As a form of art, movies allow viewers to experience real events in their daily lives, and even create situations that cannot be achieved in reality. Every movie seems to go through all kinds of extraordinary life with the main character, experiencing rich and even legendary life experiences. The content of the movie affects the audience's thoughts and consciousness, it truly reflects the cruelty of reality, and sometimes seems to go beyond reality to give people shock education, it contains too much content, carrying a variety of favorable and unfavorable factors in society, violence, crime, sex ...... Because of the content of the large number of complex types, there must be a relevant management and constraints! regulations, and almost every country has its own movie censorship system. Although each has specific political content due to different social ideologies, all movie censorships also have the same parts, which include restricting pornography, restricting violence, preserving the inherent cultural traditions of the country, maintaining social stability, and safeguarding the physical and mental health of young people, which are the basic contents.
Chinese films have been born for more than 100 years, and have gone through various historical stages of China's social development; they have experienced the process of technological change from silent to sound, from black-and-white to color, from analog to digital, and from traditional to modern. At different stages of development, Chinese movies have left behind excellent masterpieces. Compared with advanced countries in Europe and the United States, China's film seems to be in its infancy, although in recent years China's box office is exceptionally hot, the film market seems to be gradually recovering, the audience to see into the cinema to see the movie enthusiasm has improved greatly, which is a good phenomenon, but we seem to be sobering to realize that a few films are really recognized by experts and the audience? We do not need shocking stunt scenes, eye-catching star cast, no good story, these have seen and forgotten. A good movie does not need to be too exaggerated scene, the most touching story exists in everyone's side, simple content, slowly told, and finally can let everyone savor, touch the heart, to achieve the shock effect.
Chinese movies need good scripts. China's movie censorship, to a large extent, has hindered the development of China's movie industry and the free artistic creation of filmmakers. China's movie censorship system was created early and has been changing with the times, very much with Chinese characteristics, but it has hindered the development of Chinese movies. To revitalize Chinese movies, a classification system must be established in order to promote the prosperity of movies.
I. Overview of Film Censorship
Film censorship refers to the inspection and validation imposed on specific films. Countries with different cultural backgrounds have different definitions of the degree of negative impact of films on what kind of people in different periods of history, but have maintained consistency and balance with social morality in the creation of films.
Some countries have a mandatory legal effect of censorship and classification, and movies that are not classified or refused to be classified cannot be released; while some countries only provide reference opinions to the public without mandatory legal effect, such as the United States of America's movie censorship and classification. Or there are also some regions on the use of a combination of mandatory enforcement and advice and guidance, China's Hong Kong film classification belongs to this model.
Each country's censorship system has its own characteristics, but the censorship content also has the same place. These include the restriction of pornography and violence, the preservation of the country's cultural traditions, the maintenance of social stability, and the protection of the physical and mental health of young people, which are the basic elements.
China's film censorship system, the Film Censorship Committee of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Film Review Committee are responsible for the censorship of films. Movies that have not passed the censorship may not be distributed, screened, imported or exported. Chapter 3, Article 13 of the Censorship of Motion Pictures stipulates that any film containing the following contents cannot pass the censorship of the competent film authorities:
(1) violating the basic principles determined by the Constitution;
(2) endangering the unity of the country, its sovereignty, and its territorial integrity;
(3) divulging state secrets, endangering national security, and harming the honor and interests of the country;
(4) endangering national security, and harming the honor and interests of the country. p>
(4) inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination, undermining national unity, and infringing on ethnic customs and habits;
(5) violating state religious policy, and promoting cults and superstitions;
(6) disturbing social order and undermining social stability;
(7) promoting obscenity, gambling, violence, and abetting crimes;
(8) insulting or slander others, infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of others;
(ix) jeopardizing social morality and denigrating the outstanding culture of the nation;
(x) having other contents prohibited by national laws and regulations.
China's movie censorship basically belongs to the censorship of the content of the movie, in politics, violence, sex censorship is more severe, especially pornographic footage of the censorship, in order to protect the physical and mental health of minors.
