As is shown in a survey of US ordinary residents, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan are the two most well-known Chinese. It is apparently the result of their screen images' transmission and publicity through movies. On February 8, 2007, Foreign Policy in Focus, a periodical in the United States, commented on the international success of the Chinese language blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in an article Geopolitics of Kung-fu Movies, saying that “the success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon across the world has induced the image of China as an emerging country, and promoted people’s evaluation of the Chinese culture.” As a result, it has become a pressing and important subject on how movies cultivate and express the image of a country.
Of course, it is able to find some epic-like blockbusters on major historical events during China’s modern history. These movies are largely presented in objective angles of view on the surface. But they are expressed subjectively by the directors. The movies often take the authoritative tone of omnipotent narrators in the identity of masters of history to announce the progress and trends of history, and the inevitable results in the battles between the Chinese Communist Party and Kuomingtang Party and their armies. It is in black and white which are the victory and defeat, right and wrong, primary and secondary. In contrast, The Founding of A Republic is totally absent of such a dignified offscreen voice (it uses only some simplest subtitles). Some sections directly apply historical documentaries. Some others cultivate documentary effects on purpose. The movie looks more likely chanting poetics of history and surge of humanistic passions through expressing the losers in history in a tolerant, generous, considerate, equable mentality, or even a sense of history like “a river of no return.”
The Founding of A Republic creates a unique historical sadness in addition to drastic historical changes, and subsequently shows the open and advanced nature of the movie's historical perspective. In this sense, The Founding of A Republic has the landmark importance.
Some big-budget movies previously were lost and confused in cultural value orientations. To some extents, they exhibited the dark side of the Chinese civilization and, by objective, presented the non-mainstream, non-universal wrong side of culture, such as the desire of power, false notions of human nature, and ethic disorder. They suppressed and twisted the chivalrous spirits in the name of country and the world (Hero), spectacularly exhibited severest tortures to cruelly injure individual’s bodies and souls (The Banquet), and distorted human nature and family ethnics with desire of power (Curse of the Golden Flower)…. By objective, they present a Chinese culture and national image that is not so mainstream and healthy in international cultural transmission.
In contrast, The Founding of A Republic has displayed a national image that is open and straightforward, bold and unrestrained, fresh and bright, full of vitality, complying with popular sentiments and historical trends. The movie will help the Chinese strengthen their sense of pride, cultural identity, and cohesive force of the national spirit. It will also demonstrate to foreign people the mentality of the Chinese that is full of youthful spirits, harmonious, positive and highly-motivated, complies with historical trends, and puts people first. No doubt, such a healthy, clear, sunlight and compatible national image will not be empty, tedious sermonizing. It will surely present fine cultural transmission effects, because it has a solid mainstream foundation dedicated to the National Day, a miraculous star-based visual effect and commercial competitiveness, steady epic-like narration, and inspiring poetic quality and passions.
Editor:Dong Lin
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