流浪地球
唐 思
一.导演、演员介绍
1. 导演
郭帆,1980年出生。高考时,郭帆报考了北京电影学院,结果没考上,最终被海南大学法律专业录取了,但他一直没放弃自己对电影的梦想,大学时他自己迷上了摄像机,也从事了一些影视相关工作。毕业几年后考上了北京电影学院管理系研究生。
2011年自编自导电影处女作《李献计历险记》,获得第16届韩国富川国际电影节最佳亚洲电影奖。2014年导演电影《同桌的你》获得第21届北京大学生电影节组委会大奖和第10届中美电影节金天使奖,收获票房4.7亿元,跻身“中国电影新力量”。用郭帆自己的话说,他一直都想拍科幻电影。“他曾经买了许多许多的物理书,据说都是为了以后哪一天拍科幻电影准备的。”电影《流浪地球》拍摄之初接连被卡梅隆、阿方索、吕克·贝松拒绝之后,郭帆迫不得已、临危受命接下了拍摄任务,在整个电影拍摄的一千多天里,郭帆时常在睡前觉得自己坚持不下去,但又在睡醒后说服自己继续。对于科幻的热爱和梦想让他既当编剧,又当出资人,还自己画手稿,终于完成了电影的拍摄。“2018年拍完最后一场戏后,郭帆在通告单空白处写了几行字:‘如果你要拥有你从未有过的东西,那么你必须去做你从未做过的事情’。”任何一个人对一件事情从入门到精通需要花一万个小时,而正是郭帆这一万个小时的坚持,才让我们等到了《流浪地球》的问世(李彬,2019)。
2. 演员
吴京,饰演刘培强,吴京出生于1974年,毕业于北京体育大学。吴京本身即是一名演员,也是一名导演。1995年出演个人首部电影《功夫小子闯情关》,1999年主演武侠剧《小李飞刀》,2007年凭借《男儿本色》获得第44届台湾电影金马奖最佳男配角提名。2008年开始转型担任导演,2015年自演自导《战狼》获得第33届大众电影百花奖最佳导演提名、第22届北京大学生电影节最佳处女作奖、第20届华鼎奖最佳新锐导演奖。2017年《战狼2》创下国产电影历史最高票房纪录及全球单一市场单片最高票房纪录。吴京获得第34届大众电影百花奖最佳男主角奖、第17届中国电影华表奖优秀男演员奖。在电影《流浪地球》中吴京不仅是演员,同时也是出资方。电影在拍摄期间,由于资金不足,吴京作为演员不仅不要片酬出演,还投资了几千万元,帮助导演完成电影的拍摄。
【参考文献】
[1] 温静、郭帆.专访《流浪地球》导演郭帆:从迫不得已到一战成名.[DB/OL].[2020.9.29]
[2] 李彬.80后导演的青春征候与精神渊源——郭帆导演研究[J].当代电影,2019(05):32-37.
[3] 韩冲.《流浪地球》剧组太穷?客串吴京投资千万成出品人.[DB/OL].[2020.9.20].
[4] 百度百科.郭帆[DB/OL].[2020.10.6].
