This seems ironic to many Chinese filmmakers. Some critics have even urged the Chinese people to boycott the Kung Fu Panda films, which is ridiculous in this era of globalization and will in no way help China's film industry in the long run.
For the last six years in a row, the share of domestic movies at the box office in China has been more than that of imported films.
But the success has been achieved with the help of the quota system, which allows only 20 new foreign films and some outdated movies to be screened in China in a year.
It is precisely because of the quota system that the United States moved the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China in 2007. In 2009, the WTO condemned China's policy and asked it to allow more foreign films to be screened in the country. This means that in the near future, more Hollywood movies could enter the Chinese market posing a greater challenge to domestic productions.
The question: Can Chinese movies take on the challenge of Hollywood productions at home, create a niche in overseas markets, triumph at international competitions and promote China's soft power.
Beginning of the Great Revival is not a good example in this case, because not all Chinese movies can attract as much capital and resources. And even if some of them manage to do so, the end product may not be as good as the Kung Fu Panda films in attract- ing viewers across the globe.
Traditional Chinese elements remain a competitive advantage, though. Some Chinese filmmakers used to make the best use of these elements to come up with fascinating and trend-setting films like Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Period films complete with swordsman and kungfu can attract viewers across the world but that novelty factor won't last long.
Taking a leaf out of the Kung Fu Panda films, Chinese filmmakers have to strike a balance between traditional culture and narrative methods to integrate history into commerce.
The author is a research scholar with the Film Academy of Hong Kong Baptist University.
Source: China Daily
Editor: Xu Xinlei
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