf Warrior 2", these years The market popularity of "Main Melody" works is showing a rising trend. What do you think is the main reason behind it?
Sun: Indeed, many people will talk about this trend from the perspective of product connotation, but I think the bigger reason comes from the continuous extension of the current cultural and entertainment consumers.
In today’s era, the extension of the film and television industry has undergone great changes. This includes not only the rapid increase in our consumer base, that is, the huge increase in the product audience population base; but also the changes in media forms, which are brought about by the mobile Internet. Media iteration effect. These changes from the external environment of the film industry have been so severe that they can bring about subversive cultural challenges for the entire industry-not only will it subvert the market structure of traditional film types, but even the definition of "film" itself is possible It will be rewritten, because the current movie products are facing consumers who are almost completely different from any previous era.
Outside the picture: The annual number of Chinese film viewers has increased by nearly 10 times in the past five years, and many new consumers have entered the cinema. What do you think is the difference between these new consumers and the previous ones?
Sun: Last year, a term particularly popular in the film industry was called "small town youth". At that time, the academic circles and the media believed that "small town youth" was the real increase in the Chinese film market. This was of course inaccurate and it was also inaccurate. It's just a descriptive concept, not to mention that since the box office began to languish last April, those people have never dared to mention it again.
Jia Zhangke’s films often show the image of "small town youths"
From a theoretical point of view, I prefer to call these "small town youths", that is, these new audiences who constitute an increase, as "imperfect consumers." The "imperfection" mentioned here is not a discriminatory derogatory term, but a distinguishing description of characteristics. In other words, these new audiences of Chinese movies, these new cultural and entertainment consumers, entered the movie theaters because of the continuous "sinking" of commercial real estate in third- and fourth-tier cities and the vast county-level cities. Compared with consumers in the sense of "movie fans" and "emerging middle class", they are very "imperfect".
For example, they do not have the educational level, aesthetic taste, economic income and social status of traditional "movie fans" and "emerging middle class". As far as the cultural and entertainment consumption we are familiar with and adapt to in the past, their "defects" are too great. too much. But it is these massive "small town youths" and these massive "imperfect consumers" that constitute a powerful increase in the Chinese film market. They have changed the extension of movie audiences in the past — and started to change what we have in the past. The connotation of accustomed movie audiences, the new movie audiences in third- and fourth-tier cities and the vast county-level cities, at the box office, have at least “one-third the world” with traditional audiences in first- and second-tier cities-this will naturally bring about film production and The change in the communication logic is the kind of change that will not work if you want to.
"Little Fresh Meat" should not be the "scapegoat" of the current film industry.
Outside the picture: You once put forward a point of view that it is foolish to deduct the "pot" of the film industry to "Little Fresh Meat"?
Sun: Yes, because "Little Fresh Meat" and "Small Town Youth" are both key concepts of node nature in China's contemporary film industry, and their paradox lies in that they are both pioneers in leading the domestic film box office. The team is also a scapegoat for the low quality of domestic movies. Just like the problem of "small town youth", this is also because we still lack a strong theoretical grasp of the concept of "small fresh meat", and it also reflects the theoretical incompetence of the Chinese film industry theory in the contemporary context.
The emergence of the phenomenon of "small fresh meat" has deep-seated reasons. This is also a major cultural challenge of our time and we cannot simply put the hat on it.
Outside the painting: Can you briefly elaborate on this deep-seated reason?
Sun: As early as "The Eighteenth of the Fog Moon of Louis Bonaparte", Marx put forward the view that has been affecting the present, to the effect that the bottom of society cannot express themselves, but can only be expressed.
The audience of these "small fresh meat" we are discussing now is those "small town youth" and "imperfect consumers", It is very close to the mass of people who "cannot express themselves" described by Marx. In the era of mobile Internet, the intense media iteration of this era has given them "suddenly" access to unprecedented channels for self-expression. The media leverage effect of mobile Internet has also made them a huge increase in the cultural and entertainment industry in this era, including movies. the amount.
And what kind of crowd are they? Because of the high degree of overlap between netizens and movie viewers, we made a preliminary portrait based on Internet statistics published twice a year by CNNIC of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Among the nearly 800 million Internet users in my country, nearly 90% have not received a bachelor’s degree or higher education, more than 70% are under 40 years old, and the proportion of rural Internet users is approaching 30%; and more than most mainstream media Imagine that there are still 122 million netizens in my country so far, that is, one out of every six netizens is still surfing the Internet through Internet cafes.