二.电影梗概
电影《流浪地球》故事发生在未来,此时,人类科学技术高度发达,但是环境问题也日益严峻,地球上灾难频发,科学家们发现太阳在急速膨胀、持续老化,他们预计在100年后,太阳会膨胀到吞没整个地球。甚至300年后,整个太阳系都将消失。而在预测到灾难即将来临之前,人类决定团结一致,建立联合政府,统一调配地球上所有的资源。联合政府为了让人类能够继续生存下来,决定实施历时2500年的流浪地球的计划:在地球表面建立发动机,将地球推离太阳系,前往宇宙,在宇宙中寻找新家园。而随着地球不断远离太阳,地球表面的温度越来越低,地球表面被冰封,因此,人类住进地下城,但是由于资源有限,只有一半的人有机会住进地下城,而另一半则只能牺牲。
在流浪过程中,由于木星引力激增,造成地球上的发动机损坏,人们必须尽快修好这些发动机才能让地球避免坠入木星的引力中,否则地球将毁于一旦。此时,刘启和他的妹妹韩朵朵已经偷偷溜出地下城,来到地球表面。在预警来临时,他们在返回地下城的途中,被编入重启发动机的救援队伍。一开始刘启并不配合救援行动。整个救援过程也遇到了重重困难,救援小分队的队员一个个牺牲,爷爷韩子昂也未能幸免于难。在这个过程中,刘启被队员不放弃、甘愿牺牲的精神打动,主动肩负起运送火石、重启发动机的任务。然而,此时人工智能Moss和联合政府都觉得救援计划已经失败,重启发动机也无济于事,他们放弃继续救援,宣布地球即将毁灭。但刘启救援小分队的成员们依旧不放弃,刘启想到可以利用木星上都是氮气的原理点燃木星,利用点燃的动力推动地球前进。与此同时,在太空站的刘培强意识到事情不对劲,拒绝进入休眠状态。在联系上刘启之后,他赞同了刘启的计划,并选择帮助他和联合政府的谈判。最后,联合政府答应向全世界广播点燃木星这一最后的救援计划。在韩朵朵的演讲中,全世界各地的人一起联合起来,竭尽全力准备点燃木星。可是地表发动机的火源由于距离太远,还是无法到达木星。最后,刘培强选择牺牲自己的性命,带着空间站一起爆炸,利用空间站的储备能源助力,增加火源距离。最终,在大家的努力下,成功点燃了木星,木星爆发的能量推动地球回到轨道,完成了这次拯救行动,地球继续流浪。
三.相关评价
电影《流浪地球》获得第32届中国电影金鸡奖最佳故事片和最佳录音,以及金鸡奖最佳导演、最佳摄影、最佳美术的提名。金鸡奖评价电影配音“电影《流浪地球》以中国现实主义美学创作基础,在人物语音的真实感、临场感、与情绪渲染之间取得了微妙的平衡,整部影片的听觉与影像表现出高度的协调,对电影的叙事节奏做出了重要的贡献”。而对于电影的故事更是给予了更高的肯定:“电影《流浪地球》以恢宏的场景设计、震撼的设计效果、先进的特效技术、严谨的科学探索实现了中国科幻电影全新的跨越,影片围绕人类命运共同体这一时代主题,在宏观叙事和人性微观描述之间获得完美平衡,温暖而有力地表达了中国对于未来世界的历史责任”。人民日报评价《流浪地球》“将中国独特的思想和价值观念融入对人类未来的畅想与探讨,拓展了人类憧憬美好未来的视野”。《流浪地球》塑造了中国英雄,展现了中国形象,是题材与思想的双重突破(邸含玮,2019)。
而电影在海外也受到了广泛的关注,获得了来自各国媒体的褒奖。《Thy verge》认为《流浪地球》展示了中国电影制作的新面貌,侧重于未来奇观的科幻片,“这部电影真正引人注目的地方在于它对宏大景象的追求,导演郭帆赋予这部电影一种令人惊讶的庄严感,对电影特效的艺术功能的关注,以及对纯粹美感的关注,都让《流浪地球》令人难忘”(Tasha Robinson,2019)。纽约时报认为因为《流浪地球》,中国电影工业终于跃入“太空时代”(Steven Lee Myers,2019)。英国《卫报》评价《流浪地球》标志中国电影工业向好莱坞统治许久的科幻大片类型发起了挑战,中国已经加入电影界的太空竞赛(Lily Kuo,2019)。澳大利亚电影网站Flicks认为流浪地球体现的中国人不同于西方人的价值观,是2019年最好的科幻电影(Travis Johnson,2019)。新加坡《联合早报》评价:影片的特效、节奏、叙事完整性都可圈可点,科幻片达到这个水准已经超出预期。印度媒体News 18称这部电影看起来相当独具一格,完全可媲美好莱坞,有些地方甚至超越了好莱坞。Li Zheng认为电影《流浪地球》的视觉效果令人印象深刻,是中国科幻电影的里程碑,而且这些电影将提高中国观众对珍惜美丽环境和保护地球的认识,并鼓励更多的中国年轻人参与解决全球问题的工作。
【参考文献】
[1] 钟声.《流浪地球》折射源自现实的未来感[N].人民日报,2019-02-14(003).
[2] 邸含玮.通向电影艺术高峰之路——从《流浪地球》看开去[J].当代文坛,2019(05):84-89.
[3] Steven Lee Myers. China's Film Industry Finally Joins the Space Race. [DB/OL] .[2020.10.2].
[4] Tasha Robinson. China's blockbuster The Wandering Earth is gorgeous,goofy,and on Netflix now. [DB/OL].[2020.10.2].
[5] Travis Johnson. Chinese blockbuster The Wandering Earth might be the best sci⁃fi movie of 2019[DB/OL].[2020.10.2].
[6] Lily Kuo.China challenges Hollywood with own sci⁃fi blockbuster[DB/OL] .[2020.10.2].
[7] Li Zheng. ‘The Wandering Earth’: A love letter to our planet[DB/OL].[2020.10.2].
四.文献综述
《流浪地球》作为第一部真正意义上的中国硬科幻电影,从电影制作、叙事手法和价值内涵都包含着了中国特有的文化内核,将集体主义、人定胜天以及安土重迁思想融入科幻电影的情节中(魏俊宇,2019)。
从电影背后的价值观来看,作者在科幻情节中表达了中国式的故土情结。“传统的中国文化是从黄土地中生长出来的,中国人对于土地的情感也是极为深沉的”。在汉语中,比如安土重迁,安于本乡本土,不愿迁移;落叶归根,客居他乡的人一定要回到本乡、故乡等,这些成语都是传统中国思想的最好诠释。同样,导演郭帆也表示,带着地球去流浪这一电影选择也正是体现了中国人对于房子、对于土地的浓厚的情感(郭帆,孙承健,吕伟毅,夏立夫,2019)。地球对于中国人而言,不仅仅是生活的地方,更是精神文化的寄托、文化的根(魏俊宇,2019)。相比起西方的末日文化下的诺亚方舟号,流浪地球则充满了中国智慧和中国方案,更有中国文化的主体性(张慧瑜,2019)。而在今天,中国人的故土情结除了故乡以外,还有对房子的情感。在互联网经济飞速发展下,房价飞增,但是房子对于中国人而言是生活中的“刚需”。在这样多重压力下,带着地球去流浪也是现代中国年轻人在焦虑和不安中,寻找新的文化身份认同和构建新的精神家园的一种方法(李彬,2019)。
在拯救地球的过程中,电影没有西方那样的超级英雄出现,是所有人以集体的力量去实现这一不可能的计划。中国人一直相信集体的力量是大于个人的力量的,俗语“一根筷子容易折,一把筷子难折断”、“三个臭皮匠,顶个诸葛亮”表达的都是集体主义的观点。在集体中每个人的力量都不大,每个人都不完美,但是当每个人把自己的优势发挥出来就可以实现伟大的事业(魏俊宇,2019)。在电影中,所有的行动都一直是以集体利益为价值诉求和伦理原则(李彬,2019)。队员用自己的牺牲去换火石的存活,用自己的生命去换集体的希望。“《流浪地球》更凸显一种弱小者、普通人联合起来改变人类命运的价值,这本身也是中国革命和现代化的基本经验”。电影中的合作和集体主义展现的也是中国国际合作理念、人类命运共同体这一理念在中国的缩影。(王悦,2020)
