"This is my first wuxia movie and I must consider this before trying to make something with my own"
About this Quote
There is a quiet humility in Zhang Yimou admitting he has to "consider this" before making something of his own, and it lands as both confession and strategy. Wuxia isn’t just a genre you stroll into; it’s a cultural inheritance with rules, rituals, and an audience trained to spot impostors. By foregrounding that this is his first wuxia film, Zhang signals respect for the form and lowers expectations in a way that also sharpens them: if he’s entering late, he’d better arrive with a point of view.
The phrase "must consider" does heavy lifting. It suggests research, restraint, even anxiety about legitimacy. Zhang is a director famous for visual command and political allegory; wuxia, with its airborne bodies and moral codes, asks for a different kind of fluency. He’s telling us he’s studying the grammar before writing poetry in it. Subtext: I know you’re watching for whether I’m borrowing surface beauty or actually understanding what wuxia believes about honor, sacrifice, and power.
Context matters because Zhang’s career tracks China’s evolving cultural export project. When auteurs pivot to wuxia, it often coincides with bigger budgets, international visibility, and the pressure to translate "Chineseness" into globally legible spectacle. His caution reads like an attempt to thread a needle: satisfy purists, seduce new audiences, and still protect his auteur identity. It’s an artist acknowledging that in wuxia, originality starts with reverence, not rebellion.
The phrase "must consider" does heavy lifting. It suggests research, restraint, even anxiety about legitimacy. Zhang is a director famous for visual command and political allegory; wuxia, with its airborne bodies and moral codes, asks for a different kind of fluency. He’s telling us he’s studying the grammar before writing poetry in it. Subtext: I know you’re watching for whether I’m borrowing surface beauty or actually understanding what wuxia believes about honor, sacrifice, and power.
Context matters because Zhang’s career tracks China’s evolving cultural export project. When auteurs pivot to wuxia, it often coincides with bigger budgets, international visibility, and the pressure to translate "Chineseness" into globally legible spectacle. His caution reads like an attempt to thread a needle: satisfy purists, seduce new audiences, and still protect his auteur identity. It’s an artist acknowledging that in wuxia, originality starts with reverence, not rebellion.
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| Topic | Movie |
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| Source | Help us find the source |
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