understand the object is the basis of the comment
-from the "tribute" phenomenon in "Kung Fu" to talk about the
origin of
Stephen Chow's new film "Kung Fu" in mainland China The box office is very hot, but the wind reviews are not very good. Generally speaking, the mainstream critics mostly focused on "the plot is abrupt" and "the theme is naive", while most of his fans have been shouting "Zhou is not suitable to be a director" and "not funny before." It's just from "The King of Comedy" and "Shaolin Football" all the way, is Zhou Xingchi as the director really going downhill?
"I always think that if you want a paper, it is best to take into account the whole article, and take into account the author's whole person, as well as his social state, this is more conclusive" (Lu Xun • "The "Title Undecided" Grass" 7). In fact, why not watching movies? In 2003, sitting in front of the screen of "Big Wrist", Stephen Chow, who was relatively unfamiliar with the mainland's national conditions, looked blankly at the jokes in the film, and formed a strong contrast with the knowing smiles of his surrounding mainland counterparts and even most mainland audiences; Two years later, a similar scene was staged again, but this time, it was the turn of the mainland compatriots who were ignorant of Hong Kong's popular culture to scratch their heads.
substance
In literary theory, "intertextuality" is a specialized term, which means that a certain text (or meaning) is extracted or constructed from other texts (or meanings) through attribution. It focuses on the connection between a specific text (or meaning) and other texts (or meaning). Intertextuality is widespread. The textbooks or historical books that have been cited and cited are quite intertextual. Even literary works known as “original” also rely on intertextuality to construct and show their connotations. Allusions are common in resorting to intertextuality. One of the tricks. Of course, intertextuality does not only refer to the relationship between texts. Historical and social conditions are also important factors that change and affect literary practice. Readers’ previous reading experience, knowledge reserves, and status in the cultural environment are also Form the crucial intertextuality. Leaving aside the "plagiarism" of the lower class, the "allusions" in ancient poems can arouse rich intentions and feelings in the hearts of readers with similar cultural backgrounds with less pen and ink; while the success of modern Chinese martial arts novels, In addition to the unique local cultural background "Xia" as the theme, the structure and techniques are also indispensable for "borrowing" from the West, such as Jin Yong's "Liancheng Jue" and "Crest of Monte Cristo" and Gulong "Meteor• "Butterfly Sword" and "The Godfather" are good examples.
But "tribute" is one of the more special types: choosing classic images, lines or plots to reproduce the deformation, so that audiences who are as familiar with the original work as the creator can yell after seeing it: "Ah, that's This is it!" What is the point of doing this? Maybe it has no practical effect or even necessary, but at least it can bring pleasure, a pleasure similar to the "black words" that friends and friends spoke in a crowd when they were young, making the people next to them stare at each other incomprehensibly. A positive example is that at the end of every fold in "The Peony Pavilion", Tang Xianzu uses a collection of ancient quatrains to summarize the content, or like the novel "Ali Buda Chronicles" which is popular in Taiwan today, full of online YY novels. (Because the protagonist is mostly due to the author’s obscenity and the wisdom of the unparalleled martial arts, high-strength martial arts and suave harem, hence the name), the classic fragments are enough to make viewers know how to smile; while the negative examples are Shi Zhecun’s "Shi Xiu", the recent "Q Version Language" or "Iron Fist Invincible Sun Yat-sen" and "Red Flag Huanqiu Ji" circulated on the Internet, bring people a subversive stimulation. And "Kung Fu", as Zhou Xingchi described himself, is a film that pays tribute to the Hong Kong culture that nurtures his growth. Now, let’s take a look at what is behind these simple words.
