Urgent! China's Modern Film Art Thesis

On the Aesthetic Taste of Xiaogang Feng's Films

The prospect of film and television

In recent years, Xiaogang Feng's films have been a hot topic in China's film industry and secular public opinion. The famous star lineup, successful commercial speculation and humorous urban entertainment style are several important factors for the success of Feng's films. Undoubtedly, Xiaogang Feng's films are the most appealing brands in China's domestic film market: 1997. The box office performance of his first New Year's greeting film "Party A and Party B" has made the depressed domestic film market see the dawn, with the box office reaching 1 1.8 million yuan in Beijing and 24 million yuan nationwide. After that, from "Be there or be square" and "Endless" to "Big shot", "Mobile Phone" and "world without thieves" in 2004, Xiaogang Feng's commercial films outshine others, and the box office kept rising, creating the secular myth of China's films. As a strong support of domestic box office, Feng's films have attracted too much attention and favor from the audience, industry and public opinion, which has exceeded the artistic charm and value connotation of the films themselves. In people's thirst for film art, Xiaogang Feng's commercial films labeled as "New Year's films" have become the "carnival" objects in public entertainment life.

First, the spiritual outlook of Xiaogang Feng's films

Entertainment dumpling skin and commercial dumpling stuffing express the urban customs of urbanites in a humorous way, which is the secret recipe of Feng's New Year film. As far as commercial operation is concerned, Xiaogang Feng has almost become a banner of China film industry. In the depressed film industry in China, for a long time, I'm afraid only his films can bring vitality and vigor to the dismal box office. In this sense, Xiaogang Feng occupies a prominent position in the history of China films. Therefore, in people's eyes, Xiaogang Feng has become an "unrepeatable model", and this success lies in his personality, his life experience, and his life experience-"wisdom in handling right and wrong, balancing up and down strategies, beware of the hard work of stabbing in the back, and bear the injustice of shallow misunderstanding." (Note: Xiaogang Feng's "I dedicate my youth to you", Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House, 2003 edition, back cover. In the ecological environment where film creation is not sparse, he plays the edge ball; In the struggle for survival, the signboard of Feng's films has been erected, and more and more repeat customers are coming.

Let's take a closer look at the most important factor for the success of Feng's films, that is, his unique entertainment style. 1997 Xiaogang Feng's first "New Year's Film", "A, B, C and D", gave the audience a feeling of long drought and an unexpected aesthetic pleasure. People face a fresh and relaxed "New Year's Film" with surprise and tolerance. Since then, people have been looking forward to Xiaogang Feng's "New Year's Film" every year. So far, Xiaogang Feng has produced eight commercial films with the theme of "New Year". The contents reflected in these films are basically closely related to reality, and most of them pay attention to the emotions of ordinary people and the fresh problems encountered by people from all walks of life. Humorous language style and free and easy attitude towards life cater to the aesthetic needs of the audience. Party A and Party B used several seemingly absurd surreal stories to fulfill people's dreams that could not be realized in real life. People's dreams of "housing", "making big money" and "star dream" are easily realized through the contract between Party A and Party B, and people's desires are resolved in an entertaining way. Crossing the motherland and the ocean in "Be there or be square", Liu Yuan's romantic love for Li Qing and the semi-fatalism "Be there or be square" make lovers finally have a good dream; The unique story structure of Endless is a thrilling emotional game ... The relaxed and entertaining style makes Xiaogang Feng's films soar in people's hearts.

There is nothing wrong with entertainment itself. For China's film and television art, it is a good thing to learn real entertainment. "A person who refuses to enjoy entertainment and is diligent in his serious art and culture will lead to disharmony in life. There is no fact that the enjoyment of entertainment is harmful to the enjoyment of art, just different kinds of enjoyment. " (Noe: [English] Mignel's The Essence of Aesthetic Value, translated by Liu Min, The Commercial Press, March 2006, 5,438+0, p. 39, p. 27. Xiaogang Feng's choice of entertainment as the spiritual temperament of his films not only conforms to his own creative style, but also conforms to the audience's psychology of watching movies. In this sense, Xiaogang Feng's films really have their unique significance. However, the key is what kind of entertainment we need. As a film art, we can't just be happy without knowing why. It is useless to satisfy the spiritual world only by staying in the pleasure of the senses. Good art expands consciousness in a way and degree that entertainment art does not, and most people, at a certain time, are willing to confirm and satisfy their habits of experience, understanding, judgment and decision-making, instead of expanding and changing, which also explains why good art can't be popular all the time. (Noe: [English] Mignel's The Essence of Aesthetic Value, translated by Liu Min, The Commercial Press, March 2006, 5,438+0, p. 39, p. 27. This is also the reason why Xiaogang Feng's films can be favored by many people. It is precisely because his films cater to the audience's psychology that he has confirmed and confirmed people's "habits of experience, understanding, judgment and decision" and won the psychological recognition of most people. Therefore, people not only find their own shadow in his films, but also release the distress and pressure in real life, which is its positive significance. But from a higher level, it did not achieve the purpose of "expanding people's consciousness" or guiding people's spiritual dimension. In Mobile Phone, people see Yan Shouyi's panic and confusion among three women, but they can't see a clear understanding and interpretation of ethical life and spiritual life; In "world without thieves", what people see is the wonderful performance of Andy Lau, the flying thief, and Ge You, the leader of the criminal gang, designed by the director for us, but there is no valuable life reminder. Although Feng Dao's original intention is to give you some thoughts, not just to laugh it off, there are some signs of deviation in the spiritual pursuit conveyed by the film. What we see here is the lack of spirit and the loss of aesthetics. Especially when some people want to regard Xiaogang Feng's films as the mainstream films of China, and hope that there will be more such mainstream films, we have to think carefully about the spiritual core of their films. As a favorite director of the audience, can he lead people's aesthetic taste? Can his films shoulder the responsibility of mainstream movies? This is not an easy problem to face.

