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Why there is no 'cool China' diplomacy?

After the release of the animated film "Your Name" directed by Xin Haicheng in China, the cumulative box office has exceeded 546 million yuan and become the most successful Japanese film in China. Your Name is a love story about two teenagers who swap bodies. The aim of this article is to analyze why this film is so popular in China, and why cool Japan diplomacy so successful compared with the Chinese culture.  On the one hand, timing is everything, the success of your name contains occasionality. However, this movie appealing to the young person who looking for escapism the reality and striking a chord at a right time. "The film was beautiful beyond words and every shot was like a painting," one cinema audience Taylor wrote. On the other hand, "It's a love story targeted at the demographic with the most amount of disposable income, the so-called 'Post 90s' generation which has been driving the box office boom," said Jonathan Papish, film industry analyst for China Film Insider. "It also fits well with the ACGN (Anime, Comic, Game, Novel) youth subculture that is growing in popularity in China," MrPapish added.

More refers to the spiritual and cultural aspects, as we all known that China owns 5000 years history and last week after watched the movie Hero, we could also feel the strong impression of China culture. China owns a huge amount of intangible cultural heritage, such as Kungfu, Hanfu, national musical instruments, eight major cuisines and so on. Why the national quintessence is not asked? What makes Japanese culture so attractive? How the soft power and Cool Japan diplomacy works?

First of all, personally, I think a big reason is the cultural identity caused by Japan's cultural influence. Japan's cultural influence is very strong all over the world. For example, the eight minutes of Tokyo displayed in the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games is a direct reflection of this cultural influence. Fifty years ago,Japan showed Japanese kimonos, warrior, Sakura, Mount Fuji. After half of a century they shows Mario, big empty wings, doraemon, space girl to the world. The difference is that Japan abandons simple and direct expression of the traditional culture, but in all kinds of modern cultural symbols it is easy to find the shadow of tradition.

Second, China, as a neighbor of Japan, owns the geography advantage of the spread of culture. It directly promoted the frequent cultural transmission with low costs. In addition, China and Japan have a part of  common culture gene, so the Chinese can accept Japanese cultural products easier. Higher cultural communication efficiency and higher acceptance make Japanese culture occupy an important position in the  mainland.

The last but not least, the modern cultural development of China seems weak, because China's cultural heritage is fragmented. Our traditional culture, to some extents, can't merge modern culture together. When we look back to the history, China experienced new culture movement, the cultural revolution and the influx of western ideas after reform and opening up. After a major setback, traditional culture failed to recapture highlands. As a result, some of culture dross has been removed, but the essence is also not much left. When people treat weak sense of traditional culture, their attitude is not confident. This leads to the awkward situation of traditional culture at present -- the new system is completely reconstructed, and the architecture is often changed in the proess. In the same time, China also need to face the competition of mature foreign culture.

Compared with Japan, although there was a total Westernization during the postwar, the nationals imitated American living habits. However, with the recovery of the Japanese economy, this situation gradually disappeared. Traditional culture was re-respected and compatible with Western culture, and Japanese culture can develop into the present. This colorful diversity itself is a manifestation of its strong cultural vitality and cultural self-confidence.

Iwabuchi, Koichi (2015) Pop-­‐culture diplomacy in Japan: soft power, nation branding and the question of ‘international cultural exchange’ International Journal of Cultural Policy, 08 August 2015, Vol.21(4), p.419-­‐432.

Lukacs, Gabriella (2010), Scripted Affects, Branded Selves: Television, Subjectivity and Capitalism in 1990s Japan, Durham: Duke University Press

Iwabuchi Koichi (2002), Recentering globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Trans-­‐ nationalism, London: Duke University Press.

Iwabuchi Koichi (ed.) (2004), Feeling Asian Modernities: Transnational Consumption of Japanese TV Dramas, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press

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Who is the real hero?

