The Differences between Chinese Movies and Western Movies.docx
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TheDifferencesbetweenChineseMoviesandWesternMovies
TheDifferencesbetweenChineseMoviesandWesternMovies
Withtherapidlydevelopedeconomyandsociety,moviesareplayingagreatlysignificantroleinourlife.Frequentlyexposedtovariousgenresofdomesticallyandinternationallyproducedmovies,we,moviegoers,mustbegreatlyimpressedbytheimages,sounds,andcharactersoftheblockbusters.Ibelievethatyouarecertaintohaveasensationthathomemademovieswidelydifferentiatefromwesternmovies.Tomakeyouassimilatethesedifferencesaswellasreasons,averyexpositionofwhichwillbeillustratedasfollows.
Whenitcomestotheinventionofmovies,wehavetomentiontheFrenchAugusteMarieLouisNicholaswhosuccessfullyperformedthefirstandforemostscreeninginParisonDecember28thin1895,whicharesymbolicoftheapproachingofmoviesages.
NowthatChinaobviouslybearslittlerelationshipwiththeinventionofmovies,wecanformulatethedevelopmentofChinesemovies.Onthethresholdofthem,ChinesemovieswereintegratedwithChinesetraditionaloperas,featuringauniquesetofmoviestyles.Atthesametime,foreignbusinessmenhadacompletemonopolyonChinesemovies’marketfrom1896to1920s,thephaseofitsgermination,buttheystilldidnotobstructthedevelopmentactivitiesofChinesemovies.Thefirstattemptofmovie-shootingwasmadethroughpersonallysmall-scaleinvestmentratherthanmovieinstitution,thereforeitdidn’tdeservetherealbeginningofChinesemovies’activities.Ofcourse,Chinesemovieswentthroughdifferentphases,withstandingtechnicalreforms,inwhichitremainedavastnumberofrepresentativeworksthatIwillgiveanexpositioninthefollowingdiscourses.Especiallyafterimplementingpoliciesofreformandopeningtotheoutsideworld,thefollowingyearswitnessedaflurryofhistoricalmoviesbasedongrandrevolutionsandmarkedanotherclimaxofChinesemovies’market.Since1990sChinesemoviesexperiencedaseriesofthoroughlyformulatedreformsandmeasuresaswellasmadebreakthroughs,withemergingnumerousnewlydesignedpatternsthusformingavirtuouscycle.Inrecentyears,Chinesemoviesarereallyandtrulybecomingincreasinglybetterandembarkingontherighttrack.ComparedwiththedevelopmentofChinesemovies,westernmoviesdevelopedfreelyandfabulouslywhentheirowndesignandinnovationhadbeenmadefulluseof.Iwillsparesomewordstoexpounditsfullyimprovedmoviemarketcombinedwithitsgorgeousmovieworksinsomepassages.Next,Iwilltalkaboutthesedifferencesatfulllength.
Firstly,itappearstomethatfourelements,encompassingnaturalandgeographicenvironment,history,religionandvalues,canstrikinglyimpactmoviestylesandpatternsandtherebyrenderthedifferencesbetweenChinesemoviesandwesternmovies.Asfornaturalandgeographicenvironment,itisoftensaid,“eachplacehasitsownstreamsallovertheworld.”TheancestryofChinesenationmostlylivedintheyellowrivervalley.Asaresult,China,almostastateofisolation,whosethreesidesconnectingwithcontinentandonesideapproachingtheseamaintainedtheirowncultureinastateofstrongstabilityandhistoricalcontinuity,henceforth,theChinesenationhastheintrovertednature.Onthecontrary,thewesterncultureoriginatedfromthepeninsulaareas.Facingthesea,developingmarinetraffics,engaginginprosperousmarinetrade,thesecountriesbrokebloodandformedaopensocialrelationshipcircle.Thatiswhywesternersarealwaysfondofperformingsomethingunorthodoxandinnovated,adventurousandchallenging,whichisreflectedinthemovies.InChinesemoviesamodestandrestraineddispositionwasalwaysheldbytheheroiccharacterswhichalwayspursueatranquil,leisuredandcomfortablelife.Oppositely,apursuitofadventurouslifeisalwaysmadebywesternheroesinthemovies,andtheyhaveastrongsenseofcompetitionintheirownlife.Duetogreatinclinationtoindividualisticheroism,theyusuallyrelyontheirowneffortstolickallenemiesliketheprotagonistinthemoviespiderman.
Asregardsreligion,itiswidelyrecognizedthatmostwesternersbelieveinChristianity.Religious consciousnessoftenmakesmoviesfullofmysticism,andalsoartaestheticconsciousness,deathandrebirth,karma,humanismareallinfusedintothecontentofthem.However,inmostChinesemovies, theideologiesofConfucian,Taoist,Buddhism,accountforabigpart,thusChinesecultureisthoroughlypenetratedintomovies,ofwhichtheshaolintempleandkungfuaresymbolic.
