As a movie fan, I normally won’t pick to see well-received franchise movies like the Marvel series or the classic Bond movies. I know I will catch up these movies when I am on a plane flying across the Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean. They are my anxiolytic meds on long-distance flights. (I have terrible in-flight experience with domestic U.S. airlines. I won’t torture you with my story.) But with the Covid pandemic in sight and my uncertainty about who will provide me with paid holidays, I can only dream about my bucket list of international travel destinations. Filled with exuberance and expectation, I watched in theater the latest Marvel movie, “Shang-Chi and The Legend of Ten Rings (2021).” If you know the Chinese language, you might have figured out my transliteration of “Shang-Chi (尚氣),” meaning “noble energy” in English. Shang-Chi is the short form of the movie title and the protagonist’s Chinese name. Thanks to the gracious offer of free admission tickets from my family, this movie buff who is experimenting with the concept of mindful conservatism had a chance to dream big and nobly with the big screen this fall.
The movie “Shang-Chi” is Marvel Studio’s first East Asian superhero film. To my surprise, it smashed the Labor Day box office record over the first weekend of its release. Its success reminds me of two other American superhero films—“Black Panther (2018)” and “Wonder Woman (2017).” Both of them from cast to cinematography have sated minority groups’ appetite for relatable cultural identity in popular culture. Precisely, the African American culture and gender equity. Cultural identity is a powerful concept because we are born with it and we spend our entire life searching for a sense of belonging which is greatly influenced by cultural identity. As a result of our nonlinear life circumstances and external uncertainties, our feeling for that sense of belonging changes over time.
In my case, after I move to America, my understanding about American everyday life is constantly in conflict with what I used to learn from American expats in China and what I was told by the Chinese society. And this internal conflict has intensified in the past two years. Climatic disaster induced by human activities, US-China trade war, the Covid pandemic, China’s successive clampdown on social media and Chinese academics, I witnessed all these historical events unfolding from a safe distance. My cultural identity of a first-generation immigrant from China is even under question. Who am I? Why am I here? In my view, the usually scary topics—war, weather and Washington—that would frighten Wall Street investors have their Chinese counterpart as well. Who says the U.S. and China are not in some sort of war? Who can deny China’s hefty economic losses and losses of life caused by natural disasters this year? Who doesn’t agree that the war-like pandemic has changed our everyday life significantly? Today’s China is steering farther away from the one-of-a-kind, world-leading splendor of arts and culture in the 8th century Tang dynasty, a true epic of Chinese noble energy.
There is a reason behind my surprise by the good reception of the movie “Shang-Chi.” Disney’s live-action film “Mulan (2020)” was a flop, partly because it was released online during the Covid pandemic. But the deteriorating US-China relation is partly to blame. If you ask any civilians in China or in America, a large number of them will tell you they’re not interested in politics. Nevertheless, they’re greatly influenced willy-nilly by the politicized opinions disseminated by spiteful people and by machines that are programmed by spiteful masterminds. It’s saddened to see the good work that the officials of both countries are trying to achieve to make peace and promote cooperation is sabotaged by self-interest instigators. They are comparable to the evil Dweller-in-Darkness in the movie “Shang-Chi.” By the depiction of classical English literature, statesmen and diplomats were admirable professions with noble energy. Where is this trait embodied in today’s American elected officials?
A scene in “Shang-Chi” left a deep impression on me. When the Dark Gate to the evil Dweller-in-Darkness’s world was about to be sealed off by Wenwu, father of the protagonist Shang-Chi, the people of the Ten Rings who were led by Wenwu and their opponent, the villagers of Ta Lo, agreed to join forces to fight the minions that fled from Dweller-in-Darkness’s world. I’m not sure if I’m influenced by, or even wary of, our time of political correctness. That impressive scene triggered the peacemaking neurons in my brain, and I somehow related the message to an ambitious and yet amiable prospect of US-China cooperation to fight against their mutual enemies—the Covid pandemic and adverse effects of climate change. Will my imagination invigorated by noble energy be put out by unimaginative toxicity of the anti-US sentiment?
Cultural identity can unify people but it can also divide people. Our offices, churches and social media groups are popular locales for the formation and solidification of various cultural identities. There is some truth that when you’re in a profession long enough, your temperament is influenced by your occupation and work environment. An athletic coach may not sit through an official’s long-winded speech. A librarian may not stand the noise from the trading floor in NY Stock Exchange. If you are a political person, everything you see is prone to be politicized. This is how some statesmen survive in a dog-eat-dog, less-reported work environment. In China, the increasing pressure from the censors on creative art professionals is a death sentence to a culture group that advocates nonviolent freedom of expression.
After I pivoted to the field of sustainable development, I noticed the gradual change of my perception to become more holistic and healthful. Have I found my sense of belonging in my newfound profession? Am I developing a new roadmap in my brain for neuroplasticity, the ability of neural networks in my brain to make new connections? Like acquiring a new language, practice makes perfect. The more often I practice mindful conservatism, the more likely that I make sound judgment about the environmental impact of my consumption on the market economy. I compare this positive, minute change to the transformative noble energy.
The Asian stereotypes remain in “Shang-Chi” but it’s the first step for Hollywood film producers to connect with a minority group. This is why breaking boundaries matters. And the relatively positive review about this movie speaks for itself. The saying—“If it bleeds, it leads”—is a formula for many American reporters. That is, if a story involves a brutal death or conflict, it is likely to get higher ratings. Sensationalizing stories of drama and violence is like sowing salt on the wound of the victims. I find it rude to disrespect the cultural identity of your subject matter, whether it is an individual or a collective entity. An accusatory tone in news reporting about China is not uncommon. Sadly, Chinese state media and their cyber supporters are following the footstep of some American counterparts who incite distrust and hatred among innocent people. I can’t wait for a sequel of “Shang-Chi” to calm me with more noble energy. The Chinese music in the movie is beautiful. Together with amazing visual effects, sound effects, plot, costume, I see why I’d have chosen this film if I were on a plane, strapped in a cramped seat in the herd class of the plane and accompanied with nonstop humming of the plane engine. I had a fantastic ride of noble energy in the theater.