The film of Hero was released in China at the end of 2002. The final box office reached 250 million yuan, accounting for a quarter of the country's total box office. It gave a strong shot to the weak movie market. However,the film was very controversial after it was released. Domestic film critics criticized the story as too simple, empty and lacking in the soul, while foreign media gave high praise. The film was not only short-listed for Oscar's best foreign language film title, but also won the title of the world's top ten films in the US Time Magazine. For the domestic film industry, the hero is undoubtedly a milestone, opening up the commercial blockbuster mode. Since then, Chinese film has started to make big investments, big directors, big stars, big scenes, and large-output commercial operations.

The first point is that it is a poetic and imaginative visual representation. Color is Yimou Zhang’s most important film method. In the first story, everyone's costumes are red, which fits the suspicion between Sword and Snow and represents impulsiveness, violence. In the library, red represents the spirit of perseverance and stubbornness. The citizens of Zhao, who are dying,  own a passionate and patriotic heart and immortal life. Cyan represents solemnity and calmness, set off the extraordinary temperament, and at the same time represents the calm and wise of Qin Shi Huang, reflecting his inner secret and power. Green represents the sentiments and vitality, shows the pure love of the sword and the snow. When Sword entered the Qin Palace, the green curtain symbolizes vitality and hope, and then Sword has the idea of ​​giving up the assassination of Qin. Black is oppressive, cruel and lonely, symbolizing the majesty of the Qin. The palace, armor and citizens are all black, even if Qin Shi Huang owns the world, he is still lonely.

Secondly, the action picture is also full of poetic and imaginative. When fighting in the chess house, it adopts the traditional techniques of Chinese painting, and in the decisive battle in the mind, it forms a feeling of silence and sound at this time. The battle on the lake has the beauty of ink painting, combined with calligraphy, as a national cinema, is a successful Chinese cultural output.

The third point is the interpretation of "who is hero". In my opinion, everyone in the movie becomes a hero. In order to complete the assassination of Qin Shi Huang, Sky and Snow have no hesitate to sacrifice their life. No name and Sword are for the world, and they give up in order to end the war at an early date. Qin Shi huang unified the six countries, and the patriotic enthusiasm of the students of Zhao country. With these heroes, the Chinese nation can continue to be invincible.

Finally, when it comes to Yimou Zhang, he is a low-key but the most influential and controversial director in China. Yimou Zhang is good at telling stories with pictures and his audio-visual style is full of exaggerated beauty. Yimou Zhang has been seeking new changes in his works, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is a  good example. Once he said that ‘I am not the best director in China, but the most industrious director in China’. The Chinese film has added a unique color because of Yimou Zhang.

Andrew Higson (2000) ‘The limiting imagination of national cinema’ in Mette Hjort and Scott Mackenzie, Cinema and Nation, London: Routeldge.

Gary Rawnsley (2011) ‘The political narrative (s) of hero’ in Gary Rawnsley and Ming-­‐ yeh Rawnsley (ed) Global Chinese Cinema: the culture and politics of Hero, London and New York: Routledge.

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Why is the descendant of sun so popular?

This week, we need to watch the "descendants of the sun" which is the most popular Korean drama in 2017. Although the class just asked us to watch an episode, I finished all of them in one breath. Now I am still immersed in the romantic love between the military and the doctor. This drama has made the Korean Army a propaganda of love and peace successfully. The image of "unity" is justified, reflecting the legitimacy, handsomeness and love of Korean soldiers.

South Korea is good at using Korean drama and other media means, using love, disputes and humanity, mobilizing the audience's emotions, subtly assimilating the audience, and letting the people unconsciously accept the values ​​of the Qingwatai Propaganda Department. This kind of cultural invasion is intangible. Long-term cultural shocks and thoughts change the way we live and think. Song Zhongji is just a popular Korean star, but he is dressed in a military uniform, with the image of the Korean soldiers in the drama. The understanding, through the perseverance of the rescue and relief soldiers, in the subconscious, it represents the embodiment of justice and love.

