Three gaps and three goals, how does Chinese Film become "World Film"

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In this respect, there is a huge gap between Chinese films and American films.

is difficult to enter the global mainstream film distribution channels, and does not form a truly sustainable influence in the global market, which is still far from the goal of film becoming a global cultural product.

over the past ten years, thanks to the rapid economic and social development and the dividend of cultural system reform, the development index of Chinese film has continued to grow rapidly. Watching movies has become a popular choice for the cultural life of urban residents, and the scale of China's film market ranks second in the world. All this makes film a "popular" field of Chinese culture and art, and makes China a well-deserved "film power" in the world today.

the Chinese nation is experiencing a great process from being rich to strong. While meeting the higher needs of domestic audiences, as an important carrier of international communication, Chinese films also undertake the important mission of sharing Chinese culture with the world and improving the pattern of human culture.

the new mission of the new era requires us to use a higher vision and pragmatic spirit to promote Chinese films to further improve their level, expand their influence, and gradually realize their glorious dream of becoming stronger.

-- editor

China is undoubtedly already a big movie country in the world. The annual output of nearly 800 films has been among the highest in the world; the annual box office has exceeded 50 billion yuan, and the cinema market has steadily ranked second in the world; the total number of screens and the number of cinema audiences in China have exceeded that of the North American market, with unlimited potential for development. Despite such a beautiful set of data, we do not seem to have the strength to declare that China is already a world film power, especially in the international market, where Chinese film space seems to be more limited. The overseas spread and influence of Chinese films has not kept pace with the rapid development of the domestic market, and the international market revenue only stays at the level of hundreds of millions of dollars, which is not only lower than many European and American countries, but also lower than India, South Korea and Japan in Asia. At the same time, the average annual viewing number of Chinese audiences is also significantly less than that of many European, American and Asian countries; from the perspective of public opinion, the overall quality requirements of domestic films have not been fully met. On the whole, there is still a long way to go from a big country to a powerful country in Chinese films.

what is meant by "film power"

if we make a comparison, we can see more clearly the gap between China as a film power and a great power in some ways. As we all know, the United States is the number one film power in the world, while Hollywood is the mainstay of American films. the whole world regards Hollywood as the representative or even synonym of the film industry, so that India calls its film production center "Bollywood". Hong Kong was once called "Oriental Hollywood". Obviously, for the whole world, American film is a peak in front of us, which needs to be faced squarely and surpassed. With the help of such a film power as a reference, we can find that there are at least three obvious gaps between China and the goal of film power:

first, the contribution of Chinese films to the national cultural soft power is insufficient. American film is the most important part of American national cultural soft power. Since the beginning of the last century, film has been included in the national development strategy of the United States. By the 1920s, the US government had regarded it as an unshirkable mission to support and promote the development of the film industry and the expansion of the international market. The federal government of the United States has set up a special film agency in the Department of Commerce to investigate the situation of the world film market, promote bilateral and multilateral film trade negotiations, and even bring film free trade into the overall WTO negotiations. It is with the support and promotion of the US government that American films have entered the markets of most countries and regions in the world, and most of them have the right to free trade, which has an important impact on audiences all over the world, especially young people. So much so that some people compare "potato chips", "chips" and "film" to the three magic weapons of American cultural soft power. The US State Department declared that the film and television industry is one of the few industries in the United States that has maintained a trade surplus with almost all countries in the world. Many presidents of the United States have also highly affirmed that Hollywood makes the United States "different." American film has become the most far-reaching cultural form that spreads the American dream, American spirit and American culture. In contrast, the current cultural impact of Chinese films on the world can be said to be basically limited to local and global Chinese, and rarely has an extensive and significant impact on mainstream audiences in most countries, except for the "kung fu craze" for a time. Chinese films have not yet created phenomenal cultural hotspots like "Titanic", "Avatar", "Transformers" and "Star Wars" around the world. In this respect, there is a huge gap between Chinese films and American films.

second, Chinese films have insufficient influence and initiative on economic and social development. Film is an important industry in the United States, which makes a great contribution to economic and social development. When counting national economic data, the US State Department believes that "film and television production and distribution is the most valuable cultural and economic resource in the United States." The US film and television industry is basically private, creating 2.1 million jobs and 95000 enterprises. The industry-wide average wage is higher than 32 per cent of the national average wage, while the income in the creative field is higher than 74 per cent of the national average wage. According to incomplete statistics, the economic value created by the multi-window revenue and copyright sales and intellectual property transfer of American films every year is more than 50 billion US dollars. The advertising value created by the world-famous film and television stars and the commercial value created by advertising in the world are even more difficult to calculate. As a country with a history of less than 300 years, the United States has become one of the largest tourist destinations in the world. Movies have contributed a lot, whether it is Universal Studios, Disney, Las Vegas or the Empire State Building. Almost all the famous tourist attractions in the United States are "shaped" by movies. As some researchers said, the film packaged the United States as a "global bestseller." The contribution of the film and television industry to the American economy and society can be recognized all over the world. In contrast, at present, the economic value of Chinese films mainly depends on the cinema box office, while the annual comprehensive income can only be calculated at US $10 billion. There are very few stars like Jackie Chan who have a certain global influence and commercial value. The influence value of film as a cultural and creative industry is far from meeting the requirements of a film power.

