94Ha Viewpoint
Since its release on January 29, “Nezha: The Devil Boy Conquers the Dragon King” (Nezha 2) has quickly broken more than 100 records in Chinese film history and has set three milestones. First, on February 6, it easily surpassed “The Battle at Lake Changjin” to become the box office champion in Chinese film history; second, on February 7, it easily surpassed the United States to become the global single market box office champion; third, on February 9, it easily surpassed “Wolf Warrior 2” to become the number of moviegoers in Chinese film history.
In the 1950s, magical realism became a flourishing literary genre in Latin America. Mo Yan won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature. The award speech of the jury said: “It combines magical realism with folk tales, history and contemporary society.” It is an indisputable fact that Mo Yan’s writing skills in many of his novels are influenced by Latin American literature, but his knowledge and narrative art are obviously rooted in Chinese culture, including “Classic of Mountains and Seas”, “Journey to the West”, “Investiture of the Gods”, “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio”, “A New Account of Tales of the World”, “In Search of the Gods”, etc.
The first vernacular novel in China, Diary of a Madman, is a masterpiece of magical realism. Through the madman’s “crazy words”, Lu Xun made a profound and sharp criticism of the cruel reality of “ethics cannibalism” in Chinese society. Mo Yan’s novel Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out reveals the suffering of farmers and the distortion of human nature through the magical plot of the six reincarnations. In comparison, although many fantasy novels on the Chinese Internet now have a large flow, they are usually only superficial, lack soul and depth, and are suitable for killing fragmented time, and are even more difficult to pass on to future generations.
Nezha 2 is also a magical realist film with a novel story, grand scenes, professional special effects, and smooth rhythm. From a magical perspective, it successfully transforms Chinese classical mythology with modern values and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. For example, in the original novel of “Investiture of the Gods”, Nezha killed innocent people and was as naughty as a demon. The movie cleverly set up the “magic pill” to be thrown into the wrong fetus. Under the influence of his parents and master, he gradually grew up, and his ugly and cute image was also likable; Dragon King Ao Guang spoke in an old-fashioned manner, but his heart was not cold, and his image was handsome and cool; there were no simple positive and negative roles, nor were there single-quality “immortals” and “demons”. The subversive setting of the Chan Sect and Shen Gongbao was quite ingenious and self-consistent.
From a realistic perspective, as many netizens analyzed, the film contains a lot of political metaphors. For example, the Yuxu Palace is high above, with the same color as the real White House and the shape of the Bagua octagon, which alludes to the Pentagon of the United States; the green pendant of the immortal is similar to the American green card, and the texture in it is similar to the American national emblem. Holding it means having a pass to the privileged world (the immortal world); the logo on the outer wall of the Tianyuan Ding, which uses the lives of demons to refine pills, is similar to the dollar symbol $, which alludes to the unscrupulous and selfish hegemony of the US dollar; the line “claiming to be a beacon of light” echoes the Chinese Internet’s usual mockery of the United States as a “lighthouse”; the soul-eating pill produced by the Yuxu Palace is similar to the coronavirus.
The Xiantian world of the Chanjiao is the maker of rules and the maintainer of order, and is also a symbol of light and justice. Both humans and demons worship it. Nezha and Ao Bing’s initial wish was to “definitely become immortals.” In fact, there are so many bad things. The trader Yuxu Palace’s senior brother Wuliang Xianweng defended himself, refining demons into pills, and had a clear conscience. The purpose is to enhance the magic power of his fellow disciples and maintain the “eternal hegemony of the Chanjiao.” Ironically, in the final battle at the end of the film, he revealed his true form as a tree demon (this may be a tribute to the classic Hong Kong film “A Chinese Ghost Story”). His two disciples, He Tong and Lu Tong (the main force of the demon hunting team), are also demons, but they kill their own kind without any discrimination.