除了集体合作的努力外,中国人还始终保持着人定胜天的信念,人类可以通过自己的力量去改造自然,决定自己的命运。在电影中,联合政府和人工智能都已经放弃了对地球的拯救,理智上地球已经无路可走,但中国救援分队始终没有放弃,坚持在绝境中寻找生机,最后创造了人定胜天的奇迹(魏俊宇,2019)。而这样坚定的信念,需要一代又一代人的努力,共2500年才能完成,电影中刘培强一家三代一起参与计划,也暗喻了中国传统文化中愚公移山的精神(张慧瑜,2019)。
从电影叙事手法看,导演在电影故事的讲述中运用了中国山水写意画的技法和中国画式的留白。首先,电影中不少获得称赞的画面和构图中都蕴含了中国水墨写意画的渲染和虚实结合,更能呈现中国山河之美,表达中国人对于大好山河的热爱(王悦,2020)。比如电影中地球被推动器推动在宇宙中移动,其走过的地方有几缕如烟似雾的蓝色轨迹,以及在太空中,地球和木星之间相互吸引时大气层带来的氤氲的电离子层。和西方绘画的求实、重线条感不同,中国写意画中的渲染、点墨、揉搓等,都是通过力度不同来展示水墨之间不一样的形态,追求神似意到和虚实相间。而这些水墨技法其实包含的也是中国人的审美观念和文化追求。其次,电影中不少场景都最大程度地运用了“留白”,不把故事说完,留给观众想象的空间,引发观众主动的联想,把自己的故事带入到电影之中,产生更好的共鸣。(郭帆、孙承健、吕伟毅、夏立夫,2019)。比如在刘培强牺牲的那一刻,导演取消了绝大部分的声音,人物的声嘶力竭和宏大的背景音乐全都没有,只留下钢琴曲的伴奏。
《流浪地球》作为一部真正意义上的中国科幻电影,不仅其故事发生发展的主体在中国,它传递和表达的也是中国的文化以及价值观。集体合作观念、人定胜天等观念都有重要的意义,对于解决如今面临的国际社会问题也有重要的实践价值(魏俊宇,2019)。
小说《流浪地球》是电影《流浪地球》的原本,小说作者是刘慈欣,他是中国科幻小说代表作家之一,中国作家协会会员,第九届全委会委员,中国科普作家协会会员,山西省作家协会副主席。刘慈欣凭借《三体》获第73届世界科幻大会颁发的雨果奖最佳长篇小说奖,为亚洲首次获奖。2017年6月凭借《三体Ⅲ·死神永生》获得轨迹奖最佳长篇科幻小说奖。2018年11月获2018年克拉克想象力服务社会奖。复旦大学的教授严锋评价刘慈欣单枪匹马,把中国科幻文学提升到了世界级的水平。电影《流浪地球》仅仅改编了小说中的一个情节,小说《流浪地球》原著分为《刹车时代》、《逃逸时代》、《叛乱》、《流浪时代》四章。电影侧重拍的是第二章《逃逸时代》。小说中科学家预言太阳将产生一次叫“氦闪”的剧烈爆炸,从而将地球汽化,这一切将在四百年内发生,现在已过了三百八十年。面对这一危机,地球上的人类分成了“飞船派”和“地球派”。地球派计划建造行星发动机,让地球本身变成一座巨型的宇宙飞船,驱使地球离开太阳系。飞船派主张乘坐宇宙飞船离开太阳系、寻找新家园。人在流浪过程中基本上取消了一切娱乐活动,所有精力都放在工业上。小说中地球面临最大的危机并不是来自外部,而是地球内部。在经历了漫长的流浪后,不少人开始怀疑整个危机都只是统治者为了夺取资源而编造的谎言。不少人开始选择暴动,地球派被屠杀,最后在暴动中太阳发生了爆炸。
【参考文献】
[1] 李彬.80后导演的青春征候与精神渊源——郭帆导演研究[J].当代电影,2019(05):32-37.
[2] 郭帆,孙承健,吕伟毅,夏立夫.《流浪地球》:蕴含家园和希望的“创世神话”——郭帆访谈[J].电影艺术,2019(02):90-96.
[3] 张慧瑜.《流浪地球》:开启中国电影的全球叙事[J].当代电影,2019(03):21-24+2.
[4] 魏俊宇.试论电影《流浪地球》背后的价值观[J].戏剧之家,2019(19):122+131.
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[9] 百度百科.刘慈欣[DB/OL].[2020.10.2].