As many film critics have noticed, there are many lines, scenes and bridges in "Kung Fu", such as "Who else?!" from the boss of the crocodile gang: "Is there no one" from Achilles in "Troy" else?!"; the scenes after the crocodile gang was taken down began to be cross-edited with black and white photos of the crime scene and the collective dance of the axe gang, which has the charm of "L.A. Confidential" + "Chicago"; the scene of the death of Sanjie, Goro "The greater the power, the greater the responsibility!" of the gossip stick is naturally a spoof of "Spider-Man", and A Xing went to save the Fire Cloud Cthulhu, and the blood rushing in front of the door was a classic shot of "The Shining"; A Xing grabbed it. Living in Huang Shengyi as a "gone in the chaos", behind him is a huge poster with exactly the same character. This is from the classic Hollywood song and dance film "Top Hat" in 1935; finally, the evil god of fire cloud went to the city to find A Xing and settle the ledger with A Xing. Opening different doors at the same time is to imitate the female police detective and another group of policemen in "The Silent Lambs" knocking on different doors at the same time to find the murderer, and the door is opened with white light, and then A Xing flies to the sky and realizes that the palm of the Tathagata comes from "Matrix" The last scene of the first episode; what Agui said before his death was: "What are you prepare to do?" This is a line that imitates Sean Connery in "Ironless"; the yellow tight sportswear of the charter company and the chartered woman Like the heroine of "Kill Bill", but in fact Quentin also pays tribute to Bruce Lee's "Game of Death"... The tribute here is mainly the same kind of art style as the movie, which covers the world; in addition, it should be noted that the game is related to the film. Influence: In the scene of "Abnormal Human Research Center", the appearance of the entire building, the maps and rescue missions taken by Ah Xing resemble classic games such as "Metal Gear Solid" and "Split Cell", while the eerie atmosphere in the research center is narrow The aisles, rusty iron gates and strange hands suddenly stretched out are like scenes from "Silent Hill".
The interludes and soundtracks in the film are mainly the reuse of local resources. The whole film incorporates 6 familiar folk music, both large and small: "The Commander's Order", "The Order of the Sichuan General", "Ambush on Ten Sides", "Donghai Fisherman's Song", "Small Sword Club Suite", and even a song "Heroes". We Conquered the Dadu River", the capital is full of enthusiasm, and there is a man's passion for self-improvement. "Commander's Order" is led by a high-pitched suona and has a compelling heroic momentum. It is very suitable to be quoted in the duel moments of martial arts films, which was often used in Hong Kong Cantonese martial arts films in the 1950s and 1960s. "Small Sword Club Suite" was generally welcomed by Hong Kong martial arts directors. It was originally the soundtrack of the dance drama "Small Sword Club", but it became a classic of folk music due to its generosity and tragic tone and strong national flavor. Like the old and new "Longmen Inn", "Huang Feihong's Man Should Be Self-improvement", and even Stephen Chow's famous "A Journey to the West: The Great Sage Marriage" have used it as the soundtrack. The music used in the film’s panoramic introduction to "Popling Walled City" is "East China Sea Fishing Song". This melodious guzheng song is light and lively, as if it makes people see a happy and vivid picture of citizen life. "Heroes Conquered the Dadu River", by the famous composer Shi Leranan, conveys a tense and warm atmosphere.
But apart from this, the more core and more Hong Kong cultural traditions and the persistence of Stephen Chow are relatively difficult for mainland audiences to feel and experience. Most criticisms are due to lack of understanding. (It is precisely this part that is most familiar to Hong Kong audiences).
First of all, let's look at the influence of the movie. In terms of characters, due to Jin Yong’s gradual deification over the past few years, "The Legend of Condor Heroes" is not unfamiliar to most people, and there are even loyal fans of the original book that their image has been vilified in the film. But in fact, This kind of adaptation can almost be regarded as the tradition of Hong Kong movies, whether it’s playing the deep "Evil and the West" or the fun of "Earth in the West" has long been done like this: the name of the character here is just a symbol, for you An impression-a Feel of China, Jianghu, and Kung Fu. The "Fire Cloud Cthulhu" is exactly the villain in the Shaw Brothers martial arts film "Tathagata Palm", and the comic of the same name adapted from this is a classic in the history of Hong Kong comics. In addition, "Snake Boxing", "Six Finger Qin Demon", "Sausage Mouth" in "East as the West", and group of small kicks in "Shaolin Football"; the big battle of "Axe Gang" comes from Shaw Brothers The old films "Ma Yongzhen" and "Wulang Bagua Cudgel" are from the movie of the same name starring Liu Jiahui, the director of Liu Jialiang. Comparable to the invincibility of the East... Coupled with "Mr. Bruce Lee, the great martial artist who survives forever", "Kung Fu" pays tribute to the golden age of Hong Kong martial arts films and gathers many witnesses from that era. It is a master of success.