Xiaogang Feng himself once said, "I think I have a sense of humor in my bones. Whether I am creating or watching other people's works, including watching dramas, I can see what can evolve into comedy. " (Noe: Yu Xin and Xiaogang Feng, A Talk with Xiaogang Feng, Contemporary Film,No. 1999,No. 1, p. 46. ) The sense of humor in Xiaogang Feng's bones really melts into every detail of his films, bringing comic humor to his works. The heavier themes are often dispelled by humor and satire, and the film presents a post-modernist philosophical sense. However, humor and glibness may be just one step away. If you don't grasp it well, it will be a different result. Too much avoidance and ridicule has become a cover-up and escape from reality. Besides, not everything can be resolved, and not everything needs to be resolved. You can't treat everything as a comedy at any time. There can be no sadness and pain in life, and all the truest expressions are the most weighty. We need to learn to face it, we need to tear up some beautiful things for people to see, and we need to experience the heaviness of life from quiet thinking. Aristotle believes that the sad audience in tragedy can be "purified" by the fear and pity he feels. If we don't vent, the river will overflow and destroy the dam. If people want to live a reasonable life, it is necessary to make them fully aware of the feelings that people feel more or less. Art is one of the most effective means to realize this proposition. "Where art cannot be promoted and respected by wisdom, this culture is morbid." (Noe: F.R. Levis and Q.D. Levis: novelist Dickens, London, 1970, p. 236, quoted from The Essence of Aesthetic Value [English] H.A Mignel, p. 44-. ) Our movies can't convey only one voice, and our spiritual needs are not limited to this one. If this form is a main course given to us by China films today, it will be a pity for our film art. ..

Second, lost: lack of thought, aesthetic confusion.

Let's take a look at the atmosphere and fashion of the whole China film: a grim reality is that many directors are entertaining and funny at present, and regard funny stars as the protagonists of comedies; Or the extreme pursuit of formal rendering and presentation, luxurious star lineup, grand scene design, seemingly large-scale production, are actually formalistic "carnival" in which the form is destroyed. After reading it, there are only gorgeous colors and grand scenes left in people's minds, which have no touch and shock on people's minds and hearts, and there is no aesthetics at all. Our movies are getting more and more ethereal now. The successful commercial speculation has made considerable box office receipts. However, every time the movie ends and the theater lights up, what remains in my heart is not satisfied joy and reflection, nor is it a long aesthetic aftertaste. After watching and laughing, I felt a kind of "so much" disappointment, as if I had returned the film to the creator. It is a terrible thing to laugh without knowing it. Some people say that it is better to pull the audience back to the cinema in this way, but this situation really depends on what kind of audience is pulled back. Continue to cater to or change the style of play? Let's look at a very interesting thing. The Golden Rooster Award's best film "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog", with its warm human concern and profound ideological connotation, touched the hearts of Japanese audiences across the sea and created a box office success of 360 million yen (more than 20 million RMB), which is in sharp contrast to the situation that no one cares about in China. Director Jianqi Huo told us that it was successfully released because the Japanese side prepared for a whole year, including marketing, publishing novels, inviting creative people to attend the premiere, etc., and showed it in the art theater by infiltration, thus gradually expanding its influence. Japan can make such a comprehensive commercial package for such a film that seems to have no commercial value, but China has not adopted any strategy for the release of such a film. This is not a question of whether we have good movies, but a question of our attitude and value orientation towards movies. It's not that the audience doesn't need this kind of film, but it's true that in today's film atmosphere, when we give others the opportunity to think and cultivate, the appreciation environment of this kind of film is destroyed, and the audience's aesthetic interest is not guided in a direction conducive to their physical and mental health. In the process of fighting, killing and entertainment, the audience's aesthetic habits are distorted. As some experts say, it is "aesthetic decline". It seems that if we don't pay attention to the discussion of the mainstream value of movies and guide the audience, it is impossible for us to reverse the decline of our movies by several "blockbusters". Of course, we are by no means denying the strategy of "blockbuster", and its commercial operation mode has directional guiding significance for all films. The key is what aspects of "blockbuster" should have "atmosphere", which is the focus of discussion.