五.跨文化知识点
1. 故土情结
传统的中国文化是依靠小农经济发展起来的。自给自足的经济模式下,土地可以说是所有物质的来源。人们依赖土地生存,也只需要依靠土地,不需要向外探索就能满足所有的生存需求。因而在中国的传统文化中,故土不仅仅是童年的回忆,更是生命的根源、生命的归属。在传统观念中,中国人一直有落叶归根的思想,即人就像树上的树叶,汲取土地的养分长大后,最终要回归土地,而这土地,指的就是故乡的土地;同时,中国人也有衣锦还乡的观念,即一个人在外事业发展得很好,最后也是要回到自己故乡。如果不回到故乡,那就是富贵不归乡,如锦衣夜行,谁复知者的思想,即富贵之后如果不回家乡,就像穿着锦绣衣裳在黑夜里行走,谁也看不见的。由此可见,对于故土,中国人有着超乎一般的感情,像是对生命根源的一种追溯。
2. 房子情结
在中国,不少人奋斗一辈子的目标便是买上一套自己的房子。中国人对于房子的执着是中国文化中特有的现象。这也是受到了多方面的影响,一是中国的户籍制度,在中国以家庭为单位,实行户籍管理制度。由于中国不同城市之间的经济发展水平差异大,大家都愿意去经济较发达的城市。但是只有当你拥有这个城市的户籍,才可以享受到这个城市的医疗、教育、就业各个方面的福利保障,真正成为这个城市的人。而户籍制度又是和房子挂钩,有了房子就可以拥有这个城市的户籍。所以,有了房子等于有了合法制度的保障,能够享受到更多的社会资源。二是中国人一直都认为有房子才等于有家。安居才能乐业,各安其居而乐其业。一份好的工作和好的住房是一样重要的事情。没有房子就像漂泊无依的人,始终找不到归宿。正是这些原因,才让中国人对房子特别执着。
3.人类命运共同体
人类命运共同体是在中国共产党第十八次全国代表大会上习近平总书记提出的概念,指的是现在国际社会日益成为一个你中有我、我中有你的“命运共同体”,面对世界经济的复杂形势和全球性问题,任何国家都不可能独善其身。近年来,中国的政治外交、经济发展都不断提及这一概念。实际上,人类命运共同体不仅仅指政治、经济方面,它更多的是像一种理念,全世界各国人民都是地球上的整体,为了让有限的资源实现可持续的利用、发展,大家应当互相支持、依存、调节、制约,作为共同体代代相继。
六.科幻小说和电影在中国的历史和几部代表作
科幻小说的概念于1919年五四运动时期被引进,一开始,科幻小说主要以家国民族的情感为主,带有科学启蒙的普及色彩。如醉农的《桃花依旧红》、野民的《仙枕环游记》等。
在20世纪70、80年代迎来了第一次创作高潮,并出现姓“科”还是姓“文”的争论。这场争论的本质,实质上是科幻小说“十七年”传统与“五四”文学之争。“姓科”派作家多是在新中国成立初期便已从事科幻小说创作的,如赵世洲、董鼎山、鲁兵等,坚持的是“十七年”儿童化、科普化,以科学乐观主义为主导的传统。而“姓文”派则由两类作家组成,一是少数意识到科幻文学性缺乏的“十七年”作家,如郑文光、童恩正等。
到了20世纪90年代后,《科幻世界》办刊渐入佳境,《科幻世界》是中国乃至全世界发行量最大的科幻杂志,曾获得“世界科幻协会最佳期刊奖”,并入选“中国百种重点社科期刊”。它成为孕育中国科幻小说的重要平台。同样,在“中国科幻基石丛书”工程之下《三体》三部曲(刘慈欣)、《十字》、《天年》、《银河之心》三部曲(王晋康)等优秀长篇问世。科幻作品的主题也从科技渐渐转变关注人和人性本身,如王晋康的《生命之歌》。21世纪以来,中国科幻小说开始关注底层生活等现实问题,如郝景芳的《北京折叠》、陈楸帆的《荒潮》等,同时也涌现了一批优秀的科幻小说家,如何夕、刘慈欣、王晋康和韩松等。
【参考文献】
[1] 詹玲.启蒙视野下的中国科幻小说发展流变[J].学术月刊,2019,51(04):128-138.
[2] 贾立元.中国科幻与“科幻中国”[J].南方文坛,2010(06):34-37.
七.讨论题
1.如果末日来临,你更愿意带着地球去流浪,还是乘坐诺亚方舟号?为什么?
