The Rocket
Civilian
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2012
- Messages
- 111
- Reaction score
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- 11
Most Westerners don't care about the hundreds of historical epics and period films that the Chinese film industry has produced over the past few decades. It's a major genre, and there have been some wonderful films as well as some not-so-great ones. Regardless of their quality, however, they are ignored for the most part by those in the West.
Chinese audiences -- and, in fact, all Asian audiences -- have enjoyed an abundance of films featuring all-Chinese casts, and some that have placed non-Chinese actors in subordinate roles. China vs Japan, and East meets West are two popular themes, often with the foreigners as villains. Sometimes non-Chinese actors play the allies of the protagonist, but they've also played the antagonist in many films. Chinese actors are generally the stars of Chinese films, even if the film takes place outside of China. Additionally, it's a novelty for them to include an A-list Hollywood actor in one of their films, and Chinese filmmakers have discovered that it paves the way for an international release and thus far more revenue. In this film, the Caucasian actor is going to be the hero -- this differs from the norm.
Western audiences will see a film in theaters when it features a familiar star. Star power attracts people to the cinema. This is a genre that viewers from the West don't relate to very well -- Chinese historical culture is lost on those in the West. The only time Western audiences can be convinced to watch a Chinese period film is when the star is familiar to them, and even then it was a hard sell.
I doubt Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) would have done very well with a wide release in the West. It stars Chow Yun-Fat, Jay Chou, and Gong Li -- all megastars in China at the time.
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Red Cliff (2008), which was a huge two-part film in China was less well-received in the West. It features an all-star Chinese cast.
The Assassin (2015) won an award at Cannes for Best Director and was critically acclaimed, winning all sorts of awards at the Asian Film Awards and Taiwanese Golden Horse Film Awards. It received an American release in October 2015 to very little fanfare.
The Great Wall (2016) features an all-star Chinese cast, which includes Andy Lau, Eddie Peng, and Chinese member of EXO, Lu Han. As far as blockbuster Chinese films go, this one has as many big stars as a typical big-budget film would have. Matt Damon's inclusion is a bonus; it could have been Jay Chou, Huang Xiaoming, Wang Leehom, Chen Kun, Donnie Yen, or anyone else in that role, and the only difference is that Western audiences would pass on the film. There are already tons of blockbuster Chinese films in existence with Chinese-only casts.
It's not so much "whitewashing," i.e., an attempt to replace Chinese actors with white actors and alter the norm, as it is an attempt to attract Western viewers. The Chinese would balk if their traditional roles were being threatened, as ethnic pride is very strong in the Chinese community. China likes to show the world that it is the best. The Great Wall is co-produced by China Film Group, which is China's state-owned film studio.
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