For a film, if its theme and aesthetic taste are shallow and vague, vulgar and decadent, and there is almost no positive value guidance and spiritual appeal, then no matter how exquisite forms and techniques it uses to package itself, its works will still not have good character in essence. The application of good form can really raise the meaning to a new aesthetic height. If it is only the perfection of form without the spiritual pursuit of content, form will hold up an empty soul, so where can we talk about the level of beauty? For China films, the most important thing is not the lack of successful strategies for market operation, generous donations from investors and high-tech production, nor is it that our filmmakers do not have enough imagination and artistic creativity, but their sincerity and persistence in the film, which is actually the lack of sincerity and persistence in life. The transcendental spirit and ideological strength that once nourished the development of China's films are obscured in today's films. We say that China's films are somewhat malnourished in a sense.

This doesn't mean that we don't want entertainment. We need to laugh, but laughter should have taste and cultural connotation, not any kind of smile. What kind of entertainment is recommended as the aesthetic demand of the public? If the mainstream cultural value of our life is such a spirit of entertainment, is it not far from what we and Pozmann predicted? "All public discourses appear more and more in the form of entertainment and become a cultural spirit. Our politics, religion, news, sports, education and business are all willing to be vassals of entertainment, without complaint or even silence. As a result, we became a species that entertained to death. " (Note: [America] neil Pozmann, translated by Zhang Yan, Entertainment to Death, Guangxi Normal University Press, May 2004, p. 4. Although it sounds alarmist, the truth really needs to be considered and pondered. What kind of spirit does our film need?

Third, return: the guardian of human mind

The highest mission of film art is to grasp the world aesthetically, and it carries the protection of human emotions, the concern for the meaning of life and the expression of ultimate concern for mankind. When talking about the filming of Homesickness, tarkovsky talked about his idea and the beginning like this: "I'm not interested in the development of the plot and the series of events-I don't think my film needs a plot every time. I have always been interested in a person's inner world; For me, it is far more natural to explore the psychological phenomenon that reveals the protagonist's attitude towards life and the cultural and literary traditions accumulated in his spiritual world than to design the plot ... My interest lies in people, because he has a world in his heart; It is necessary to accurately express this kind of thinking and express the meaning of human life. " (Noe: [Su] Andrei Tarfsky, Carving Time, translated by Chen, People's Literature Publishing House, August 2003, p. 229. It is the writer's real mission to show and care for the essence of human existence, the meaning of life and the spiritual world. In movies, creators should not only express their feelings about life and social ideals, but also express their pursuit and yearning for the human spirit and their exploration and questioning of the meaning of life.

Some experts have called for people's impetuous mentality, lack of ideals and "lack of aesthetics". Indeed, under the impact of the trend of "entertainment first" and "entertainment to death", people's way of thinking has been affected accordingly, and China films are facing a severe test. Those works that only pursue the vivid representation of sensibility, stay in the pursuit of entertainment and consumption, and do not have profound rational connotation can not undertake the aesthetic mission. As a representative of popular culture, film art does carry the function of entertaining the public, but this is by no means its whole function, nor is it the most important function. Any art is not real art if it only stays in the senses and brings excitement and pleasure to people. Every era has a main form that dominates the artistic creation trend of that era or leads the aesthetic trend of the Chinese nation. The development of this form, even reaching its peak, must be based on such a basic condition, that is, the highest achievement of China's aesthetic thought in that era must be absorbed, and the highest aesthetic achievement is whether the aesthetic thought at the level of philosophy history is scientific or not. If we use this standard to measure today's film art, we can know exactly where the gap is, and how to scientifically absorb the highest achievements of China's aesthetic thought in our time will be a key issue for the film to go.

Movies are the most important language way for human beings to tell themselves in the 20th century. In the new century, this way of telling should be not only the inheritance of traditional spirit, but also the rhythm of the times. In a sense, our movies should be our movies first, and they should be labeled as Chinese spirits. I remember that in his book The Spirit of China, Gu Hongming talked about the life of China people and the spirit of China people in this way: the whole life of China people is a perceptual life-this sensibility does not come from the intuitive feeling of the senses, nor from the passionate feeling of the nervous system you mentioned, but from the depths of our human nature-the passion of the soul or the feeling of human love. This kind of spiritual transmission has always existed in our films, and we cherish it very much. This is the mainstream value that our films should convey, which is in line with our national spirit.

Today, our film pursues box office revenue, which is correct, but it should not be the ultimate goal. When we are thinking about how to bring the audience back to the cinema, we should think about how to make them stay in their seats for a longer time, so we must return what should be returned to them-the protection of human mind and spiritual comfort. This is what the audience needs most, and it is also the most vital and energetic meaning of life.

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