Second, China's film censorship history and current situation
In 1896, the film was first screened in China, with fresh presentation and a wide range of subjects became a new form of entertainment among the people of Shanghai, which indirectly explains the existence of a huge space for development of China's film market. 1904, the seventy birthday of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the film in the screening of the motor suddenly exploded, which was considered ominous by Cixi. The movie was considered ominous by Cixi, who banned the movie from being shown in the Qing Palace. However, movies became rapidly popular among the people, and theaters in the capital increased the number of movies shown in the evening hours, causing controversy within the Qing court. In 1907 (Guangxu 33 years), the imperial historian Taoshou wrote a letter, that "recently the theaters at night to add film, men and women are allowed to enter the seat, and the film is not all the lights darkened can not be opened, the flow of evils, especially unquestionable", and the film used "electric pots and other items are extremely dangerous! ", please injure the order of the theaters prohibit the sale of female seats, this matter was handed over to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to deal with the decree. And in charge of this matter of the General Office of the Outer City Police Patrol, but that "men and women in the upstairs and downstairs seats, and each have access to the way, when the show, the lights will first be extinguished, and then cited by the Electric Light Company's power generation, for only one or two seconds, where there is an injurious to morality of the film is prohibited, and there are patrols to and from the police on duty, the opening of the show for a number of months, there is no drawbacks, but also to enhance knowledge and insights, can never be due to unsupported The reputation of the ruin and immediately prohibit the movie show". Later, the Minister Wang Jin sol and then reported: "outside the city theater theater, the Ministry of Civil Affairs immediately prohibited", the outer city police officers argued: the capital staged movies, initiated in foreign business, promotion of Chinese business, rather than allow foreign businessmen to seize the country's capital, as well as making Chinese businessmen to share the interests of outsiders. As for the "outside the city theater by the electric play, the Office of the rules to prohibit it, a police officer to supervise the presence of the time limit, there is no obstacle," but the efforts of the General Office did not work until the end of the year, the film is still banned in the capital. Movies changed the traditional entertainment habits of the Chinese people, and the official disagreement over movie screenings was more about whether night shows were an obstacle to "elegance" and social security than about the content of the movies.
Censorship of movies in China was introduced in the late Qing Dynasty, shortly after the introduction of movies to China. The widespread popularity of movie screening drew the attention of the Qing government, and in June 1911 (the third year of the Xuantong era), the Shanghai "Autonomous Public Office" announced seven regulations similar to those for movie censorship, "Regulations on the Prohibition of Movie Theaters," which were highly operational. It includes: not to show obscene films, men and women must be seated separately; closing time, up to twelve o'clock at night as the limit; such as violations, the investigation is true, the license will be revoked, respectively, punishment. After the establishment of the Republic of China, Shanghai "City Hall" also followed this regulation, which can be said to be the prototype of China's film censorship. This initial form of film censorship was not formulated for the films themselves, but rather put forward restrictive requirements for the management of movie theaters. At that time, the content of movies was mainly about natural scenery and local customs, so the actual significance of movie censorship was not emphasized.
In the Republic of China, movies became a form of entertainment for ordinary people in their daily lives, and many movie theaters were established throughout the country, and the business model of movie screening grew. Feature films were the main type of movies at that time, reflecting the phenomenon of society more realistically and expressing the author's intention. As a result, they were widely circulated in society and had a large impact, and the establishment of a movie censorship system became the voice of many people. A large number of movies about crime and detectives caused negative social impacts. At the same time, the intentional insult to the Chinese image in American films accelerated the establishment of film censorship, and the establishment of the Film Review Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Education Association in 1923 was regarded as the beginning of the film censorship system, and for the first time, the specific criteria for film censorship were set out: First, those films that were really in line with the principles of education, and that could have a good impact on society, could be added to the "Film Review Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Education Association". Committee" approved by the words to the meaning of praise; two, the usual film, but for the business relationship, can not be abusive, the Association will not be allowed; three, if it is harmful to the culture, once the Association advised, without improvement, the Association will be asked to intervene in the Office of the Government.
The war period on June 5, 1929, the Kuomintang Central Propaganda Department held a national propaganda conference, passed the "establishment of the party's literary policy case", the film was incorporated into the overall framework of the Kuomintang's literary policy, the rule of the film is mainly reflected in the creation of film censorship, and the implementation of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Education, "censorship of the film rules," **** 16 articles. The rules implemented a hierarchical system of local censorship, stipulating that provincial-level censorship was handled by the Department of Civil Affairs and the Department of Education, while county and municipal censorship was handled by the Department of Social Affairs, Education, and Public Security.