2.你觉得电影展现了集体主义吗?你如何看待集体主义?
3.在你们国家的文化中,房子有什么特别含义吗?你觉得房子重要吗?
4.你怎样看待为了实践流浪地球这一计划,抽签决定一半的人无法进入地下城这一情节?
5.你觉得在地下城的生活会像影片中描述的那样依旧充满娱乐活动吗?
6.你认为在Moss和联合政府宣布救援计划失败的时候,还应该继续去尝试救援吗?
The Wandering Earth: An Anti⁃Hollywood
Hollywood Style Film
Yang Qingyu and Hu Xiaoyan
The Wandering Earth(Liúlàng dìqiú流浪地球, release: 2019),
Directed by Frant Gwo, 郭帆
The Wandering Earth or Liúlàng dìqiú is a science fiction action film directed by Frant Gwo in 2019,based on the 2000 novella of the same name by author Liu Cixin. The film was theatrically released in China on Chinese New Year's Day,and grossed over US$690 million in China,making it the second⁃largest grosser of all time there. The film is available to stream by Netflix in various countries outside of China on 30 April 2019. It stars Li Guangjie,Qu Chuxiao,Ng Man⁃tat,Zhao Jinmai,Wu Jing,and Qu Jingjing. The success of The Wandering Earth is a sign that the film industry in China is getting mature (Liu,2019). The success of the film benefits from the highly industrialized Hollywood movie⁃making process. Though the core of the film is very Chinese,it is an anti⁃Hollywood movie to some extent (Berry,2020). Science fiction films need imagination,logical and self⁃contained scientific background,but more importantly the standardized and reasonable project management and professional post⁃production support (Khan,2020). This is undoubtedly a challenge for China's film industry,which still has an imperfect standardization and process system (Walsh,2019).
The setting of this film is in the near future (in the year 2075). In that period,half of the humans died from the unexpected activity of the sun and the rest of the world population had to move underground. The union government on earth initiates a project named wandering earth to migrate the earth out of the Solar System to the Alpha Centauri system,which is 4.2 light⁃years away,to preserve further human civilization. Such a project takes humans about two centuries to fulfill. 10,000 earth engines are built to thrust the earth to its destination. Under each earth engine,there is an underground city.
Liu Qi and his adopted sister Han Duoduo live in Beijing's underground city. One day,Qi steals his grandfather's heavy transportation vehicle key and runs away from the underground city,to travel on the surface of the earth. Qi's father,Liu Peiqiang,was an astronaut and started to serve the Union Government on an interstellar journey when Qi was only 4 years old. During the many years of separation,Peiqiang and his son Qi are not close at all. Peiqiang's mission is ending soon,and he is eager to go back and repair his father⁃son relationship with Qi.
Qi and Duoduo are under custody while the Earth passes Jupiter. Due to the gravity of Jupiter,more than half of the earth engines lose their power,earthquakes,and landslides are everywhere on the planet. To save the earth from colliding with Jupiter,a rescue team with 15,000 technicians and soldiers is formed to restart the engines. Qi,Duoduo,their grandfather drive their vehicle to Hangzhou,where the earth engine malfunctions. The roads to restart the engines are full of hardships. A soldier died saving their grandfather,and their grandfather is trapped in a frozen building and died afterward. On the rescue squad's way to Hangzhou,they receive a message saying the underground city is destroyed by magma,and another squad member ruins the kindling to stop more people from dying. Their task is canceled.Qi accepted his suggestion with the escort of Lei and the rest of the rescue squad. In space,Qi's father Peiqiang realizes that MOSS,the artificial intelligence commanding the space station,attempts to abandon the earth rather than saving the people on earth. With the help of a Russian cosmonaut,Peiqiang successfully reaches the central tower of the space station. In the conversation between Peiqiang and MOSS,he realizes that the betrayal of MOSS is approved by the Union Government. There is nothing they can do to save the earth.