Thethirdaspectisconcernedwithvaluesamongpeopleofdifferentcultures.TheAmericadreamisabeliefthatonethroughhardworkinginhisowneffortscangetabetterlife,thisistosay,onlythroughownhardwork,courage, determinationandcreativity,ratherthanrelyingonotherscanheachievesuccess,whichisreflectedinthemovie Forrest Gump.InChina,peopleconsecratethethoughtsofmoderation,preferringtoastableandpeacefullife,whichispresentedinthefilm“Guasha”.Theculturaldifferencesandconflictsbetweenthelargesteasterncountry,chinaandthestrongestwesternstate,Americademonstratelikethis:
admittedly,Chinesepeoplecaremoreaboutfamilyethics,butinwesterncountries,singlefamilystructure,concernedaboutpersonalindependence,existspervasively;Chinaalwaysprefertotheselflesscontribution,union and cooperation,howeverthewesterncountriesadvocateinnovationandfreedomofpersonality;MoviesproducedbyChinesedirectorscarriesastrongawarenessofpreach,butthewesternmoviesoftenemphasisonrelaxationandmirth;IndividualsinChinaoftenholdthecommunityconsciousness,whilewesternersaremoreboundtoindividualistichero.
Thelastbutnotleastaspectisabouthistoricaldifferences,whatisknowntoallisthatChinagiveprioritytoagricultureinthepast,andeverydaywehavedealingswithheaven,soChina'straditionalcultureadvocatenatureandhumanity,respectingharmonybetweennatureandpeople.Boldlyconfrontingwithchallenges,audaciouslypursuingdreams,advocatinghumanpowerarewhattheydevoteto.Onlybystrivingforthevictory,strugglingwithnatureandconqueringotherscanwesternersfeelthattheytrulyliveheirlife.
IntegratedwiththesefactorsevokingthedifferencesbetweenChineseandwesternmovies,awholevarietyofmoviesarecontrastedandcomparedinthefollowing.
Firstly,AsfarasI’mconcerned,wedifferentpeoplehavedifferentattitudestowardsloveaswellaslovemovies.Forexample,ourmodernlovefilmUndertheHawthornTree,adaptedfromAiMi’s2007onlinenovel,aimedtoenchantfemaleaudienceswhowereover30.Thisfilmauthenticallyreproduceshowyoungpeopleinthe1970sdealtwithloveandromanticrelationships.ThetwomaincharactersofthisfilmareJingQiu,agirlwhosefamilyhasbeenunderclosescrutinysinceherfatherwaslabeledaright-wing,andLaoSan,aboywithapromisingfuturefromawell-to-dofamily.Itnarratesanaccountofpureandbeautifullovein1970swhenpeoplehadtosuppresstheiremotionsandadorationtotheirbelovedone,notbreakingtheculturalblockade.However,thewesternromanticfilmTitanicwasatotallydifferentone.Datingbackto1912,thestoryunfoldedasa17-year-oldfirstclasspassengerRoseboards“Titanic”withherfiancéCalandhermotherRuthDewittBukaterwhostressestheimportanceofRose’sengagementwhichwouldsolvehersecretfinancialproblems,butRoseopttocommitsuicidebyjumpingofftheship’sstern.Coincidentally,adrifterandartistnamedJackDawsoninterferedwiththematterandconvincedhernottojump.Soontheyfellinlovewitheachother,andbothofthemwitnessedtheship’scollisionwithaniceberg.Later,JackhelpedRosestandonawallpanelwhichupheldonlyoneperson’sweight.Holdingontotheedgeofthepanel,Jacksoondiedfromhypothermia.Atlength,Rosewasfoundbyblowingthewhistleandsurvived.Thisfilmshowsthepassionandcourageoflove.EventhoughJackwasfromahumblefamily,theybothdaredtoloveevensacrificingtheirlives.Theyfirmlybelievethatnomatterwhatwouldhappenaslongastheirlovestillexisted,theycouldfaceeverything.However,weChinesewerealittlebitimplicitinexpressinglove.Onemayhidehisloveifhethinkhecan’tbringhappinesstothegirlhedeeplylovesandjustletgoofher.Inwesterncultures,loversaremoreopentoimparttheiradorationandloveandtheyadheretotheirlove.Evenifthereissomethingorsomeonehinderingtheirbeingtogether,theywouldcallforthalltheirenergytogettogether.
Secondly,Comparingwithwesterns,weChinesehavedifferentsenseofhumor.Indomesticallyproducedmovies,manycomediescarryafurryoflaughingstockswhichcouldn’tinvokeaheartylaughamongwesternpeople.Forinstance,oneofourcountriescomedicstars,StephenChow(ZhouXingchi)whohasshotmanynonsensicalmovieshasentertainedusforsomanyyears.HisrepresentativemovieslikeKungFu,theShaoLinSoccer,FlirtingScholar,TrickyBrains,RoyalTrampandGodofCookeryetc,focusedontrivialmattersbutfullofvitality.Somepeoplesayalbeittheyarefullofnonsense,westilllovetowatchthem.Ourlaughterarisesfromourclearunderstandingofthem.YetMrBeanwithwhichwearefamiliarisalsoafamouscomedyofBritish.Hisinwardhumor,usuallyfullofsurpriseandsenseofvitalitycouldbringoutourlaughter,evenifweareofdifferentcultures.ThemanwhoplaysthepartofMrBeanisexpectedtobetheveryhumoristafterCharlieChaplin.MrBeanisinherentlyalittleclumsy,abitnaive,reflectinginaone-way,alittleshy,whosenatur