In October 1948 during the New China period, the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the **** was based on the Report on the Film Business submitted by Yuan Muzhi. Instructions on Film Work" was issued to the Northeast Propaganda Bureau, which put forward specific requirements on the guidelines for reviewing film scripts and the scope of film script stories, and for the first time clarified the guiding ideology and basic guidelines for people's films. After the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966 and until 1969, there was a "gap" in the Chinese film industry, in which the studios were forbidden to make new films or show old ones. From 1970 onwards, the eight model operas completely occupied the national screen, and the abnormal movie phenomenon of "eight model operas for eight hundred million people" appeared, and watching the model operas became a political task for the whole country.
Contemporary China, in 2001, the State promulgated the "Regulations on Film Administration", Article 24 stipulates: "The State shall implement a system of film censorship. China's film censorship system mainly refers to the establishment of a Film Censorship Committee and a Review Committee by the Film Administration Bureau under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, which, in accordance with the Film Censorship Regulations, carries out a comprehensive review of the content and technical quality of finished films. Films that have not been examined and approved by the Film Censorship Board may not be distributed, screened, imported or exported. Films imported for public exhibition shall be operated by the film importing business unit designated by the administrative department of radio, film and television under the State Council, and shall be reported to the Film Censorship Authority for examination before importation. Imported foreign for scientific research, teaching reference feature films and China Film Archive imported film materials, not in the scope of the review, reported by the State Council administrative department for examination and approval, with the approval documents to the Customs import procedures, and within 30 days of the date of importation to the State Council administrative department of radio, film and television for the record. It can be seen that all films publicly shown in China, whether domestic or imported, must first pass the film censorship.
Three: The Implementation and Impact of China's Current Censorship System
(I) Film Censorship and Movie Creation
Some creators have tried to cater to the censorship regulations in order to conform to the general ideology of the party and government organs and the state. Writing limits the ability for free expression and originality, leading to the phenomenon of a more homogeneous type of Chinese movie. The movie market is not a big general store, it should be diversified, there are audiences who like to watch commercial movies as well as those who like to watch art movies, and a diversified movie market needs diversified movie creations. In order to adapt to the film censorship system in the Mainland, some movies have to make drastic deletions to the storyline, and the director even went so far as to shoot two completely different endings. In the newly released movie "Monga", the director was willing to delete some scenes that originally fit the storyline and re-dub them in order to be aired in the Mainland, because the subject matter of the movie is filled with a lot of violent episodes, with several main characters swearing profanely. I think this is a very real event, a local specialty. If the movie is released, it can not be cut into the "young and old" mode, if the censorship does not pass, I believe that this is a lot of art creators or enthusiasts do not want to see.
While exposing the dark side, I think it's good publicity, not for fear that many people will follow suit, but for positive education and guidance, and to stimulate the public's thinking. This is the most real of the current society, rather than to hide or unnecessary elimination. Life is a lot of good and evil, true and false, beauty and ugliness of the composition of the picture, to ban everything, the "tone" of the movie will inevitably have to be "elevated", which may not be all the movie directors want to express the ideas and content ah!
(2) Movie Censorship and the Movie Market
Not only are some domestic movies unable to be screened, but also many excellent foreign movies are rejected because of their content or plot. For example, "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" was banned in China because it involved undead skeletons and other content, while "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" was censored for 30 minutes of content. It is believed that many moviegoers who can't see it in movie theaters have no choice but to download it online or buy pirated disks, leading to even more rampant piracy.
In the rapid development of the Internet today, many people watch movies not to go to the cinema but to rely on online downloads, and more and more people have tasted the sweetness of the latest movie on the schedule will not attract too much attention, but to wait for the resources of the Internet. I think the first, the ticket price of the movie is higher, the network just free to enjoy. Second, you can see more original movies on the web.
The sluggishness in the movie market is also related to the degree of appreciation of art by our audience. Some emerging directors who make small-budget movies that win awards abroad do not get good box office when they get them to be shown at home, and because of the censorship of movies at home, they delete some sensitive footage, and they can only sell the overseas copyrights so as to recoup the cost. Therefore, some people advocate the introduction of an elective course on movie and television appreciation in universities, which I think is very necessary. Commercial movies are the mainstream of the market, and some small-budget up-and-coming directors can't get better development, with fewer companies or corporate sponsors.
