The literary era since 1979

October 10, Ministry of Radio, Film and Television.

"Come in."

Hearing the knock on the door, Minister Ai withdrew his gaze from "China Film Weekly" and let out a long sigh.

Then Teng Jinxian walked in, apparently to report to him the results of the script seminar for "The Decisive Battle".

"Old Teng, sit down."

Minister Ai immediately asked about the situation.

Teng Jinxian said bluntly that Fangyan had already made a division of labor. He asked Shi Chao to lead the team into the archives to collect information and read military history, and asked Wang Jun and Li Ping to take the lead in interviewing the parties involved in the three major battles. Of course, before the interviews, the entire "The Decisive Battle" script writing team had to cram up on the information. After all, the interviewees were at least generals, and if they couldn't answer, it would not only be their face that would be lost.

What's more, some files and information cannot be seen even if you want to.

Fang Yan also set rules for the script writing team, requiring them to hold regular meetings to discuss character images and story plots. If he, the chief screenwriter, is unable to attend due to some reason, the writing team will be temporarily led by Wang Jun, the most experienced screenwriter.

"Great! Great! He is indeed qualified for the position of chief screenwriter!"

Minister Ai smiled with satisfaction.

After some communication, Teng Jinxian said goodbye and left. Minister Ai returned to his seat and focused his attention on the newspaper again.

There has been a lot of discussion about the main theme recently, but there are relatively few valuable opinions. Many of them are what Fang Yan and Zhao Baohua had argued about at the symposium on the main theme, such as the proposition "Is entertainment in conflict with the main theme?"

Although my mind leans towards dialects and I know the two are not contradictory, I have no way to verify it because no one knows how to film it.

Only if a mainstream commercial or entertainment film comes out and it is both a success in terms of word-of-mouth and box office, will he have the opportunity to promote it.

Just when he was worried, there was another knock on the door and the secretary came in with a stack of newspapers.

"The latest newspapers have arrived. I'll put them here for you."

"Oh, I see."

Minister Ai didn't look up. He approved some documents first and then picked up a copy of "Popular Movies" magazine.

As soon as I flipped through the catalog, I saw a book called "Where Are Main Theme Movies Going?" written in dialect.

The whole person suddenly became energetic, and couldn't wait to turn to the page where the article was located, and saw Fangyan wrote on it:

"First of all, I completely agree with the recent discussion in the film industry about 'highlighting the main theme'."

"But there are different opinions on the issues such as 'main melody movies' cannot be defined and 'whether main melody movies can be commercialized'."

“The main theme changes with the times, but the basic values ​​remain unchanged.

For example, striving for progress, optimistic life, honesty and friendship, etc., these are trivial compared to the revolutionary theme. But can we deny that they are not the main theme just because they are trivial?

I think before explaining the main theme, we must first understand what the mainstream ideology is. The spirit from above has clearly instructed and advocated the "four alls", which is the mainstream ideology today.

Everything that is conducive to promoting patriotism, collectivism, etc.

Everything that is conducive to reform, opening up and modernization.

Anything that is conducive to national unity and social progress.

Everything is exchanged for a good life with honest labor, etc.

In particular, the fourth point points out the good life of the people, which shows that they also represent the spirit of the times.

The view that the main theme is limited to revolutionary themes is narrow-minded and immature.

Based on the above, I think we can summarize that the characteristics of main-theme movies should be: recognition of mainstream political forms, advocacy of national policies, positive and optimistic mood, embodiment of dominant cultural values, and healthy film creation that reflects history and reality.

Correspondingly, we can summarize and define them as follows: revolutionary historical films that can fully reflect the state of the country, realistic films that are close to the lives of ordinary audiences, and films that promote mainstream values ​​and eulogize human nature and life are mainstream films. "

Minister Ai read it carefully from top to bottom, over and over again.

The article did not mention diversity or the unity of the three characteristics, but directly and boldly gave a definition. It was the only one among so many articles that dared to give a definition. It even began to analyze the characteristics and the past and present of mainstream movies, and discussed the future development direction and form.

Perhaps only Fangyan, the first person to advocate "main melody movies", would dare to go against the world's condemnation and make such a definition.

When I thought of this, I couldn't help but read on: "Four Crossings of the Chishui River" and "Operation Sharp Sword" are the main themes of course.