third, the global competitiveness of Chinese films is insufficient. Although China and the United States are basically equal in film production, there are great differences in the direct market value created by films. In recent years, the domestic box office of American films has not changed significantly, but the influence of American films in overseas markets has gradually increased, with exports exceeding 13 billion US dollars and contributing more than 60 per cent of the total global box office. The Academy Awards, a domestic film selection in the United States, far exceeds the influence of other film awards in the world, and has attracted the attention of public opinion and film lovers all over the world. These show that American films are incomparably competitive in the world at present. While domestic Chinese films grossed less than $4 billion at the domestic box office, overseas and other copyright sales were less than $1 billion, with a maximum of $5 billion, or just 10 per cent of American films. More importantly, the market for Chinese films is mainly limited to the mainland, more accurately in the mainland, even in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the market space for mainland films is very small. It is difficult to enter the global mainstream film distribution and projection channels, and does not form a truly sustainable influence in the global market, which is still far from the goal of film becoming a global cultural product.

how to become strong

the difference in three aspects between Chinese film and American film is, to a certain extent, the distance between a big film country and a film power. The formation of this difference has a great relationship with the development process and maturity of the film industry. The global dominant position of American films was gradually formed during the first World War, consolidated after the second World War, further strengthened after the end of the Cold War, and experienced a history of more than 100 years. Seize the opportunities created by the changes in the world pattern. Although Chinese film has a development of more than 100 years, it is similar to the development process of Chinese history. It has undergone many changes, and lacks effective accumulation and upgrading. After the long-term self-sufficient development model, it has been no more than 15 years since the comprehensive industrialization reform began in 2002 and participated in the global cultural competition. At a miraculous rate of development, China has become the fastest growing film market in the world, and is entering a new normal from rapid development to high-quality development. We have reason to expect that Chinese films can create a new miracle from a big film country to a film power in another 10 years or so under the background of the grand social development of "two hundred years". To do this, we may need to achieve new goals in the following three areas.

first, to construct a "universal system" of film culture that can not only meet the spiritual needs of Chinese audiences but also bring value sharing to global audiences. We know that Hollywood has always been "taboo" about its "American film" identity and is always willing to claim to produce so-called "world movies" for the world rather than the United States. Even some films with obvious national consciousness are bound to be packaged with the humanitarian values of freedom, equality and justice to "obscure" the "national symbol" of their works. in fact, it is to use this universal culture to achieve maximum global sharing. At the same time, Hollywood has also made a large number of co-productions with India, Japan and China in Europe, South America and Asia, such as "Brave Heart", "Titanic", "the Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter" and so on, with themes from all over the world, not just in the United States. These films also use choreographers and stars from other countries to attract audiences in different markets. Through these strategies, they penetrate cultural barriers. Minimize the "cultural discount" of cross-border communication, so that audiences in different countries and different markets do not realize that this is an "American film", but accept it as a "universal" cultural product, and even bring some kind of cultural "closeness" imagination. For example, it may be difficult for Chinese audiences to consciously realize the "cultural" differences in many films such as Hollywood-led "Kung Fu Panda", "Great Wall" and "Rush hour". The Chinese cultural elements of these films even give audiences a stronger sense of pride and identity. Films such as "Avatar", "2012" and "Blade Runner" have blurred their "national character" and become veritable "global films". The complex and hidden ideological system contained in the film is often imperceptible to ordinary audiences, and its political and cultural influence is realized in an imperceptible way. On the contrary, it can be said that Chinese films are still in the "local" stage, and we lack the ability and confidence to "globalize" Chinese stories. The particularity of China's development stage and the complexity of its national conditions will inevitably give birth to a large number of films that mainly meet the domestic market, but China still needs to produce more film products with global shared value in order to truly become a world film power. In this respect, whether it is cultural concept or system design, whether it is cultural self-confidence or cultural integration, Chinese films and even the whole Chinese culture still have a difficult road to go. For a long time, we are only used to seeing the world with Chinese eyes, and even put too much emphasis on "China center". This "sense of self-superiority" is often difficult to be accepted by audiences in other countries in the process of communication. We also need to look at China from the perspective of the world, look at the world from the perspective of the world, and incorporate China's interests into the global community. only in this way can Chinese films truly belong to both China and the world. even China integrates into the world, maintains humanitarian core values while maintaining world cultural diversity, and embodies cultural diversity in humanitarian core values.