At the same time, Korean dramas have driven the Korean economy. In the modern drama, a large number of commercial implants, many audience will pursue the same products used by the actor. I am deeply impressed by the plot about South Korea showing unity and assistance of North Korea in the drama. When the South Korean soldier left, he sent the brand biscuit called “Hou Liyou” to the northern soldier. As everyone knows, “Hou Liyou, good friends” is its advertising word. While advertising the product, it also conveys political intentions. This is very impressive. In a word, Hallyu is in a friendly and nonthreatening manner, thereby promoting tourism and the consumption of other Korean products. That is why the government support for Korean wave and this process is successful in recasting Korean society in a more positive light than before (John.W, 2014).

In contrast, China, in recent years, the state has also vigorously supported patriotic themed films such as "War Wolf 2" and promoted China's powerful strength. However, how to make it accepted by East Asia and the world, how to express hard power through soft power, how to amplify economic benefits, This is the question worth pondering.

Another point worthy of attention is that after I have studied the different media form of China, Japan and Korea, I exchanged ideas with foreign friends in the class. Their opinions reached an amazing unity. They have strong influence on Japanese and Japanese culture, but no interest in Hallyu and Korean Wave. Although the three East Asian countries of China, Japan and Korea are very close, the media forms are totally different, and there will be complex effects on individuals. This phenomenon is very interesting to me. I will explore the reasons behind through more conversations and investigations.

Walsh, John (2014) ‘Hallyu as a Government Construct: The Korean Wave in the Context of Economic and Social Development’ in Yasue Kuwahara (edt), The Korean Wave: Korean Popular Culture in Global Context, New York: Palgrave Mcmillian.

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What's the differences between 5th and 6th generation?

This week, I watched "Raise the Red Lantern" and "Touch of Sin", the representative works of fifth-generation directors and sixth-generation directors respectively. In fact, these works that have far-reaching influence in international cinema are not popular in the Chinese market, because it exposes the face of contemporary or past China realistically. These small people, small events, record China's former poverty, feudalism and the backwardness of today's countryside, reflecting the most basic human problems.

To study these two works, we must first define the concept of "generation". Before the "fifth generation", the Chinese film industry did not have a clear sense of intergenerational division until Kaige  Chen and Yimou Zhang entered the public's field of vision, and later gradually named the directors who grew up in this group of the Cultural Revolution “Fifth Generation”.

This kind of division can be said a kind of "Chinese characteristics". The division of directors according to the times has a close relationship with the development of Chinese society. For example, the "fifth generation" films have strong characteristics of the times. This generation of filmmakers hang themselves in the context of history. The strong sense of historical mission enables them to complete the reflection and questioning of the painful history through artistic means. The styles exhibited by the film are mostly heavy. From "Raise the Red Lantern", we can see the imbalance between men and women under the feudal ideology. The male esteem and the female subordination are deeply rooted. Even the university-educated Cai Lian is finally involved in the jealous whirlpool, and the death of the third wife and the madness of fourth wife, dramatically, showing the bondage of women in the patriarchal society.

Perhaps, the era gave the "fifth generation" too much historical responsibility, so the "sixth generation" director tried to complete the self beyond. Different from the grand narrative vision of the "fifth generation", the "sixth generation" pays more attention to the survival and development of individual destiny. Regardless of the subject matter of the film or the shooting technique, we can see the “sixth generation” breaking and fleeing the tradition, which also makes their films show a strong postmodern character and show a unique charm. "Touch of Sin" is a typical work. These stories in rural areas are real cases. The directors link them together through documentary techniques. It is worth noting that the film is shot in dialect instead of Mandarin which creates a strong sense of regionalism of articulates ambivalence within the nation state. The tragic fate of these little people is caused by chance, but it becomes the inevitable result. China’s 900 million peasants are fighting against poverty all their lives, but finally they could not resist the fate.