After Nezha discovered the truth that the Xianjiao was unkind and “treated all things as straw dogs”, he scolded the Xianjiao for “bullying the weak and causing trouble in the world” and “you are the evil demons”; he began to awaken that “it doesn’t matter if this immortal fails”, smashed the immortal green pendant given by Wuliang Xianweng, and went from being assimilated by the system to breaking with the system; then he rose up to resist the power, and worked together with Ao Bing, the dragon clan, and hundreds of millions of sea monsters to destroy the Tianyuan Ding, the treasure of the Yuxu Palace, and gained freedom and rebirth together.
In “Journey to the West”, Sun Wukong made a riot in the Heavenly Palace, resisting the divine power and the royal power alone, challenging the highest authority and rules, which was quite revolutionary, but in the end he was still recruited and conferred the Buddha. In the Investiture of the Gods, Nezha rebels against patriarchy, takes responsibility for his own actions, and repays his parents’ kindness by committing suicide. In the two animated films of Nezha, Nezha no longer rebels against patriarchy. In the first film, he rebels against personal destiny and identity prejudice, and it is up to him to decide whether he is a demon or a fairy. In the second film, he rebels against group destiny and rule prejudice, and challenges the hegemony and rules of the fairy world. He is as revolutionary as Sun Wukong, and goes a step further than Sun Wukong. He does not rebel alone, but mobilizes countless disadvantaged demons at the bottom to rebel together.
Nezha refutes “What gods and demons are nothing but shackles that imprison the fate of other races”, which coincides with the modern enlightenment thought that “all men are born equal”. Wuliang Xianweng asked: “Do you still want to change this world?” Nezha responded: “I want to try”, clearly showing his determination to go his own way and open up a new road, which is consistent with the concept of “Chinese Road” currently being promoted. Chinese people usually call themselves “descendants of the dragon”. In Western culture, the image of the dragon is not positive. China has also been frequently “demonized” by the United States. In the film, the dragon tribe breaks free from the chains and leads hundreds of millions of demon tribes to resist the Chan Sect and win.
Mo Yan uses magic realism to tell “Chinese stories”, and his criticism is directed inward and upward, which has won the recognition of the world. “Nezha 2” uses magic realism to tell “Chinese stories”, and his criticism is directed outward and upward. It uses a lot of metaphors and plots to accuse the unfairness of rules. It has been generally recognized by the Chinese people. How the world responds is to wait and see. Overseas markets have been released one after another, and perhaps developing countries and people who have suffered from Trump and American hegemony can understand and resonate.
The main plot of “Nezha 2” is actually old-fashioned, that is, the boy grows up in awakening and resistance; at the same time, it is sensitive. Resistance, especially Nezha-style violent resistance, may not be suitable for modern society, not to mention that Chinese film censorship tends to be strict and cautious. Many political metaphors and main theme lines are well-intentioned. They must be clearly pointed to overseas to be safe and reassuring. Otherwise, they are neither suitable for the Spring Festival nor pass the censorship. This idea cannot be thought of by technical control who is only good at animation, or by filmmakers who are only good at art. Only those who have a deep insight into Chinese politics and have many years of experience can think of it and express it properly.
When Lin Zexu was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, he wrote a couplet in the hall, “The sea embraces hundreds of rivers, and tolerance is great; the wall stands thousands of feet high, and desirelessness is strong.” People have seven emotions and six desires. Without desire, there is no humanity, and living is like a walking corpse. When Mo Yan published “Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out”, he quoted “The Buddha’s Eight Great Awakenings” on the title page of the novel: “Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, From Greed; Less Desire and Inaction, the Body and Mind Are Free.”
For most people, life is dull, career is ordinary, and it is impossible and unnecessary to be desireless. There are always concerns and fetters in the world. As a second choice, less desire is enough. Adhere to your true self, be strong with few desires, and strive to be a big, real, and complete person, so that your soul can fly freely. Even if you don’t have the strength and background of Nezha, refusing to be lured into the pirate ship, not being an accomplice to the tiger, and not refusing to do good deeds even if they are small, is also a choice and change for your own destiny.
