Adhere to the supremacy of the people, the narrative concept and methodology of "The Wandering Earth 2"

According to the latest statistics released by the National Film Administration, the total box office of domestic films during the Spring Festival in 2023 is 6.758 billion yuan, which is the second best result in the same period in Chinese film history. Among them, the sci-fi movie "The Wandering Earth 2" was released as scheduled after a lapse of 4 years, and won a double harvest of word-of-mouth and box office. If "The Wandering Earth" released in the Spring Festival of 2019 "opened the door to Chinese science fiction movies", then the return of "The Wandering Earth 2" this time can be said to "directly smash" the door that was closed again. The key to the success of this film, whether it is its cool visual effects design, its multi-line narrative structure, or even its uncompromising adherence to science, lies in the fact that director Guo Fan and the main creative team insisted on The creative concept of "people first".

Only a strong country can support a strong science fiction industry. The Chinese-made hard "core" technology shown in the movie "The Wandering Earth 2" realizes the two-way rush of science fiction and technology, romance and reality. On January 30, the official Weibo account of China National Nuclear Corporation and the "Little Broken Ball" were linked in a dream. The phrase "You can imagine, we are responsible for realizing it", combined the patriotic enthusiasm of hundreds of millions of netizens, the creative enthusiasm of science fiction authors, and the struggle of scientific and technological workers. Enthusiasm was instantly ignited, and this triggered a phenomenon-level communication interaction: "The national team's team-building shout "The Wandering Earth 2"". Subsequently, central enterprises such as China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and China Unicom also joined the interactive ranks. In just 3 days, all 98 state-owned enterprises shouted "The Wandering Earth 2", and the exciting spectacle of film history was born.

"The real content of all epoch-making systems was formed out of the needs of the period in which they arose. All these systems are based on the entire past development of the country, on the historical form of class relations and their political based on moral, moral, philosophical and other consequences.” When we understand this argument of Marx and Engels, we can better understand that the rise of Chinese science fiction films is accompanied by the rise of China’s scientific and technological power of course. The rapid development and rise of China's scientific and technological power in the real world provides a solid creative foundation for the plot setting in the movie. As an original sci-fi work, the scientifically set world view and the hardcore display of many scientific details provide a solid foundation for this film. The head position of the film provides a firmer support, enabling the relationship between stories, thoughts, emotions and fun to achieve a natural and harmonious state.

The director and screenwriter John Huston, who has won multiple Academy Awards, once pointed out, "On paper, you can only say that something happened, and if you say it well, the reader believes your word. In the film, if you When handled properly, things happen directly on the screen.” Storytelling is the most primitive and effective discourse practice of human beings. Although the story itself is not dominant, it can implicitly dominate the audience through the construction of plots and characters. inner order. Likewise, meaning does not reside in the film, but is formed by the interaction of the film's audiovisual and narrative design with the audience's visual and social experience (the audience's interpretation). As an art form, film needs rich imagination and aesthetic expression to attract audiences. Its core should be vivid and fresh human social practice, and it should be the people who have the ability to adapt and change the world they live in. Ideology runs through the entire process of information flow, and subtly affects the emotional tendency of the audience. To tell a good story, especially in a movie with a strong influence, practitioners need to consciously establish a correct and clear view of narrative.

In the movie "The Wandering Earth 2", in the process of facing the global crisis, mankind is a community of shared destiny. The Chinese delegation explained with actions what it means to "responsible for a big country". The creators are keenly aware of the changes in the world and the times. The grand conception and confidence in expression determine the qualitative improvement of the film's expression. The film shows a unique grand pattern in the presentation of overall symbols, detailed metaphors and complex meanings. It can be regarded as a masterpiece that crosses the boundaries of narrative and aesthetics. , is enough to support this movie to become a benchmark for domestic movies in the future.

In November 2021, the National Film Administration issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Chinese Films", laying out a layout for the development of Chinese films in the next five years, and further clarified the development goals, that is, "Looking forward to 2035, my country will build film A strong country, Chinese films have achieved high-quality development, film creation and production capabilities have been significantly enhanced, high-quality masterpieces that demonstrate the Chinese spirit, Chinese values, Chinese power, and Chinese aesthetics continue to emerge, and the film market dominated by domestic films is the world's leading scale. The public relations service system will be more perfect, and a group of world-renowned film artists will be cultivated, and the discourse power and influence of Chinese films in the world film structure will be greatly enhanced."

To achieve high-quality development of Chinese films, we should examine ourselves to see whether they have the power to inspire, inspire, conquer and shape people's hearts. As a creator of film art, as a practitioner in the film industry, the only way to maintain a love for film is to adhere to the people-centered creative orientation and fully understand that the fundamental standpoint of socialist literature and art is from the people, for the people, and belongs to the people. , with the correct narrative concept and methodology, pen the brush strokes into the depths of the society of the times, in order to launch more excellent works that enhance the spiritual power of the people. On the way to build a powerful film country, we look forward to "flowers hanging on the branches". 

(Author: Wang Shu, deputy director of the Science and Film Integration Special Committee of the China Popular Science Writers Association)