The controversy surrounding Chinese-American director Ting Chao was again mentioned in the media after Hong Kong‘s Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) decided on Monday not to broadcast the 93rd Academy Awards, scheduled for April 26. Zhao Ting was a big winner at the Golden Globes for her film “Land of the Uninhabited” and was nominated for several Oscars. But… As some of her past “insulting” remarks were unearthed by netizens, the attitude of Chinese authorities-controlled media towards her has taken a 180-degree turn. Some analysts believe that in the current climate of icy relations between the U.S. and China, the two films directed by Zhao Ting are likely to be sacrificed and will not enter the Chinese market.
Zhao Ting chasing her film dream
I love what I’m doing,” said Zhao Ting. If winning the award means more people like me can realize their Dreams and do what I’m doing. I would be so happy.”
Ting Chiu, who made history by becoming the first Asian-American woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Director, was on camera on the night of her award to encourage more young people to pursue and realize their film dreams, just like she did.
In the 1990s, Taiwan-born director Ang Lee entered the European and American film industry with “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Fantastic Adventures of Pi. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Fantastic Adventures of Pi” and won twice.
Speaking to Voice of America, Taiwan Film Critics Association executive director Weng Huang-de said that Zhao Ting, who also made a name for himself in the American film industry, shares many similarities with Ang Lee.
When I came to America today, I had to tell an American story for everyone’s recognition,” said Weng Huangde. This I think is the same logic that Ang Lee and Zhao Ting envisioned for their survival in the American film industry. If we look at it from the perspective of experience, both directors laid the foundation for their film studies in the United States during their schooling. I think another similarity is that both Zhao Ting and Ang Lee would consider themselves more of an American director. Both see themselves more as Chinese American directors, both in terms of their long history of creativity and their own identity.”
Zhao Ting, 38, from Beijing, has a father, Zhao Yuji, who was a former top executive at Chinese state-owned Capital Steel, and a stepmother, Song Dandan, a veteran Chinese actress. Zhao Ting left China alone at the age of 14 to pursue her studies in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States to study filmmaking at New York University.
Zhao Ting’s background has caused controversy among Chinese netizens. Some have described her as “trained by a central enterprise salary, her background must be red,” while others have mocked her as “yellow-skinned and white-hearted. But Naidu, a Chinese Writer interviewed by Voice of America, believes that most Chinese people still approve of her.
As a person with a vested interest, most people can’t escape the restrictions imposed by their status,” Naidu said. Zhao Ting’s artistic success is more based on personal talent and personal effort, which has little to do with the Chinese tradition of relying on personal power and wealth to achieve success. She is more likely to gain the goodwill of the public, so the public’s acceptance of Zhao Ting is still quite high.”
From “fighting for the glory of the country” to “insulting China”
News of Zhao Ting’s award for “Nomadland” spread throughout China. In the few days between her win on February 28 and March 5, the news was read nearly 35 million times on Sina Weibo, making her an instant favorite among Chinese netizens, but on March 5, less than a week after Zhao Ting’s win, Douban removed the film’s poster and release date, “Weibo also hid the topic.
This is believed to be related to a 2013 interview with Filmmaker magazine. Zhao Ting was quoted as saying that China, where she spent her teenage years, was a place full of lies. It was a place where you felt like you could never touch the outside world, and most of the information she received as a child was false. This made her rebellious when it came to her Family. She then suddenly went to England and re-learned her history.
After her comments were widely republished, Zhao Ting went from “fighting for her country” to “insulting director”. Choy Wing-mui, the former executive editor of Hong Kong’s Open magazine, believes that Zhao Ting has been knocked down by nationalism.
She has become popular in mainland China, and the outside world has to learn about her Life. Once she found out, it was amazing that she had such an attitude toward China. Because these artists put their personal will and freedom values above the country’s nation, and these countries and nations also depend on what the situation is, if the country is a totalitarian state, many people with such values will hold a critical attitude.”
Cai Yongmei also believes that if some of Zhao Ting’s past statements are disclosed, but there is no great reaction on social media sites, the authorities will “turn a blind eye” in response, but if there is speculation, the authorities will definitely succumb to the pressure of public opinion. It needs this kind of public opinion.
