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For the past month, I've been traveling in China
Met a handful of old friends
Talked to dozens of people
Naturally, being a nerd with no other hobbies
Much of our conversations revolved around movies
Regardless of who I talked to
They all expressed the exact same three sentiments:
That there was nothing interesting in the theaters
That they didn't want to go see a Chinese movie
And that they've seen Fast X
What's up with that?
It's no secret that movies like Fast and Furious, Transformers
And Jurassic World are hugely popular with the Chinese audience
In fact, many of these movies raked in more box office in China
Than it did in US and Canada
As a result, it created a negative impression
As if the Chinese masses are too tasteless to tell art from trash
Even though all of these movies perform well domestically, too
My friends came from all facets of life
A doctor, a music teacher, an accountant, a book editor
And, indeed, they all gave the exact same review:
Fast X is dumb
They also all said Jason Momoa is hot
But that goes without saying
So, obviously, the Chinese audience knew
The film is vacuous and absurd
But then, why do they still watch it?
I don't claim to know the answer
But my friends do
So, I asked them that exact question
And here are the reasons given
[Why is Fast & Furious so Popular in China]
[Chapter One]
996
This may be the most hated number currently in China
Promoted and popularized by Chinese billionaires
Jack Ma and Richard Liu, 996 stands for:
Starting work at 9AM
Finishing work at 9PM
Repeat 6 days a week
If that makes you throw up a little
Me, too
Often claimed to be "non-compulsory"
The 996 schedule has since become widely practiced
Adored by every CEO who wants to be a billionaire
At the expense of their workers' health
Chinese work culture is becoming
Extremely high-pressure and competitive
Food deliveries, for example, have time limits
Should the driver fail to make it in time
Their pay will be docked
Office workers are expected to be on call 24/7
A couple of our dinner plans had to be canceled last minute
Due to my friends receiving sudden work arrangements
One of my friends, as I saw with my own eyes
Got called to handle work issues at 1AM
ONE F*CKING AM!
ON A SATURDAY!!
In this culture, free time is invaluable
People need to relax and recharge
Among my friends, the most popular choice is food
Enjoyed as a group or alone
The dishes are always on the flavorful end:
Spicy hotpots, spicy crayfishes
Roast whole fish, kebab, and things like that
Massage is a popular choice as well
Since everyone is an office worker
Lower back pain is pretty much a constant
And, of course, everyone loves movies
Even if the tickets are on the pricey side
Interestingly, no one wants to go to karaoke when prompted
Even though we were all singers during our teenager years
In fact, music was reason we met each other
In the words of my friends
They are too tired to sing nowadays
"Too tired"
Keep that in mind
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[Chapter Two]
It is when discussing food
That I noticed what my friends were looking for:
They wanted something with flavors on full blast
Nuance be damned
Old-school snack foods like wonton noodles and steamed buns
Are too "unexciting" for them
They want something they can feel
The instant it touches their lips
In media study
There is a concept called "Push and Pull"
A book is generally considered to be a "pull media"
It requires active engagement: concentration, imagination
The reader has to put in the work to find entertainment
Movie, on the other hand, is usually a "push media"
Viewers can enjoy it passively
While the film does all the presentation
No art forms are exclusively push or pull
And some movies are more pushy than others
Nearly all of my friends gravitated toward push media
The pushier the better
Being so overworked
They have no mental energy left to spend
Yes, the 9 to 9 grind exhausted them so much
They find themselves unwilling or even unable to concentrate
Their means of relaxation are to do things
That are entirely devoid of "work"
They want the food flavor to come to them
They want to lie down and let the masseuses do the work
They want to be entertained
This desire makes Fast X very appealing
I watched it, and the first thing I noticed:
None of the dialogues matter
"We've come a long way from the two of us"
"Poping gas trucks in the DR, huh?"
(What does that even mean?)
"Sure did."
"Those were some tough times"
"Those were some great times"
You can guess exactly what everyone is going to say
To a Chinese audience, that means no need for subtitles
"Oh, I didn't take that money"
"I burned it"
The movie is, of course, loud in every way
From the audio to the visual, to the concept
The characters, the stuntwork, the effects, the biceps
It's flavor on full blast
The plot is black and white with little ambiguity
The bad guy is bad because he wants to be bad
And the good guy is good because the movie tells you so
It is a film that doesn't require your attention
You can just sit back
And let it massage your eardrums and eyeballs
And just like a massage
It stays with you for an hour or so
And then you forget about it
Until you want to do it again next Sunday
[Chapter Three]
I once watched a TV documentary about Chinese antiques
I can't find it or remember much from it
But I do remember a small tidbit
The documentary shows dragons on porcelain
And says the dragons from the height of the Qing Dynasty
Look fierce and stoic
Because China was rich and powerful at the time
Whereas the dragons from the end of the dynasty
Amidst national crises
Look weak and even deformed
It sounds like some Fengshui bullsh*t, right?
But then I realized what the documentary was saying
In a country where everyone can live without much material worry
Artists can devote more time to honing their craft and spirituality
Culture flourishes when people are well supported
However, as China enters hyperdrive toward late-stage capitalism
Instead of workers being supported
They are being exploited
By billionaires Jackass and Dick
When everyone is busy with work, trying to survive
Their desire for art diminished
The culture becomes stagnant
And the dragons begin to lose their mystic
During my trip to China
One thing that caught me by surprise
Was just how packed the lottery stalls were
Everyone was playing it
Including some of my friends
And they all have one goal:
To quit their job tomorrow
Tang Ping, or "laying flat" is a recent Chinese internet slang
That describes a lifestyle among young Chinese workers
This lifestyle deliberately rejects the social rat race
And embraces indifference toward work and life
It's a passive-aggressive rebellion against exploitation
As the meme goes:
“A chive lying flat is difficult to reap”
Meaning you are less exploitable if you don't play by their rules
It's very similar to "quiet quitting" here in the West
Where people are equally fed up with the grind
Indeed, as everything from housing prices
To movie ticket prices goes up
Most people see no end in sight
This intense anxiety that they may have to spend
The rest of their lives living a 996 schedule
Brings people to the lottery
And it may also be another reason
Why people crave instant gratifications from easy movies
[Conclusion]
I asked my friends what they remembered about Fast X
And they couldn't tell me beyond the obvious
By that, I mean Jason Momoa is hot
Having seen the film myself
I honestly couldn't tell you much about the movie either
But the way the whole gang smiles
When they say they don't remember anything
Is oddly therapeutic
As we chat over Korean BBQ
We mock the film for its cartoonish absurdity
Recounting individual moments that made us laugh
But offering no greater insight into its artistic merit
Essentially, all of us each spend two hours watching "nothing"
And then together, we spend a few more hours
Talking about this "nothing"
For the duration of it
I noticed all of my friends were, for the first time, relaxed
Free of worry
They aren't thinking about having to work tomorrow
No family squabbles in mind
No traumatic memories to deal with
No history, no politics
Just food and friends
I saw a group of exhausted souls finally lie down for just a bit
They really needed this break
Turns out, movies about nothing is not entirely worthless