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Ip Man 2

Danmairen (510 posts) • 0

Anyone else who thinks that this movie is overly nationalistic (even for Chinese movies) and deeply racist in it's depictions of the evil, evil foreigners doing bad things to the oh so good Chinese guys? I guess one should be happy for the Japanese if the Chinese movie industry changed it's aim but seriously,, shouldn't a Rocky IV knock off like this belong to a different era?

laotou (1714 posts) • 0

It actually rather accurately depicts the pervasive cultural sentiments of the era. Jet Li's Hero was more romanticized (can't we be friends with honor?)...

Tonyaod (824 posts) • 0

Haven't seen the movie myself but what do you mean when you say "belong to a different era?" We can't take our western perspectives and sensibilities and apply it to a different culture and setting.

Maybe the west has gotten over the whole imperialism era where you go to a foreign country to force them to trade with you, exploit their resources, sack their capital, kidnap forced labor, divide it into spheres of influences where foreigners are treated as superiors over the natives...and then there's that little thing called WWII and the Japanese occupation/oppression/massacre.

You'd have to remember that China has never really come into grips with WWII and it's aftermath. Actually, the Chinese society never really had a chance reflect on the past since the fall of the Qing dynasty.

After the Qing government fell, the country fell into disarray, just when things are about to tidy up in the 30s, the Japanese aggression came, then WWII. After WWII was the Mao era where everything was swept under the rug. It wasn't until the market reforms by Deng in 1979 did the country begin to return to normalcy and that happened only 30 years ago. How were the Japanese, Germans depicted in the movies in the 70's and 80's?

Actually, this wave of nationalism is on par in terms the overall development of China. It is only after you become financially secure can you have the luxury to reflect on the past. The Chinese people haven't really addressed the aggression that was thrust upon them by the west and haven't come into terms on how to view that period in history. And when there is a void or lack of understanding, nationalism takes over as a mechanism to salvage the national pride.

By the same token, how are Arabs and people of Middle Eastern decent treated or viewed upon today in the West? How is it different from how the Chinese people are now viewing acts of past foreign aggression?

I know discussing such topics are very sensitive and fraught with emotions and I hoped I haven't offended anyone, but I am trying to be objective as possible in pointing out a different perspective on the issue.

Cheers~

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