“If it’s like in That Mountain, That Man, That Dog, filming an ordinary postman who has been delivering mail in the mountains for decades…”

"Even in The Shepherd, Xu Lingjun resolutely refused the temptation to go abroad to inherit his family business, always keeping his family and country in mind."

“Aren’t these the notes of the times?”

“The main theme is not narrow, but very broad. It should belong to all stories that reflect truth, goodness and beauty.

Main-theme movies can also be good to watch, as long as the audience can go to the theater and really sit down patiently, they will be able to watch them. The current problem is how to get the audience to go to the theater, how to make education and entertainment, and how to make main-theme movies popular among the people..."

Ok?
When Minister Ai turned it over, it was gone. How could the dialect end here?

He was addicted to reading and was just about to see what the author would say next, but the author suddenly changed the subject and moved on to the next question.

For example, it is suggested to improve a series of institutional support for main-theme films, such as setting up a leading group for the creation of main-theme films and TV series.
Another example is setting up a funding fund for producing feature films with major themes to push the "main melody" onto the main stage of my country's film and television industry.

Hey!
Fangyan is such a cunning guy!

Minister Ai shook his head and laughed. If he was not the darling of the cultural department, when the Film Bureau was transferred to the Radio, Film and Television Department, he would have used his position as the deputy director of the Review Committee under the Film Bureau to force this Oscar-winning screenwriter to work in the Radio, Film and Television Department.

However, now, I have gained a lot. Now many people's understanding of the main theme is indeed narrow. This article expands their thinking and proposes broader connotations such as "close to the lives of ordinary audiences", "promoting mainstream values", and "eulogizing human nature and life".

What is definition?
No matter how it changes, the definition is the standard. In other words, my rules are the rules!
Minister Ai stared at this sentence to make sure there was no political error before writing: "The article is quite valuable. Comrade XX, please review it."

…………

Not only is it circulated within the radio and television departments, the dialect version of "Where Are Main Theme Movies Going" is also being reviewed at various levels by the cultural and propaganda departments.

After all, propaganda and publicity work are inseparable.

The leader reviewed the article and was very satisfied. He even planned to quote some of the ideas in the dialect article at the next National Feature Film Directors' Conference and deliver a speech titled "On Several Issues on the Current Literary and Art Front."

I read it through with great interest and couldn't help but sigh that this guy is really talented and his summary is very comprehensive.

Who dares to say that the masses are not important? Who dares to say that the masses are not the main theme?
It doesn’t matter if the definition is shallow, but the service object must not be wrong or missed.

So he called his secretary and asked, "How is the speech for the meeting?"

"almost."

"Look at this. Use the parts I circled in the manuscript. The main theme should not be ambiguous, whether in the past or in the future!"

…………

Once the article "Where Are Main Theme Movies Going" was published in Popular Movies magazine, it not only caused quite a stir internally, but also caused a huge uproar outside, especially in the film industry. It also greatly boosted the morale and confidence of those who supported the commercialization and entertainment of the main theme.

In the editorial office of China Film Weekly, Zhao Baohua slammed the magazine on the table.

His face was even so distorted that the legs of his glasses slipped down and got stuck on the bridge of his nose.

The reason why he helped Teng Jinxian design the slogan of "highlighting the main theme and insisting on diversity" and the reason why he openly challenged dialects and debated the "main theme" at the symposium on main theme topics was to provoke debate, seize the right to speak, and build authority in the film industry.

This is a great opportunity for personal improvement!

Maybe he can even step on the shoulders of dialects and steal the fruits of the originator of the "main melody" of dialects to continue climbing up!

But dialects just happened to interfere and directly cut off their own path to progress. After all, the final right to interpret the "main melody" is not in their hands. Even if the main melody is a "nonsense" concept, no matter how it is defined, the main melody is still empty.

Moreover, the dialect is written in a very clever way. Rather than defining it, it is more like setting a scope for the main theme.

At the same time, it cleverly shifted the focus of discussion in the film industry from "commercial films" and "entertainment" to mainstream themes.

It is now generally believed that the main themes are revolutionary themes and biographical themes. When this article came out, people saw it and thought, oh, this is right.

How can we not count the people? Of course, truth, kindness, beauty and positive energy must also be counted!

In this way, the scope is expanded, the gunpowder smell of the debate is reduced, and the right to speak and interpret is returned to the hands of dialects! (End of this chapter)