These two movies are thought provoking not only because the fiction and reality, but also the Asia can be a method, as Chen said, historical experiences and practices in Asia can be developed as an alternative horizon or perspective, and seem as methods to advance a different understanding of world history.

Olivia Khoo (2011) ‘Chinese Media Studies from an Inter-­‐Asian Perspective’ Media International. Australia February, 138: 128-­‐136.

Lu Xinyu (2010) Rethinking China’s New Documentary Movement: Engagement with the social in Berry, Lu and Rofel, The new Chinese Documentary Film Movement: For the Public Record, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Going global or going nowhere? Chinese media in a time of flux, Media International Australia May 1, 2016 159: 13-­‐21

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Why Hana Yori Dango keep popularity and become a phenomenal huge IP?

As we all known, Hana yori dango has become the basis for a set of re-productions, translation and cultural exchanges that have achieved consistently high level of transnational popularity, academic inquiry, and cross-media expansion in East Asia for more than 20 years (Rayna.D, 2006). It is hard to say a second significant IP compared to Hana yori dango, so this blog is set to analyze why this girlish dramatic teleplay can keep popularity and become a phenomenal huge IP?

Cinderella and the Prince: The global eternal dream theme

The core of "Meteor Garden" is actually building a dream. In reality, girls like heroine can't appear in Yingde College, and perfect man like Mingsi Dao can hardly love a civilian girl. The most idol drama that can touch the audience is to realize a dream in the TV series and make the audience feel very comfortable. Yinhe Li believes that the main reason is that love and death are the eternal theme of literature and art. In her view, the heroine that are not moved by money are married to the rich family because the true love of each other, which fits the hidden feelings of the female audience.

Hard to pick flower beautiful man: open the TV drama male beauty era

In the episode of "Meteor Garden", F4 happens to be four different types of men: Mingsi Dao is overbearing but a one-girl guy, and Lei is melancholy but a soft gentleman. Simon is considerate and Meizuo is smart and cute. In this way, in the two latitudes of personality and emotion, diverse and three-dimensional people are well-positioned to satisfy the imagination of many levels, and almost cover all the labels of ideal males in women's minds. Of course, they have one thing in common: handsome. This drama also marks the opening of the male beauty era, which is closely related to the social changes in East Asian countries and the rise of women's rights.

Intertextuality well-made: the success of the national versions

China, Japan, and South Korea have all invested a large amount of money to remake this TV series. The Japanese version of the production fee is as high as 160 million yuan, seeking a high degree of restoration with the original. At the same time, the role of famous words in film and television in film and television is very crucial. It may be the most touching or resonating part of the whole work. It has a strong communication ability and will become one of the labels of the works. What is more, Background music is also an important element, not only to set off the atmosphere, to promote the dramatic development of the plot, but also to guide the audience to quickly enter the plot mood.

All in all, the reason why the IP of “Hana Yori Dango” is so long-lasting, comes from the charm of the work itself, has the characteristics of the times in terms of plot and role, and also benefits from the good reputation and audience base accumulated through multiple versions. The academic accounts of Hana Yori Dango Franchise are most performed for the sale of broader ideological and political discourse (Otmazgin.N, 2005). It contains the franchise's soft power, the globalizing discourse about Cinderella and engagement with and represent a shared Asian modernity that contribute it as a phenomenal huge IP.

Reference:

Denison, Rayna (2016) 'Tracing Asian Franchises: Local and Transnational Reception of  Hana  Yori  Dango'.  In  Esser, Smith  &  Bernal-­‐Merino  (eds)  Media  Across  Borders: Localising TV, Film and Video Games. Routledge, pp. 51-­‐66.

Michael Keane (2006) Once were peripheral: Creating media capacities in East Asia, Media, Culture & Society, 28:6,835-­‐855.

Nissim Kadosh Otmazgin (2005) 'Cultural Commodities and Regionalization in East Asia', Contemporary Southeast Asia, 27:3, 499-­‐523.

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