The Torque engine is restored when Qi's group is on their way to Sulawesi which causes almost all the thrusters on earth back to power. The distance between earth and Jupiter,however,consistently gets closer. By using a bottle of vodka given by the Russian cosmonaut,Peiqiang sets fire to MOSS as a lead of the explosion to Jupiter. As Peiqiang flies to Jupiter,he apologizes to his son for not reuniting with him,and Qi understands his decision and they reconcile. The Earth is saved!
In this movie,there is nobody like the predominant heroes in Hollywood movies. Characters in the wandering earth are full of involuntary and helpless moments. Duoduo and their grandfather do not want to leave when there is an emergency and plan to go back to the underground city of Beijing where they lived for decades. After grandfather dies and the Hang Zhou underground city is destroyed,Qi and Duoduo still do not intend to complete the mission as a hero. The first thing Duoduo wants is to go back home. The reason behind such endeavor is the traditional thought of Chinese people “ān tǔ zhòng qiān”,meaning that people are attached to the homeland and unwilling to move. This thought originating from agricultural society is deeply rooted in Chinese people's minds. It derived from a lot of related cultural traditions such as the worship of ancestry,the concept of clan,the value of life and the value of a female. The story of a foolish man who wants to remove the mountains is a widely known fable in China. In the story,two lofty and rugged mountains stopped the old foolish man from going out from his home. To make the trip easier,he is determined to move the two mountains. Parents and teachers would tell children the man was determined to do so because he didn't want to leave his home,that was where his ancestors lived and died. The story setting of the film comes from that story,bringing the Earth with human beings' wandering in space,instead of taking on Noah's Ark,leaving earth,the dying planet behind. Therefore,“home” is frequently mentioned in this film (He,2020).
In Chinese culture,the terms home and family are inseparable (Liu,Maher,& Sheer,2019). Even though thrusting the earth is a mission impossible in science,it is a beautiful dream of Chinese people for generations to come. When the earth was about to collide with Jupiter,there were two options for human beings in that story. The first one is called Helios Project,bringing all the digital library of human culture and the DNA maps of all the plants and animals and start a new civilization on another planet; the second option is to sacrifice Peiqiang,and all the mentioned materials and to save the mission which was predetermined to be a failure with scientists' calculation. Because this is a Chinese movie,the key figures of the movie chose the second one,which was irrational according to the AI that Peiqiang confronted with. Chinese audiences understand what this means. Despite the low chances,people would try not to leave their homeland.
The concept of the home influenced Chinese people's value of life. At the beginning of the film,when there was an emergency requisition,the first reaction of their grandfather was to turn around and try to escape from the rescue team. This is very anti⁃Hollywood because being a hero is not their goal,but to live on is (Ye,2019).And almost all the missions done in this movie need assistance. Different from the one in Hollywood movies,a hero takes everything under control. They are brave and smart enough to fulfill their missions and fight with the enemies independently. In The Wandering Earth,the rescue squad needs Qi and grandfather's help. When many people died on their journey to Hang Zhou,another team member decided to sabotage the entire mission to stop more people from dying. They didn't want to be a hero,they just wanted to live. Qi also had no intention to be a hero,because his father was an astronaut. In China,these people are called “space heroes”. He hated his father in his teenage for leaving his sick mother behind as a sacrifice. He couldn't forgive Peiqiang's choice of being a hero. As mentioned above,the reason for their change in their underground city was destroyed,and they couldn't go back home anymore. They have to continue and save the earth,the homeland for everyone.