The sluggishness of the movie market, I think, has something to do with the Chinese audience's appreciation of the arts. Some up-and-coming directors who make small-budget movies that win awards abroad don't do well at the box office when they are shown in China, and they end up selling their overseas rights to recoup their costs. When they are shown in China, some sensitive and important scenes are deleted due to censorship. Most of the audiences were not willing to support the movie, and generally reflected that the content of the movie was unintelligible and boring. The publicity is also not strong enough to get the support of the relevant departments, and the golden period of the movie has been replaced by foreign commercial blockbusters that make money. Therefore, some people advocate the introduction of film and television appreciation in the university elective courses, I think it is very necessary. Commercial movies have always been the mainstream of the market, and some small-budget up-and-coming directors can't get better development, and few companies or enterprises sponsor their films, which makes their development difficult. It's kind of sad that really good movies are not supported.
Some things can't be banned just by not showing the movie, but they still exist and have become a long-running habit, or even a feature, of society. At a certain level of emotion, people will engage in outlandish behavior, or images that seem unappealing to some, not that this advances the overall story, or has a pivotal role in the overall production. Some directors only seek to be ideologically sound in their films, but not artistically innovative. When movie censorship is implemented, it seems to be much tougher on those directors or movies with distinctive artistic tendencies, unique styles and personalities. This is also the reason why many Chinese films have won awards at world film festivals, but have no chance to meet with domestic audiences. Civil Servants Home
Four, China's film rating system of thinking
China's film censorship is therefore over-promoting "young and old" film and television works, thus ignoring that the film may be different for different ages of viewers to bring different impacts. China's censorship system also has a lot of flaws, involving politics, taboos, pornographic content of the scale of the grasp is very strict; but for the violent content of the film is obviously much more relaxed, some of the foreign countries and included in the counseling level, or even restrictive level of the film, in our country but can be open to public screening without warning, such as the "Saving Private Ryan" and other films, and even regarded as a Chinese martial arts classic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", in our country has been in the television prime time, and the film is now on the television. Even "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which is regarded as a Chinese martial arts classic, has been broadcast on prime-time television in our country, but it has been classified as restricted in overseas countries because of factors such as "kung fu violence". Farewell My Concubine" is one of my favorite movies, which goes far beyond the theme of "homosexuality", and at the same time promotes China's national treasure, Peking Opera, and the history of Peking Opera artists, as well as the sorrows and joys of the changing times, and it's amazing that such a classic and heartwarming movie was banned back in the day.
This problem, if it is to be solved scientifically, will require the use of a movie classification system. Nowadays, many countries and regions around the world have adopted movie classification systems. Although China does not have a movie classification system, the establishment of a classification system is an inevitable trend in the development of the movie industry. First of all, the classification systems of many foreign countries are very worthy of reference, and the dregs can be removed. After all, there are still great differences in the cultures of different countries, so everything must be done from a practical point of view and based on our national conditions. Taiwan and Hong Kong have also done a good job in demonstrating this. Although there are many inadequacies, I think it is a big step forward compared to Mainland China. Secondly, what kind of criteria should be used to establish a movie classification system. Of course, we should not listen to the judgment of some so-called experts. We must listen to the voices of all sectors of the community, especially the creators of movie arts and the audience. At the same time, the system should be flexibly adjusted after it is established, so that it can be perfected day by day. The most important thing is to formulate a specific grading for the degree of influence on the physical and mental health of young people and to draw up specific legal provisions. At the same time not to be corrupted by foreign culture, but also to meet the needs of different audience groups, the generation of such film products, the cultural development of China's film industry can move forward to a better future.
V. Conclusion
Of course, China's movie slump is not only caused by censorship, there is the audience's own level of appreciation of the arts, as well as the high price of movie tickets, etc., censorship is a long-standing topic of debate, not only those who are enthusiastic about the movie, including some actors and directors have their own views on censorship, and I hope that the authorities can really consider carefully. I hope that the relevant departments can really consider it carefully, so that the people can see more good and valuable movies, and Chinese movies can prosper and go to the world stage more often. What Chinese movies need now is a more relaxed and fair environment for creation and production, and the reform of the movie system is an urgent requirement for Chinese movies.