Should Zhao Ting be held responsible for her uncalled-for remarks?
It is also uncertain whether the movie “Land of the Unwanted” will be released in China on April 23 as scheduled. Should the Chinese netizens be blamed for such an uproar, or should Zhao Ting be blamed for her own unscrupulous words? Taiwan Film Critics Association executive director Weng Huangde has this opinion.
Weng Huangde said, “There is also a possibility that when Zhao Ting did not even make her first feature film in 2013, there was no way she could have known that she could climb to the status of a Golden Image Oscar in just a few years. So with this statement she made in 2013, she was not anticipating the controversy that would follow, and perhaps this is what she genuinely thought. Of course, she must take responsibility for her remarks, which cannot be denied. On the other hand, was there a little pinky who blew this out of the water? But I don’t think so, because as far as I know, the content of her interview can be easily searched online, and it can’t be attributed to someone deliberately making things worse. The problem is that she currently has a film with Marvel called “The Eternals”.
Zhao Ting’s previous works were smaller, independent productions. The Eternals,” as he calls it, is expected to be a watershed moment for Zhao Ting’s entry into the Hollywood mainstream. The superhero film is said to cost up to $200 million and will star big names like Angelina Jolie.
“Eternals” may not be released in China
Weng Huangde estimates that Zhao Ting took on “The Eternals” in order to prove that she can handle big Hollywood productions like her predecessor Ang Lee.
I believe the United States was not so sensitive to the fact that the Chinese market might have such a concern, and perhaps they did some research and did not feel that Zhao Ting had too strong a political stance. Under such circumstances, if she wants to enter the mainland Chinese market next year, she may face a problem, and may face a boycott.”
Whether the two works of Zhao Ting, “Land of the Unwanted” and “Eternal Family”, can be successfully released in China is of great concern. The huge investment “Eternal Family” is scheduled to be released in the U.S. in November this year. Weng Huangde believes that the fate of both films in China is not optimistic.
Weng Huangde said: “If this thing happens today in 2014 2015, perhaps ‘Comic-Con’ may be softened, may let Zhao Ting find a way to do an apology or clarification, so that this thing dissolved, because before the U.S.-China relationship is not like now, and so Time for the apology But now I don’t think it’s the same, because the recent U.S.-China relationship is getting more and more tense, so if today ‘Comic-Con’ in order to let ‘Eternal’ enter the mainland market, and then run to lower their stance to apologize, or even put the stance very low. Even put the stance very low, may lead to the American society’s resentment. Now it should be quite a headache for ‘Marvel’. That is, how do I get the ‘Eternals’ to enter the mainland market without having to apologize publicly, without having to let Zhao Ting too put down his stature, and can make the Americans feel acceptable.”
The Hollywood Reporter, a leading U.S. entertainment newspaper, quoted Chinese film industry sources as saying that whether Chinese authorities give the green light to Zhao Ting’s work will depend on whether Zhao Ting and the production company are willing to give in. Writer Nodu, on the other hand, believes that the controversy is so widespread that Zhao Ting is not likely to give in easily.
After the new Epidemic, Americans’ fear and dislike of China has reached its peak since the Cold War,” Nodu said. If Zhao Ting had also considered the American public, the American market, and the American mainstream, she would not have chosen to make any compromise of any nature with Chinese officials.”
Separately, a Voice of America correspondent in Hong Kong reported that a report by Hong Kong Free Press, an English-language online media outlet in Hong Kong, analyzed “Do Not Split,” a film based on Hong Kong’s “anti-China” movement. Split” and “Land of the Unwanted”, a film by Chinese director Zhao Ting, both of which were nominated for the Oscars for their alleged insults to China, are suspected to have touched a sensitive nerve with the authorities. China’s Ministry of Propaganda has asked the official media to keep their coverage of the Oscar ceremony and cancel live broadcasts, which is believed to be related to the suspension of the Oscar ceremony in Hong Kong for the first time in 52 years.
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