‘신주류영화(新主流電影)’, 국가의 요청에 부응하는 중국 영화의 새 지향

Abstract

With the growth of the Chinese film industry, the Chinese film authorities have been expecting the birth of an ideal film model to represent Chinese cinema. To that end, Chinese film scholars have proposed a 'New Chinese Mainstream Film' model. For a film to be the 'New Chinese Mainstream Film', it needs to satisfy two conditions; the transmission of core socialist values and the achievement of commercial success. 'Operation Mekong' (2016) became a successful case in point of 'New Chinese Mainstream Film,' followed by 'The Wolf Warrior 2' (2017) and 'Operation Red Sea' (2018). The three 'New Chinese Mainstream Films' were successful because they highlighted China's new status and roles as a great power. In fact, 'New Chinese Mainstream Film' has been required to emphasize the status and the role of 'China' in addition to satisfying the two conditions of transmitting core socialist values and achieving commercial success. 'New Chinese Mainstream Films' not only had supported the Chinese film industry but also had played an important role in bringing Chinese people together during the extraordinary era from 2019 to 2021. Films such as 'My People My Country', 'The Captain', 'My People My Homeland', 'The Sacrifice,' and 'The Battle at Lake Changjin' have saved the Chinese film industry amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and inspired Chinese audiences to feel patriotism and national pride. However, despite the success of 'New Chinese Mainstream Films', it is dubious if such films have long-term sustainability since they seem to expose various problems in the narratives, characters, and representation of reality. If the issues are not resolved, there is a high chance that Chinese audiences will turn away from the films in the model.