Original frame of Monkey King: Hero is Back

 

July saw a domestic boom in Chinese movies. As of July 28, the total box office takings of three films, Monster Hunt, Monkey King: Hero is Back, and Jian Bing Man, hit 3 billion yuan ($483.3 million), while Monster Hunt alone had earned 1.5 billion yuan within 13 days of its premiere.
 

People dubbed these movies the box office “miracle,” saying that they would usher in a promising future for the industry.
 

Domestic movies that made more than a million yuan at the box office have not been rare in recent years. These box office achievements can produce favorable conditions for the healthy development of the industry as well as for viewers.
 

Needless to say, these box office receipts support the prosperity of the industry as well as the development of film careers and the social and economic benefits associated with the industry.

But which group of people is now the biggest contributor to the box office? Is this group representative of  society or is it just a minority? The answer is that our box office miracles are mainly created by consumers of a relatively young age, and they are the major backers of China’s film market.
 

As a modern art, its primary goal should be serving the general public. Domestic movies are still yet to reach the broad masses due to the absence of a representative and effective audience.
 

Under the current circumstances, introspection is required in order to produce films more capable of telling stories that are appealing to broader audiences and better recognized by the public. This is fundamental to change the situation.
 

Domestic movies should tell stories in a way that is both attractive and understandable to ordinary people. Catering to a niche audience does no good to the healthy development of the whole industry, and high box office receipts are of no use in this respect either.
 

Currently, the so-called box office miracle films are of varying quality, some with no substantial content. They neither tell typical stories of representative people in society, nor concentrate on predicaments facing common people or on interactions between traditional culture and modern times.
 

Even though they can attract viewers for the time being, they will bring about harm in the long run.
 

One’s experience in adolescence can influence or even determine his or her future. As an art favored by ordinary people, films have the responsibility to provide nourishment for the mind. With low-quality works permeating the cinema, young consumers will be adversely affected, which will then bring hazards to the whole nation and society.

The correct attitude toward box office miracles is that we should not either simply deny the role it plays in the industry, or be captivated by it.

Upon reflection, we should improve the quality of domestic movies, produce more films focusing on realistic themes, and therefore, foster a much broader audience. The industry can develop on a healthy footing, but only if the box office structure is reasonable.
 

A successful artistic work must find the balance between artistic pursuit and commercial achievements. We should be fully aware of and respect laws for artistic creation as well as for market operation: neither is going to outstrip the other. While film production should take into consideration economic and social benefits, box office takings should not be prioritized over artistic quality.

 

Xue Jinwen is from the Film and TV Department at Taiyuan Normal University in Shanxi Province.