MCLC: television war on Japan (1)

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Michael Keane <m.keane at qut.edu.au>
Subject: television war on Japan (1)
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Along with the spike in anti-Japanese serials, there is a huge demand at
Zhejiang's Hengdian World Studios these days for 'talent' who can play
Japanese. I've heard reports that extras working in Hengdian need to show
on their CVs that they can die fast and spectacularly; some extras
specialise in these skills, the best of them are impaled, beheaded or
immolated by grenades often more than once a day in separate shoots. The
Japanese extras (and leading characters) are required to show either a
lack of emotion or rage/ frustration in the face of unexpected heroic
resistance.

However, this is not that far removed from US cold war propaganda films of
the past in which extras dressed up as blundering Germans and Japanese
soldiers were mown down, against all odds, by a handful of allied heroes.

Recently I watched a fascinating serial 打狗棍[da gou gun]
http://movie.mtime.com/206008/, 70 episodes, it cost RMB130m [produced by
Beijing Wanmei Jianxin Entertainment Co., Shanghai Qinren Chuanqi Media
Production, and Perfect World (Beijing) Film and Entertainment Co.] A
retelling of history in Manchuria in the period leading up to Japanese
occupation, it was based around a narrative of two feuding family gangs.
The gangs were ultimately united by a charismatic peasant Dai Tianli to
fight against Guomindang deception and Japanese aggression, holding back
wave after wave of Japanese attacks, ultimately dying slow heroic deaths,
one of the gang leaders managing to perform a long rendition of Peking
Opera after succumbing to multiple gunshot wounds.

Very popular when I was in China October-November last year, great script
and characterisation, over 5% market share for Tianjin satellite TV, who
had first rights to broadcast
  
The idea that China's stories can be exported to the world seems to
resonate with the leadership. This one is not likely to be endorsed as
part of the soft power strategy though.

Michael Keane