I with my son last Sunday went to the AMC on Time Square to see “Wandering Earth”. Figuring with 3 screens showing the movie we wouldn’t have trouble, but we were wrong with all the tickets sold out. With Chinese internet ablaze with different viewpoints talking about the movie I would like to put in my 2 cents even before I have a chance to see the movie. As a Si-Fi fan even though I haven’t seen the movie yet, I am familiar with the story line and read about the debates.
Those who are against the movie are mostly Chinese whom are western oriented liberal persuasion. They have a sense of inferiority complex toward West, anti-nationalists to the point of taking positions against any government initiative. The criticisms on esthetic, technical, or comparing to other western Si-Fi movies are rather irrelevant as it’s to the taste of each individual, but the real reason is to the core of value system the movie portrays. That’s also the reason Chinese government likes this movie although it was privately produced and was somewhat ambivalent toward the author and Si-Fi in general. It’s the value of Socialism versus Capitalism, of society against individual, whether individual rights have absolute priority against societal needs. That question has been answered by Chinese in their choice of votes with tickets to see this movie.
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