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laleiaI'll be the first to admit that I enjoy Neil Gaiman's books (Stardust, Good Omens) and I've been glad that his books have been made into films.
But I just heard that he's going to be scriptwriting a new Chinese 3-D production of 西游记 (Journey to the West) which ... just fills me with dread.
I don't know much about the situation, but so far it sounds like a terrible idea.
Now, 西游记 is actually one of the stories I grew up with, one of the first shows I ever watched. I had an abridged book of it (in Chinese, which I never finished reading because the abridged version was still higher than my Chinese reading capabilities), and I still know the lyrics to bits and pieces of the opening theme song of the original TV show.
(I mean, I say original because it's the first one I ever saw, but I doubt it's the oldest one; the one I refer to as the "original" is the one with the actor who studied monkeys before he began acting his part.)
I mean, it still pisses me off when people 1.) see BBC commercials about the China Olympics featuring 孙悟空 and think that it's a reference to a Japanese TV adaptation of the story as opposed to, you know, the original epic; 2.) don't realize the connection between the anime Saiyuki and the story it's based on; or, 3.) think that Dragonball Z has more references to Greek/Roman mythology than Chinese mythology despite the fact that the main character is based off fucking 孙悟空: same name, monkey tail.
And then Neil Gaiman says he thinks the story will be universal because "There is nothing inherently Greek about the Odyssey" and so the adventure in the story is not something that needs to be contextualized? I mean, he subsequently acknowledges it will be difficult to write a story that already has so much significance to so many people, but ... uh ...
1. I'm going to put this out there and say that everything about the Odyssey is inherently Greek. I'm no classicist, but as far as I recall, you know, the major themes, the gods, the goddesses, the monsters, the mythologies, they were all inherently ancient Greek. And if those myths and gods and stories are familiar to people nowadays so that they don't seem particularly Greek, maybe that has something to do with the fact that we learn a hell of a lot more about ancient Greek culture in school and popular culture than we do about ancient Chinese culture.
So, 2.) How exactly are you going to talk about 神仙 and 妖怪 and write stories about them without acknowledging that they are "inherently Chinese" and have a whole lot of context to them that you can't just ignore. It's like how Red Cliff was an adventure story for people who didn't know more about the Three Kingdoms, but had a lot more impact if you knew the context (like practically every other Chinese person in China). Only this time, it won't be written by someone who knows the story and context in their bones, it's going to be written by someone who lacks context as well.
I mean, I'm sure Neil Gaiman will do a lot of research and learn a lot and he might even doing a brilliant job but ... let's just say that the chances are high something will get screwed up.
The other thing I'm dreading about this upcoming adaptation is that the cast is going to include a mix of "Asian and Western (read Hollywood) stars."
Please, please, PLEASE, no more racebending.
Maybe I'm just not creative enough, but I really don't see how a mix of presumably White and Chinese actors would play out in any kind of way that would make me happy. I guess if they went for Chinese American Hollywood stars and Chinese stars? Which I doubt will happen.
Context: http://screenrant.com/neil-gaiman-journey-west-movie-sandy-105343/
But I just heard that he's going to be scriptwriting a new Chinese 3-D production of 西游记 (Journey to the West) which ... just fills me with dread.
I don't know much about the situation, but so far it sounds like a terrible idea.
Now, 西游记 is actually one of the stories I grew up with, one of the first shows I ever watched. I had an abridged book of it (in Chinese, which I never finished reading because the abridged version was still higher than my Chinese reading capabilities), and I still know the lyrics to bits and pieces of the opening theme song of the original TV show.
(I mean, I say original because it's the first one I ever saw, but I doubt it's the oldest one; the one I refer to as the "original" is the one with the actor who studied monkeys before he began acting his part.)
I mean, it still pisses me off when people 1.) see BBC commercials about the China Olympics featuring 孙悟空 and think that it's a reference to a Japanese TV adaptation of the story as opposed to, you know, the original epic; 2.) don't realize the connection between the anime Saiyuki and the story it's based on; or, 3.) think that Dragonball Z has more references to Greek/Roman mythology than Chinese mythology despite the fact that the main character is based off fucking 孙悟空: same name, monkey tail.
And then Neil Gaiman says he thinks the story will be universal because "There is nothing inherently Greek about the Odyssey" and so the adventure in the story is not something that needs to be contextualized? I mean, he subsequently acknowledges it will be difficult to write a story that already has so much significance to so many people, but ... uh ...
1. I'm going to put this out there and say that everything about the Odyssey is inherently Greek. I'm no classicist, but as far as I recall, you know, the major themes, the gods, the goddesses, the monsters, the mythologies, they were all inherently ancient Greek. And if those myths and gods and stories are familiar to people nowadays so that they don't seem particularly Greek, maybe that has something to do with the fact that we learn a hell of a lot more about ancient Greek culture in school and popular culture than we do about ancient Chinese culture.
So, 2.) How exactly are you going to talk about 神仙 and 妖怪 and write stories about them without acknowledging that they are "inherently Chinese" and have a whole lot of context to them that you can't just ignore. It's like how Red Cliff was an adventure story for people who didn't know more about the Three Kingdoms, but had a lot more impact if you knew the context (like practically every other Chinese person in China). Only this time, it won't be written by someone who knows the story and context in their bones, it's going to be written by someone who lacks context as well.
I mean, I'm sure Neil Gaiman will do a lot of research and learn a lot and he might even doing a brilliant job but ... let's just say that the chances are high something will get screwed up.
The other thing I'm dreading about this upcoming adaptation is that the cast is going to include a mix of "Asian and Western (read Hollywood) stars."
Please, please, PLEASE, no more racebending.
Maybe I'm just not creative enough, but I really don't see how a mix of presumably White and Chinese actors would play out in any kind of way that would make me happy. I guess if they went for Chinese American Hollywood stars and Chinese stars? Which I doubt will happen.
Context: http://screenrant.com/neil-gaiman-journey-west-movie-sandy-105343/
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 05:59 pm (UTC)p. s. Hi! I'm not sure if we've talked before?
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Date: 2011-03-11 06:02 pm (UTC)It's also pretty telling about their lack of creativity in being unable to see how a story which has endured centuries might be entertaining with... just Chinese people!
(granted, there's probably an awesome cross- cultural thing you could do with Chinese, Tibetan, Uigher and Indian performers... but that would make sense!!!!)
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Date: 2011-03-11 06:22 pm (UTC)Also, Hi back! I am not sure either if we've talked before (I usually tend to lurk and read on other people's journals; I rarely comment), but it's ... nice to meet you? :D
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Date: 2011-03-11 06:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 06:33 pm (UTC)I've come to the conclusion that nothing good comes from adaptations when the "big selling point" is that they've added white people.
There's an rpg coming out, that's mixing the Wild West & Wuxia, and I was excited. then they said they would not include any NDN folks - so basically, it's about adding white people. :/
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Date: 2011-03-12 01:38 pm (UTC)