second, construct a perfect Internet film industry system. It should be said that Chinese films are still in a rapid and extensive stage of development, with vague industrial boundaries, lack of industry norms, lack of copyright awareness, lack of leading enterprises, and lack of industry structure. Market uncertainty leads to the widespread behavior of the industry eager for quick success and quick profit, and the uneven development of various industrial links, which leads to the instability of the overall artistic quality and technological standards of the film, and it is difficult to avoid and control the market risk. Enterprises lack the patience and perseverance to train talents and other industrial elements. If the scale of the enterprise is difficult to become bigger and stronger, it will be impossible to have enterprises like the six major Hollywood companies. it is even more difficult to have multinational, cross-media comprehensive cultural groups such as time Warner, Disney, Viacom, News Corp. and Sony, including Hollywood companies. China's film industry needs to make full use of the advantages of the rapid development of the Internet in China, and deeply integrate with Internet big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, CG technology and ecosystem, so as to form an industrial and market system that is more Internet-connected, more intelligent and more full-media than Hollywood, and complete primitive accumulation under the premise of fair competition. Form a complete leading enterprise in the industrial chain of the combination of Internet and film and television, formulate and abide by industry and market rules, participate in global competition, train talents and brands, build an industrial system and market system for Chinese films that can not only reduce disorderly competition but also bring innovative vitality, and produce film products that meet international standards. And make Chinese films form a complete market window system of domestic cinema-international cinema-network-television-audio-video-authorization. Only in this way can Chinese films truly complete the transformation from quantity increase to quality improvement, maximize the value of film copyright and maximize the driving role of economy, society and culture at the same time. As a new media, the Internet is likely to become an important cause of overtaking in Chinese movies. The advantages of sharing, sharing, intensification, integration and precision provided by the Internet may help Chinese films to get ahead of Hollywood, which is based on traditional industry.

third, construct an international communication system adapted to the global market. One of the important symbols of film power is the ability and effect of global communication. Although Hollywood films still have obvious advantages at present, only China is likely to form a new force of global checks and balances. on the one hand, China is about to surpass the vast local market in North America as a strong "base" for development. on the other hand, China is supported by the background of the "rise" of the largest developing country in the world, so it is entirely possible for China to become a decisive force in the world film pattern. Therefore, through a more active opening and cooperation mechanism, through the cultivation of transnational culture and film enterprises, by attracting a large number of overseas outstanding film talents, and by boldly adopting different national and traditional story themes, through the global intervention and deepening of important industrial links, it is entirely possible for us to meet the needs of local audiences and Chinese audiences at the same time. Produce more products that can meet the needs of audiences in different markets around the world. Of course, in the process of global spread of Chinese films, we can also learn from some experiences of the American film "Globalization" at that time and adopt different strategies in different regions, respectively in countries and regions along "Belt and Road Initiative". In East Asia, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Nordic Europe, Western Europe, South America, North America, it will take about 10 years to gradually have a greater impact. To form a global film communication system. In this way, Chinese films can really become the embodiment of the soft power of Chinese culture, not only to tell Chinese stories to the world, but also to enrich and improve world culture with Chinese culture and Chinese spirit, so as to connect China with the hearts of the world. Chinese films no longer take "going to the world" as the goal, but become a part of global films that can be accepted and respected by the world.

from "Chinese Film" to "World Film"

the construction of a "universal cultural system" that can not only meet the needs of domestic audiences but also adapt to the sharing of global audiences, the construction of an "Internet industrial system" adapted to the development and innovation of Chinese films, and the construction of an "international communication system" of Chinese films integrated with world culture is an important path for Chinese films to move from a big country to a powerful country. It is also an urgent need for Chinese films to reflect the soft power of national culture. In fact, we can see that North America is currently the largest film market in the world, but this market has hovered around $11 billion for more than a decade, and the number of films released has basically remained at about 700. the domestic growth of American films has been in a state of low or no growth, while the average growth of the global film market in the past 10 years is only about 5%. Only the Chinese film market has maintained an average growth rate of about 30%, which is unique in the world over the past decade or so, and is likely to maintain an average growth rate of more than 10% even after entering the new normal in the past two years. This development trend has laid a solid foundation for China to become a film power. In the global market, China, India, South Korea and Japan have all maintained the market share advantage of local films over Hollywood films, which also shows that Hollywood films are not unique and difficult to dominate the world. Chinese films are facing an important historic opportunity from a big country to a powerful country.

We have reason to believe that after 10 years or so, the Internet-based Chinese film industry system can be basically formed. After consolidating the local base areas, Chinese films may gain a more important global position through different regional development strategies. Of course, this process must be complex and difficult, and we should match the overall historical process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We should not only break through many habitual cultural, artistic and aesthetic concepts, but also reform and innovate the institutional mechanisms that limit the vision, vitality and motivation of Chinese films, so as to form the global cultural view of Chinese films on the basis of the understanding of a community with a shared future for mankind. Establish a global shared cultural value system with Chinese characteristics, complete the transformation from a big film country to a film power, and create more excellent films with both cultural appeal and market power. Only in this way, Chinese film is not only a "Chinese film", but also a "world film" that can really influence more audiences around the world.

Edit: yvonne