America 1987

Chapter 83 Values

"Values?"

"That's right, it's values."

David answered confidently that after Naomi returned from the restroom, during their discussion of the script, she asked him what the most distinctive feature of the film was.

The word "values" comes from Latin, and the first person to use it was a German philosopher named Nietzsche.

"Are you referring to this kind of self-critical narrative?" Although Naomi hadn't seen many traditional Westerns, she was still able to grasp the distinct viewpoints contained in the plot of "Dances with Wolves," in which the white protagonist Dunbar chooses to integrate into the Sioux tribe and resist the American army.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"But ultimately, isn't a movie about telling a story? Why do you consider values ​​to be its biggest feature?" Good question. David couldn't help but give Naomi a mental thumbs up.

Entertainment works, whether movies or novels, will inevitably carry the creator's personal views and opinions, commonly known as "inserting personal agendas," as long as they are not created by AI.

This is an objective fact that no one can change. Even the Records of the Grand Historian contains a lot of Sima Qian's own personal opinions.

It's simply a matter of whether it suits the audience's or readers' tastes. Those who like it will find it enjoyable, while those who don't will criticize it.

A commercial film aimed at achieving high box office returns needs to conform to mainstream social opinion as much as possible when inserting its own agenda or values ​​into it.

The narrative of the "white savior" resonates strongly with the American intellectual community and mainstream culture's desire for "political correctness" in this era.

"Before any mainstream Hollywood commercial films introduce this kind of value to the audience, I have to seize the opportunity and try to be the first," David added after briefly explaining his reasons. "Otherwise, once the novelty wears off, the audience will get tired of it."

More than 20 years later, James Cameron's Avatar is said to be called "the sci-fi version of Dances with Wolves" online.

Both films follow the exact same "white savior" template—a white male protagonist dissatisfied with his reality enters a foreign culture, is accepted by the locals, learns their language and customs, falls in love with a tribal woman, and ultimately leads the indigenous people to fight against their own civilization.

Even the main characters record their experiences by writing diaries, and they all go through the transformation from "civilized people" to "children of nature".

If this happened in the online literature community, it would probably be criticized as "translating from Chinese to Chinese." Fortunately, the Hollywood film industry system emphasizes that successful commercial film story templates can be shared among industry insiders, so this kind of thing won't cause a "plagiarism" controversy.

However, the "white savior" narrative pattern was already used in "Dances with Wolves" back in the 90s.

So by the time he was still using this set of values ​​in 09, the audience and mainstream public opinion had long been aesthetically fatigued and even somewhat tired of it.

Therefore, while Avatar achieved extremely high box office returns upon its release, it did not garner the same acclaim and critical acclaim as Dances with Wolves.

James Cameron was once labeled an "arrogant old white man" online. At the Oscars the following year, he did not sweep the awards like Titanic did. He received 9 nominations but only won 3, all of which were technical awards.

He didn't win any of the prestigious awards, such as Best Picture and Best Director, which were all given to his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker".

However, Naomi was unaware of these things, so she didn't have a deep understanding or insight into what David had said that afternoon.

She wants to figure out another issue now.

"Nicole, why don't you play this role yourself?"

In the hotel room, Naomi was lying on the bedside table, wearing only a loose nightgown, her left calf unconsciously raised and swaying slightly.

"Me? You mean 'Dances with Wolves'? I just finished filming a romantic comedy, I'm exhausted, and I need to rest for a while."

Nicole on the other end of the phone was very candid, saying, "And I heard the filming conditions for this movie are quite harsh, and I was worried about getting sunburned, so I didn't go. How are things where you are? Is it hot there now?"

"It's alright, it's my first day here, so I haven't felt anything yet," Naomi said casually. "I'm used to hardship, my skin isn't as delicate as yours. By the way, what values ​​did your movie have? The director talked to me about a lot of things related to the movie's values ​​when we were on the plane today."

"Values?"

"Yes, he said the biggest feature of this movie is the 'white savior' value system, and he talked about it in great detail. It felt like he put a lot of effort into this aspect when writing the script."

"So what's your opinion?"

"Me?" Naomi rolled over, lying flat on the bed, and put the microphone to her mouth. "What else can I say? It's obviously to show support and approval. What else can a new actress say?"

"What else did he say?"

He also said that this set of values ​​wouldn't last long, and that the audience would get tired of it if it were used too often, and that...

Before they knew it, the topic of conversation between the two best friends had turned to something David had said.

Nicole naturally wanted to learn more about David, and David's views on movies always gave her a fresh perspective, from which she benefited greatly.

After listening to Naomi's account, she roughly grasped two key points from the other person.

First of all, it is possible to make commercial films with the core purpose of conveying values. It's a pity that she didn't know the idiom "making dumplings is all for the sake of this dish of vinegar", otherwise she would definitely have used this sentence to summarize.

Secondly, the values ​​presented in movies may become less popular over time.

Strictly speaking, both of her realizations are correct, yet neither is entirely correct.

First, for a commercial film to succeed in conveying values, those values ​​must be both fresh and mainstream. Only when both conditions are met can a film achieve commercial success, even if the story isn't particularly compelling.

Then, some of the values ​​in movies do become outdated, but some never do.

Jiang Wen's "Let the Bullets Fly" is essentially his personal creation, like "making dumplings for vinegar." The reason it has developed into a popular online phenomenon is largely because its values ​​are still applicable today.

All of Jiang Wen's films express the same values ​​and tell the same story. The reason why "Let the Bullets Fly" was a box office hit is largely because he added some other values ​​to it.

Even in the internet age, political parties are only a very small minority, and most ordinary people are not very interested in them.

Therefore, strictly speaking, Jiang Wen is actually an author-director whose works have a relatively narrow audience. In addition, due to censorship constraints, when he tries to "feed" the audience with "vinegar," he has to make the dumplings very small and fragmented, which naturally results in a very abstract viewing experience.

In "Let the Bullets Fly," besides the vinegar, Jiang Wen also included many down-to-earth elements to broaden the audience of his work and repay the investors for their support.

For example, "making money while standing," "two bowls of noodles," and "the county magistrate's wife"...