The literary era since 1979

As the sun sets, its afterglow shines on the gate of Beijing Film Academy.

The figures of Gong Xing, Qian Yanqiu, Wang Zhiwen and others were stretched out very long, and the word "main melody" would pop up from time to time in their conversations.

After a while, Fangyan, who was driving over, interrupted everyone's discussion, and saw a pair of eyes staring at him.

"Teacher Fang!"

"Hello, classmates."

In response to the cordial greetings from the students of Class 1984 and Class 1985, Fangyan responded with a smile.

"Teacher Fang, we were just talking to Sister Gong about the article you published in the magazine."

Qian Yanqiu opened "Popular Movies" and immediately came across the article "Where Are Main Melody Movies Going?"

Fang Yan looked at the fat man Qian who wrote "The Sequel to Journey to the West", "Di Renjie Series", and "Yan Shuangying Series", and raised his lips and said:
"Really? What do you think of the 'main melody'?"

"Director Xie said that the future will be an era of mainstream themes."

Qian Yanqiu said: "When we graduate and work in a film studio as directors, we will probably have to participate in the production of mainstream films."

Fangyan smiled and said, "Have you ever thought about this? With so many filmmakers, they can't all shoot mainstream films, right? Let's not talk about whether there are enough resources to allocate. Let's talk about the audience. Even if you eat braised pork every day and drink red wine every meal, there will be a day when people get tired of it. If the audience becomes aesthetically fatigued, it will stimulate rebellious psychology and hate the mainstream film. This will not be worth the loss."

Gong Xing and others deeply agree that the current management of the film industry is just like that of other industries, in that “if you control it, it will die, and if you relax it, it will become chaotic.”

The result of slightly relaxing the restrictions on making entertainment films is that all the big and small studios across the country have rushed to make entertainment films, so that less and less investment is made in mainstream films. After all, mainstream films that are good to make and can make big profits at the box office are rare.

There is no problem with "highlighting the main theme", but we are afraid of going too far. The film industry has always adopted a one-size-fits-all approach.

I am afraid that in the future only the main theme may pass the review, while the others may find it difficult to pass the review.

“So the wider the range of the main theme and the more flexible the ideas are, the more works you can shoot.”

Fangyan looked around and smiled.

"We think so too! Although we have reservations about some of your views, we basically support you!"

Qian Yanqiu and others all agreed that the scope of materials for main-theme movies should be expanded, but they had different opinions on whether the main theme could be entertaining.

Gong Wei gently reminded him, “After your manuscript was published, there have been more and more discussions about the main theme, but the doubts, criticisms and attacks on the entertainment and commercialization of the main theme have decreased a lot. Either there is no way to refute it, or it is vague.”

Fangyan had anticipated this situation a long time ago. Most of the film industry just goes with the flow, mainly depending on the official attitude and direction.

Qian Yanqiu and others threw various questions to Fangyan one after another, some of which were so tricky that even the teachers at Beijing Film Academy found it difficult to answer them.

Fangyan responded tirelessly, gradually dispelling people's doubts, misinterpretations and misunderstandings about mainstream entertainment films and commercial films.

"Teacher Fang, you said it very well!"

Qian Yanqiu has been persuaded and vowed to contribute to film newspapers such as China Film Weekly to show his support for Fangyan.

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

"Since everyone thinks so, why don't we just submit our work together as students of Beijing Film Academy?"

Just when everyone was getting excited, Fang Yan put his hand down to calm everyone present, and at the same time politely rejected their kindness.

Gong Xing and her man looked at each other and understood what he meant.
"The best support you can give to Mr. Fang is to make more good mainstream works in the future to practice his ideas."

"We certainly will, Teacher Fang!"

Everyone cheered and watched Fang Yan and Gong Xing drive away from their sight. Qian Yanqiu couldn't help but sigh that Teacher Fang is indeed Teacher Fang, standing higher and seeing farther, which is really admirable!
…………

On the way home, Gong Xing turned his head and looked at Fang Yan, who was frowning:

"What's going on? Is it the debate about 'mainstream movies'..."

"What does this mean?"

Fang Yan shook his head and chuckled, "I have seen storms of all sizes, so why should I be afraid of a debate on the scale of 'main melody movies'?"

He then explained that he was worried about the script of "The Decisive Battle" and that his superiors had given him the latest instructions to take the situation on the other side of the strait into consideration.

"Then what are you going to do?"

Gong Xing frowned.

Fangyan said with disdain, "If the open way doesn't work, then try the covert way. Isn't it true that we intellectuals are best at using cunning and sarcastic tactics?"

Gong Xing cast a curious look at him, and suddenly heard him imitating Fenghua's accent and saying in a literary manner:

"In April of the 16th year of the Republic of China, it was also in the suburbs of Xuzhou that I had the honor of personally leading hundreds of thousands of athletes... to a great victory!"

"Twenty years ago, I set out from Xuzhou and started the Second Northern Expedition. The Chinese begonia leaves were then unified... It can be said that I had the best timing. The scene of vigorous vitality and the development of all things is still before my eyes."

"After just twenty years, has this place turned into our burial place?"

"No matter what, the force in the battle is 80 versus 60. The advantage is on my side!"

When he heard “the advantage is mine”, he could no longer hold back and burst out laughing.

However, the dialect did not end there. With a smile, he kept saying things like "Niang Xipi", "You are not good at playing cards, and I am not good at fighting", "I have a lot of things to do, I need to focus on micro-management", "101 is just the fourth batch of students, you are from the first batch", etc.

For a moment, the car was filled with a happy atmosphere, and the husband and wife joined in mocking Chiang Kai-shek.

"You're so smart to think of that."

Gong Xing laughed so hard that tears almost came out of his eyes.

"That's nothing, there's more!"

He speaks in dialect without even thinking, and phrases like "diary makes the country strong" and "map opens up the territory" come to his mind almost fluently.

The two of them laughed all the way back home. Fangyan parked the car and saw Gong Xian, who had already gotten out of the car, standing at the door and taking out a stack of letters from the mailbox.

"Look, these two are for you."

"I'll see."

As Fangyan walked, he opened the first letter, which turned out to be from Lu Yao.

In addition to the usual greetings and the gratitude that was evident on the paper, the letter also informed that he was drafting the second part of "The Ordinary World" and had read it twice from beginning to end. He sighed quietly and said that given his current health condition, if he continued writing like this, he would inevitably repeat the mistakes of his previous life.

I thought that just writing letters to persuade them would probably be of no use, but I couldn't think of any good solution for the time being.

Just when I was feeling upset, the second letter from Science Fiction World magazine brought me good news.

After receiving the first part of "The Three-Body Problem", Yang Xiao, Yao Haijun and others circulated the first draft one after another. Everyone who read it praised it. Some people even couldn't wait to read "The Three-Body Problem 1" and "The Three-Body Problem 2" after finishing "The Three-Body Problem 3". They were all waiting for their turn!
So after discussing for a while, they decided to go north to Yanjing to bother Fangyan.

We came here not only for the publication of The Three-Body Problem, but also for the World Science Fiction Convention. No matter what, we must apply to host this convention! (End of this chapter)