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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Chinese Audiences Reject Star Wars, why?
Star Wars: The Last Jedi performed terribly at the Chinese box office and was pulled from Chinese cinemas soon its run on the big screen began. There are several theories that have been floated by "experts" that attempted to explain this.
I recently learned the term "Baizuo" used to describe the white left. Is it possible that Chinese audiences are just sick and tired of Hollywod's constant moralising? Did this contribute to Chinese audiences rejecting The Last Jedi?
6 years 2 weeks ago in Arts & Entertainment - China
I watched Starwars in the cinema when it first came out. I was a kid then.
It was a good film. But I did not go to see the sequals. They appeard on UK Christmas TV in the late 80s or early 90s. Beyond the first 3, no interest at all.
As Iwolf says, It's alien to the market.
Because no Japanese were massacred and the only bona fide martial art is kung fu. The movie also lacked the necessary nationalistic and patriotic themes that appeal to Chinese audiences. And of course, how can the hero who saves the known universe be white? He must be humble, heroic, overcome adversity, unable to be with the woman he loves, a good student who respects filial piety, self sacrificing and Chinese. The story is clearly bullshit.
iWolf:
That the hero is a male goes without saying since Alpha males are ubiquitous in China.
I watched Starwars in the cinema when it first came out. I was a kid then.
It was a good film. But I did not go to see the sequals. They appeard on UK Christmas TV in the late 80s or early 90s. Beyond the first 3, no interest at all.
As Iwolf says, It's alien to the market.
Yeah I don't blame the Chinese. After Return of the Jedi they've all been pretty awful. Bad dialogue almost to the point of self-parody.
TV is better than movies these days.
The problem is that they're trying to cater to Chinese audiences. Focus on making a good movie and the audiences will come. The last Stars films were not as good as they could be because the businessmen were writing the script and wrote in Chinese characters that did not fit.
The Force Awakens was a crap movie, so I don't plan on wasting my money on the next one. Maybe I'll watch it for free on my next international flight or something. We'll see.
When I saw it in the theater, there were quick subtitles explaining who the characters were. China doesn't have the decades of history that is needed for The Last Jedi to make sense.
It has nothing to do with WhiteLeft or Western moralizing.
Stiggs:
I think you're right. Star wars is one of those things you grow up with and watch out of nostalgia.
If you don't remember Star Wars as a kid there's really no reason to watch it.
LESchools:
The Force Awakens was about new characters so it was easy to get into. The Last Jedi was a big throw back to history, so it wasn't easy to get into. Also none of the characters were likable this time. The interactions between the chacaters was the fun of TFA, everyone was grumpy with everyone else in TLJ.
Yep Stiggs,, I liked the first one ok, but lost interest after that.
It was a bit corny in my opinion. That wookie thing, and that yoda thing,, silly. But Princess Leia was right up there in the Seriously Heated Zone !
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Ok, Let's name 3 good films:
Category / Title
Nutcase: Taxi Driver
Romantic: The Way We Were
Tender: The Fault in Our Stars*
*requires minimum of 7 boxes of Kleenex
** read the novel too if u get the chance
ScotsAlan:
Nutcase: Gary Oldman in Leon... Romantic: Ghost.... Tender: The life and death of Colonel Blimp
diverdude1:
yeah,, isn't Ghost such a moving film,,, love it. weird that main star guy (Swayze) actually did perish young in real life too...
I haven't seen your other nominees.
- Heroine is white female, not conforming to the passive, submissive object-of-desire stereotype.
- Good elder master is turbulent and flawed. Questioning his beliefs, admitting error, voicing regret.
- Evil elder master is killed with anti-climactic trick.
- Bad guy is victimized, conflicted and tormented.
- No significant cameos of famous Asian actors.
- Resistance against overpowering force is not futile... Not a wise message for the guys in BJ to let through to the oppressed masses.
- Heroes are afraid and desperate, and take extreme losses, with a real chance of losing the battle. A far cry from the physically/mentally superior supermen that Asian fantasies have as protagonists. Where an Asian viewer might relish at the excessive posturing of an all-powerful hero, able to save the day without breaking a sweat, and look good doing it, I'd be bored to tears by the predictability, lack of character development and complete absence of real challenges to overcome.
- Most of all, Chinese are conservatives. More than a good or a bad story, they want a narrative that is CLEAR and doesn't challenge their notions of right and wrong.
All the wrong thematic messages. Nuanced, mature storyline, no focus on sex or family. Elicits people to question authority and their own preconceptions of others.
"I recently learned the term "Baizuo" used to describe the white left. Is it possible that Chinese audiences are just sick and tired of Hollywod's constant moralising?"
YES. The way you choose to present this question, betrays your bias, though. Let me say the exact same thing, betraying my own bias: Is it possible that events like the great famine, the executions, the brutal crackdowns on protesting students, and the imprisonment and organ harvesting of Falun Gong, all gave a clear message to the people? That displaying any semblance of a moral standard, having any values you want to impose on society beyond your self-preservation and family survival, will rub the leadership the wrong way? Even if the depraved leaders merely look bad when held to a moral standard (and let's face it; they look bad by any moral standard), you'll be in trouble for making them lose face. And that even sitting in a cinema, watching a foreign movie about people fighting for an ethical ideology and humanist values, could be seen as an act of sedition?
Do you think so? I do.
Why the interest or question nearly 4 months after the movie was released here?
its a well written question & got some replies but just comes across as an Admin account...