Lao Dongyan | If the rules don’t change, no matter how hard we try, you and I are still just grass

Here is the full film review written by a child after watching “Nezha 2”:

I finished watching “Nezha 2” tonight and wrote a few lines.

First, let’s talk about why I watched this movie. The main reason is its huge influence. This movie far exceeds the previous box office rules, with reportedly over 200 million people in China watching it. So, the views it expresses must be highly consistent with social sentiment.

The previous film with the highest box office in history was “The Battle at Lake Changjin”, which I watched and found to be average. But I understand one thing: the social sentiment at that time was patriotism, emphasizing the main theme. This sentiment was initiated by “Wolf Warrior”, so the box office of these main theme films was also surprisingly high.

Of course, because it’s a main theme film, it’s estimated that some organizations arranged for people to watch it, but it certainly also coincided with the patriotic trend. But I think it was the last patriotic wave. Presumably, the current social sentiment is not dominated by the main theme; this year’s “Operation Red Sea” was a failure. So what is the current trend? What is the current social sentiment?

“Nezha 2” caught up. The current social sentiment must be highly consistent with what “Nezha 2” wants to express, which is an important factor in its huge commercial success. What is it? I want to know.

From the production of “Nezha 2”, it is very well-made. I watched it in 3D, and many scenes were really grand, the magma surrounding Chen Tang Pass, the monsters, the heavenly court, the subsequent battle, the skeletons in the Tianyuan Ding, the branches and vines that emerged, very shocking.

I heard that the scene where Nezha broke through the Heart-Piercing Curse took a year to complete. In terms of production, it’s not in the same league as the first one. Making the film with care is definitely a point that attracts the audience. After all, nowadays, it’s rare to see a film crew that puts in the effort to contemplate and produce.

So, next is the plot.

The overall plot is very exciting and not boring. There was a twist later. I thought it was Shen Gongbao slaughtering the city, but it was the gods. It largely breaks the limitations of identity. Although it is a battle between demons and gods in the end, who stands on the side of morality has broken traditional prejudice.

What attracts everyone is this: there are no truly good people and bad people here, only reasons for doing things. It no longer emphasizes the rigid black and white, but creates a gray world, emphasizing the complexity of human nature. There is desire, greed, indifference, but also warmth and blood. In terms of characters, Shen Gongbao and Wuliang Immortal are well-created.

Production attracts the audience, characters attract the audience, so finally, it’s the theme.

Let’s talk about the theme of “Nezha 1” first. I was only 11 years old when I watched it. I thought it was particularly good and very touching. But now, looking at the concept of “Nezha 1”, I still feel it’s a bit shallow.

“My fate is up to me, not the heavens.” I, who was 11 years old, really believed it naively. I believed that our fate is in our own hands, controlled by ourselves, and whether you succeed is up to you. Presumably, the social sentiment a few years ago was also like this, believing that personal effort could change fate.

But in the years that followed, I increasingly found that a potential rule was limiting you. I think this rule is the era, so I felt more touched after watching “To Live”. How can a person’s fate be changed just by oneself? A person’s fate is mainly influenced by the great era. A policy, a law, a movement is enough to change most of your life.

Each of us is an ant in the era. If personal effort doesn’t meet the right time, there’s really not much chance of success. If we are still emphasizing that as long as you work hard, you can succeed and break the limitations of the era on you, it’s really naive. However, in 2019, the social atmosphere believed in this, so “Nezha 1” was very popular.

But in recent years, the global environment has been relatively turbulent, and social sentiment has changed a lot.

So, what does the theme of “Nezha 2” focus on? The twist of the villain at the end is the theme it wants to reflect. This time, it’s the strong influencing personal destiny. Wuliang Immortal is the biggest villain. He slaughters the city for desire and greed, arbitrarily captures people and demons to refine elixirs. Ordinary people and the demon clan are all leeks that he can cut at will. For example, Shen Gongbao and other demons, no matter how hard they try, they cannot get the important use of the gods and suffer many injustices. This echoes the situation of most young people today.

Social sentiment has changed, and effort is put behind. This is also why Li Jiaqi’s sale of eyebrow pencils suddenly triggered so many people’s sensitive points.

“Sometimes look for your own reasons, has your salary increased over the years, have you worked hard?” Now everyone finds that it’s not that you can get promoted by working hard and working seriously; we are subjected to too much injustice.

So, to whom should these injustices be attributed? “Nezha 2” attributes them to the evil of individual strong powers, such as Wuliang Immortal. I think the strong powers here should refer to the corrupt officials and capitalists in reality. Our current social sentiment is that being serious and working hard doesn’t necessarily lead to success because we are subjected to too much suppression and injustice, and these are the consequences of the strong powers’ evil deeds. I’m not doing well, it’s the boss’s problem, it’s the company’s problem, it’s the problem of those capitalists above, and even the problem of foreign forces. And the theme of “Nezha 2” just fits this sentiment, so it is highly affirmed.

But, are the injustices we suffer really just the exploitation of the strong powers?

This is a reason, but not the main reason.

Why can these capitalists and corrupt officials do so much evil? Why are they not constrained? Is it just their own greed and desire? No, it’s the system’s indulgence. Ordinary people simply didn’t realize that this is a structural problem; the environment itself is indulging the emergence of these bullies. This is a misattribution. And this film seems to have no reflection on the overall rules, only believing that the injustice and all tragedies are caused by these bullies.

There is a sentence in it, said by Ao Run, “Who determines the rules of the world?” So she concludes that she must rely on the strong powers to find a way out. Ao Bing said that if there is no road ahead, he will pave a road. Nezha and Ao Bing finally defeated the strong powers with their strength.

But, did they break the rules? If it weren’t for the Spirit Orb, nor the Demon Orb, without this kind of power, could they have won? So, they are not weeds, but people who are born with power. Those of us present are never Nezha and Ao Bing, but the people of Chen Tang Pass who can be slaughtered at will.

Nezha and Ao Bing defeated Wuliang Immortal, it’s just one strong power defeating another strong power, like the peasant uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. As for the reflection on the overall rules, there is not much. Why is it still a monarchy? Why is there no constraint on power? If you don’t change the rules, just change who is the strong power, it really doesn’t do much good for the people. You just met a wise ruler, but what if you meet a tyrant? The system has no constraints on the strong powers, and you are still trampled and violated at will. It’s just that these problems, this film seems to have never thought about.

Moreover, when the overall rules have problems, isn’t the Yuanshi Tianzun at the top of the Chan Sect without problems? Isn’t this also his indulgence? How can he stay out of it? Does he want to change the rules? Why are the demon clan and the demon clan discriminated against as a matter of course? Why is the path to becoming an immortal so singular? Are there any constraints on the strong by the system? Is there any protection for the weak? This system is only paving the way for the strong, making it convenient for them to manage; and for the rights of the weak, it doesn’t care at all.

Nezha and Ao Bing only defeated a strong person, not the overall rules, so such things will still happen again and again.

If the rules are not changed, no matter how hard you try, you and I are still all grass, still ants that can be trampled to death at the feet of the strong powers.