Next, let’s look at the power of animation. The axe gang’s head is full of flames and the dust is gone, and the charter wife turns wheels when chasing Ah Xing. Some people think that this way of expression is "too exaggerated and too unrealistic", and I believe that everyone who has a little bit of animation and manga will feel that Such an old-fashioned view is not worthy of exposure; as for the most attacked "new masters without any preparation", "basically it is to beat the bottom all the way", it is precisely as a major source of nutrition in "Kung Fu", known as "nothing". Perhaps the greatest feature of the Hong Kong comics, "War is not happy", is something that savvy critics disdain to understand. In the same way, the homosexual plot in the film is exactly the same as the "chucking base" (chu: engage; base: gay) often seen in Hong Kong comics.
No need to talk about the rest, let the audience watch the characters familiar since childhood appear again on the big screen but deduce an unfamiliar story, just this kind of reminiscence and fresh mixed feeling is good enough. On the other hand, due to historical reasons, there is no similar universal memory in the mainland. However, imagine the situation of the small soldier Zhang Ga, Sanmao and Nazha making a fuss in the Heavenly Palace.
There are also the so-called "vulgarity" and "superficiality" in Zhou Xingchi's films, which are more or less related to his personal ambition and persistence: his works have a strong "grass-roots spirit", so it is often difficult to be "elegant". stand up. And in "Kung Fu", the helplessness and bitterness of the life of the little people and the peaceful crying, the simple belief in love and justice, the simple laughter that makes people unburdened, finally in the jerky of "The King of Comedy" and "Shaolin Football" "After the appearance of vulgarity, it is perfectly combined; those mediocre life fragments: the innocence and naivety of children, the ignorance and cruelty of youth, the emptiness and heaviness of middle age, if you have forgotten or have not experienced it, you will not feel it The strong affection under the usual appearance is like a greeting card. The blessings and true feelings on the greeting card can only be expressed in the way and vocabulary that have been vulgarized. The important thing is whether you can still feel the sincerity. In a dialogue with scholar Li Ou-fan, Zhou Xingchi said that the reason why his works have a strong grassroots spirit is because he was born in the grassroots class, so he can deeply understand the people's sentiments and highlight his feelings for Hong Kong with his unique methods. This is enough to make some people who claim to be Fans of Zhou Xingchi Fans but just want to laugh heartlessly to think deeply, and it is also the best footnote to "Kung Fu".
Conclusion
Chairman Mao teaches us, "Without investigation, there is no right to speak" (quoting this sentence is to pay tribute to the popular style of the mainland decades ago, xd). Similarly, literary criticism should first be based on an understanding of the author’s work and its background, rather than simply pouring out subjective feelings or measuring around with the same ruler, otherwise it will become a superficial post-reading feeling or " Something like "the application of a certain thought in the field of literature"-no matter how full of emotion or profound philosophy it contains, it can't be counted as literary criticism. This is plain common sense, and even because it is so plain, it is often overlooked or forgotten inadvertently. Only in this way, it is more necessary to repeat it from time to time.
Appendix
1. The issue of commercial groups mentioned in the article using the same subject matter to develop different products to occupy the market.
a. Re-excavate: For example, "The Godfather", from
novels to movies to games, it took many years to authorize b. Go hand in hand: For example, "Harry Potter", novels, movies, and games are almost simultaneously attacked and mutually authorized
c. Flowering on all sides: For example, the classic ACG (Animation Comic Game) mode in Japan, the TRPG modules, novels and world settings of TSR companies in Europe and America cooperate with each other, the copyright holder is the same
. Novels, comics, movies, TV dramas; on the other hand, such as the domestic "Blue Cat Naughty Three Thousand Questions", there are actually many brand stores
2. About Hong Kong comics:
a. Seven elements: destiny, fighting spirit, combat power, martial arts wisdom, descent , Momentum, weapons
b. Keywords: against the sky
c. Cause: highly competitive market, short publication cycle, each issue needs a climax
d. Introduction situation: mostly second-rate, mostly pirated, similar to movies and games, Issues with the censorship system
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