On Peiqiang's way to MOSS,a Russian astronaut wanted to go with him. Peiqiang understood what they will face after they go out,but the Russian astronaut said,I know the exterior structure of the spaceship better than you. Even Peiqiang sacrificed himself,at last,he was not a predominant hero in this movie. He couldn't make it without other people's help. This idea also fits the Chinese people's ideology of collectivism. Nothing was done by an individual in this movie,the mission was completed by people's collaboration. On their way to Sulawesi,they didn't even make it to the destination,the Torque engine was restarted before them. Saturated rescue,Lei said. They were not even close to being heroes. Even the idea of lighting Jupiter. Although the detailed plan was described by Yiyi,the young Chinese engineer,many other scientists brought about this concept hours ago and it was proved to be a failure. At last,when the rescue squad was trying to move the pin for the ignition,because of the limited amount of people,they were unable to fulfill the task until more people joined them for this mission. In this movie,sacrifice is everyone,and heroes are everywhere,and those people are unforgettable when you are watching this movie. As Berry (2019) stated “dramatic tension is generated by conflicts between requisite duties,as in the conflict Liu Peiqiang experiences between his duty of care as a biological father and his duty as a citizen in The Wandering Earth. Audiences used to Hollywood happy endings may be surprised by Liu Peiqiang's death”. When the original plan to save Earth fails,Peiqiang pitches his spacecraft toward Jupiter to ignite the combustible gases surrounding it. Although he perishes in the resulting explosion,the force of the blast pushes Earth out of danger. This tragedy does not undermine,but rather reconfirms,established Chinese patriarchal values,which are not about individual pay off but about the fulfillment that comes from doing your duty.
The traditional perspective on the role of male and female in society is also reflected in this movie. According to Berry (2019) “From a Confucian patriarchal perspective,a mother's job is done once she has given birth to a son; succession depends on how fathers educate their sons”. Therefore in this movie,the mother of Qi came to an early demise. We don't even know Duoduo's mother because she is adopted and raised by Qi's grandfather. Father⁃son narrative is central to The Wandering Earth (Berry,2019). In a Confucian society,the hierarchical patriarchal family is the model for all relationships,with the emperor as the father of his subjects and the party/ state as the father of all citizens. Children should be filial (xiao) and obey their fathers,and all subjects should be loyal (zhong) and obey the emperor or party/state. In turn,the father owes a duty of care to his children. Dramatic tension is generated by conflicts between requisite duties,as in the conflict Liu Peiqiang experiences between his duty of care as a biological father and his duty as a citizen in The Wandering Earth. The choice of Peiqiang at last is also alienated to western audiences but familiar to the Chinese.
Many non⁃Chinese audiences may feel surprised towards the image of emerging China in this movie (He,2020). But in the Chinese audiences' eyes,the role of China playing represents the improvement of Chinese soft power,and is their beautiful wish towards this country (Ye,2019). From an interview with the director,he answered these questions by saying that western audiences could not understand the concept of “home” fully. That is the origin of the anti⁃Hollywood blockbuster.
Discussion Questions
1.What are the basic elements of a typical Hollywood film? Do you agree that The Wandering Earth is a typical Hollywood film? Why or why not?
2.What are the similarities and differences in the concept of “home” in western and eastern cultures? How did the “ home” concept elaborate in the film?
3.In The Wandering Earth,the world appears to be already unified around Chinese leadership with westerners barely present. How do you explain that?
4.Why do you think the director and the author insert a father⁃son family melodrama narrative thread into The Wandering Earth's action⁃adventure?
References
1.Berry,Chris. “No Father⁃and⁃Son Reunion: Chinese Sci⁃Fi in The Wandering Earth and Nova.”Film Quarterly 74,no. 1 (2020): 40⁃44.
2.He,Weihua. “The Wandering Earth and China's Construction of an Alternative Cosmopolitanism.” Comparative Literature Studies 57,no. 3 (2020): 530-540.
3.Khan,Amir. “Technology fetishism in The Wandering Earth.”Inter⁃Asia Cultural Studies 21,no. 1 (2020): 20-37.
4.Liu,Yang. “Prospects of the Chinese” Imagination“ Movies with Sci⁃Fi as a Striker.” In 5th International Conference on Arts,Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2019). Atlantis Press,2019.
5.Liu,Shuang,Jessica Maher,and Vivian C. Sheer. “Through the Eyes of Older Chinese Immigrants: Identity,Belonging and Home in a Foreign Land.”China Media Research 15,no. 2 (2019).
6.Walsh,Mike. “Things to come: ‘The wandering earth’ and Chinese cinema's growing predominance.”Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine 201 (2019): 70.
7.Ye,Ling. “The Influence of” Wandering Earth“ on Chinese Cultural Soft Power.” In The 4th International Conference on Economy,Judicature,Administration and Humanitarian Projects (JAHP 2019),pp. 151-154. Atlantis Press,2019.