cultural politics

Zhu Dake
Translated by chong

Notes: This is an interview of Zhu Dake, a cultural critic in Shanghai. His analysis of Zhang Yimou's film is not execellent but inspiring, particularly his comments on contemporary Chinese culture.

The scene (in Curse of the Golden Flower) I found most impressing is that of a long line of palace maids who showed off their tightly tied breasts. Many audience felt that they walked into a farm full of milk cows. According to ordinary people's opinion, there are three criteria for a popular film. The first one is erotica. The second one is violence. The final one is celebrity's privacy. With any one of them, you could make a big hit. With two, you could make a very big hit. With three, you could create a blockbuster. Curse of the Golden Flower has all of them. Without any doubt, many people are crazy about it. You see. First, it provides a lot of breasts to meet the requirement of "erotica".