Therefore, there are specific reasons why they are called "small town youths" and "imperfect consumers", and this situation and situation are obviously outside the scope of the mainstream media. But in the past five or six years, they "suddenly" flooded into our mainstream vision, and naturally they will bring some problems that have not been understood and changed for a long time. Movies are not only an exception, they are also the first "dominos" to be overthrown in this big format.
The new generation of youth has both a new generation of life and a new generation of "politics".
: Why do these people have a higher acceptance of the theme of "the theme"?
Sun: In fact, in the media environment of the mobile Internet, the new audience groups of "small town youth" and "imperfect consumers" in my country's local context that have completed the cultural transition are not depoliticized, but rather They have a sense of political participation that is at least not lost to any previous generation, but they have their own way. Although there will inevitably be some problems with their political and cultural forms and political demands, it does not mean that they do not have their own "politics."
For example, last year’s "Emperor’s Expedition" aimed at Taiwan independence speeches, it is so large-scale, large-scale, large-scale, organized, efficient, and purposeful to express one’s aspirations rationally, beneficially, and in a manner. Even the post-80s generation is simply unimaginable.
Another example is Li Dakang and Qi Tongwei in "The Name of the People". These were the characters and topics of the adult world in the past, but they were also received by "small town youth" and "imperfect consumers". "The high attention of the fans of cultural subjects, this has never happened at any stage in the past.
Waihuan: When it comes to fan culture, this is also a new feature of this generation of consumers.
Sun: Yes, this is an era transition from star culture (Star) to idol culture (Idol). Because the fan group in this era is the first generation in the entire Chinese history to be born in a very similar American atomic family structure. Therefore, they have a lot of unique cultural experiences in the process of growing up. For example, their loneliness is difficult for us to experience. They especially emphasized Idol/Idol star, the companionship with their own personal growth. They have no interest in the tall traditional star with almost perfect image and personality; on the contrary, those idols with flaws and imperfections. , Is their first choice for cultural and entertainment consumption.
We must not underestimate this cultural transition from traditional star to idol star, which has already begun to deeply influence movie audiences. As far as "main theme" movies are concerned, the previous movie audiences watching Gu Yue's special actors and other great men such as Chairman Mao, undoubtedly had to "act like", almost failing; but now young audiences "Little Fresh Meat" participated in "The Great Cause of Building an Army", and the requirements of the past have changed drastically. My Idol also began to participate in the construction of the mainstream discourse of this country, and also began to enter the mainstream society of this country—— This is not only the success of Idol, but also the success of me and other fans.
I think this can explain why "little meat" idols are appearing more and more in "main melody" works, and "main melody" certainly has such demands, otherwise, "main melody" is for what, "main melody" "For whom? This is the result of the combined forces of multiple sources and contexts in this era.
"main theme" is typifying
outside the picture: So, when we are in the fan culture and the new generation of consumersIf you understand the combination of idols and "main melody" in Fei Zhe's context, can you provide another perspective for the reasons for the popularity of these "main melody" works?
Sun: I even think that this combination is likely to become a key node for Chinese film products to find their own path. The duration of the first few stages of the aforementioned "main melody" is generally about ten years, and to some extent it is gradually declining; but in today's "main melody" cycle, its popularity may last at least 20 years or more. Because of the mature film industry,
should handle the relationship between "main theme" and commercialization. For example, Hollywood, which film does not have the shadow of the American "main theme", but we hardly feel that it is thrilling. In the past, when we discussed the "main theme", we could only enter from the perspective of the subject, not a typified concept.
At this stage, whether it’s Operation Mekong, Extraordinary Mission, Army Founding, Wolf Warriors 2 and so on, or Mekong Case, In the Name of the People, etc., we can It is said that not all of them have succeeded, but the "main theme" is gradually being categorized, and continuous feedback and interaction from the market have been obtained, and it has begun to achieve double success in business and word of mouth. This is also something that you have to face regardless of your position. fact. How else would it be explained that the "main theme" "Wolf Warriors 2" and the "main theme" "In the Name of the People" broke the record of the highest box office and highest ratings in the history of new Chinese movies and TV dramas? Is this accidental or short-lived? Of course, this topic has just been opened, and it cannot be said that there must be a conclusion now, but starting from the analysis framework of our entire article, the historical floodgate of this cycle has been opened, let's wait and see.
