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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
I do think the reaction of the Chinese audience should at least be considered given this movie is going to have some impact, however small, on how people view Chinese culture and people. Not all criticisms will be valid, of course, but I don't think they should all be dismissed.
Edited by windleopard on Apr 22nd 2021 at 8:41:18 AM
The Farewell didn’t do well in China either, so I don’t expect mainlanders to really gel with the immigrant storylines.
That’s how I feel about it as well. Remember that Mulan was probably one of the first big Asian cartoon films and a lot of Americans’ first exposure to Chinese culture but it got a mixed reaction from China because said culture as depicted was very Americanized.
Edited by Synchronicity on Apr 22nd 2021 at 10:58:47 AM
@Windleopard- Which criticisms do you think are valid?
Personally, I could get the criticism of the indirect use of Fu Manchu / use of a Fu Manchu-inspired character. But I'm not sure how much that is even on the radar, because it doesn't seem to come up much as a criticism.
Mostly it seems like a combination of what is (charitably) a belief that it's inauthentic or (less charitably) that diaspora Chinese have no right to the culture. That coupled with thinking that Simu Liu and Awkwafina are too ugly to represent Chinese people.
The animated Mulan is interesting because it's very much a diaspora Chinese work, down to calling her Fa Mulan, which along with the feminist analysis, was inspired by then-recent writing by Maxine Hong-Kingston. And although apparently they still hated it, the recent live action Mulan movie was a deliberate attempt to make a version for mainland China. Which interestingly included it being generally reactionary in message.
Edited by Hodor2 on Apr 22nd 2021 at 11:04:30 AM
I know of one American film franchise set in China that they adore: Kung Fu Panda.
The legend has returned.The first draft for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is done.
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Helps that KFP had tons of research to properly depict Chinese culture and the landscape to enrich the good plot, good music, godly animation and overall narrative
@Hodor I'm mostly speaking hypothetically in this regard but I do think it is possible there might be some things they can criticize that are a bit more understandable than just the actors' looks. I do think it is important to note this dislike seems to be coming from the Chinese people not the CCP. But we'll wait and see.
Russell Crowe revealed his role in
Thor: Love and Thunder!
AND THEN ALONG CAME ZEUS!
Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Apr 22nd 2021 at 11:37:32 AM
I mean, I was immediately speculating whether this means Marvel's Hercules is around the corner, but...oh. Oh...
@Windleopard - For me it seems like a pretty comparable situation to how in Japan, no one had an issue with racelifting in the Ghost In the Shell movie (because Japanese people have plenty of/nearly exclusive representation in Japanese media).
So, it's a situation where the "mainland" and "diaspora" understandably have different focuses, including about representation. But also in both cases, it seems like the mainland just has "bad" / "reactionary" opinions, so I don't think it's super-helpful to view them as more deserving of deference, because they are the mainland and not the diaspora.
Regarding Russel Crowe - That's awesome. And yes. I assume that Gorr butchered the Greek pantheon and that Zeus is a survivor. Hopefully not the sole survivor, so we can get Hercules and others too. Kind of a funny/inspired choice, because Gorr is already Kratos but without Protagonist-Centered Morality.
I literally just remembered that Russell Crowe was Jor-El.
Hell of a promotion: From the father of the Last Son of Krypton to the God of Thunder (and Rock & Roll) and father of Hercules.
Zounds...
I'm not so sure they would explicitly cut off the possibility of Hercules ever appearing, given how much of a fan favorite he is and how heavily requested the character has been over the years.
Anywho, I hope they give Christian Bale's Gorr's outfit something of a update from the comics. The Spectre, he ain't.
Edited by KnownUnknown on Apr 22nd 2021 at 11:55:04 AM
So, Gorr is likely killing the Olympians. I'm so gonna be Rooting for the Empire in this one.
Edited by djoki996 on Apr 22nd 2021 at 12:01:42 PM
Yeah you're not killing Hercules, especially not for Zeus of all gods. That's literally like swapping out Thor for Odin. Hercules is an Avenger for God's sake!
Also I'm hoping this is more than just the Greek pantheon. The Marvel universe is technically a full-on Crossover Cosmology but outside of like the God Squad it's woefully underutilized.
Gorr going after the Greek gods and killing them off kinda sounds like the start of Avengers: No Road Home, though that's probably more a coincidence than anything.
Does that mean we'll get Amadeus Cho too? (the only comic where I've seen Hercules also had him).
Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!." Gorr is already Kratos but without Protagonist-Centered Morality"
Never read any of his stories, but from what I've read about him Gorr's self-centered morality game is like a gajillion times stronger than Kratos' ever was.
Edited by Eagal on Apr 22nd 2021 at 1:36:20 AM
I think I misunderstood the comment. I thought they were saying that he isn't self-centered, rather than the story doesn't ignore his self-centeredness like it originally did Kratos'. My bad.

It's almost like there's a reason us and/or our families left the mainland in the first place...
Edited by M84 on Apr 22nd 2021 at 11:36:19 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised