Cultural industry lacks creativity

Chinese films and video games are overloaded with stories from classical literature, although many of them have been changed dramatically to grab eyeballs. This phenomenon shows that the Chinese cultural industry lacks originality and creativity, says an article on xinhuanet.com. Excerpts:

Ancient literature is a treasure trove, which the cultural industry has been exploiting to make quick money. In fact, the popularity of stories from the classics has become a shortcut to success. Companies have been using the already overexploited stories from classical literature because the so-called creative minds running them lack originality. As a result, mediocre cultural products have flooded the market.

Since youths are fascinated by novelty, screenplay and script writers and game designers change the original stories to the extent of making them absurd. In some video games, the Tang Monk who traveled to India in search of Buddhist scripture has been changed into a warrior and even a seductive beauty.

Cultural products embody the essence of a society. The cultural industry, as part of soft power, should be a source of spiritual encouragement for people to strive for prosperity, which, in turn, will enhance the hard power of the country. A cultural industry where everyone pursues instant success and quick money can hardly provide intellectual support to the country's growth.

Many say Chinese people are subservient to foreign cultures because Western cultural products enjoy more popularity than domestic ones in the country. But people are not to be blamed for the sorry state of affairs. They turn to imported products because they find the domestic ones repetitive and meaningless. The domestic film and video game industries have no choice but to produce more creative and sophisticated products if they want to retain customers.

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