Analysis of Western Film

罗淞译

摘 要：Western countries are the place where the international film culture originated. The western film has a far-reaching influence on the development of film and television industry all over the world. As Chinas film and television industry is in the era of reform， it is an essential part to use the experience in development of western films which can provide Chinese film culture with guidance in various fields. The present thesis firstly gives an analysis into characteristics of the western film culture and summarizes its influences on Chinese film culture， and then provides film art reform with some feasible suggestions.

關键词：the western film； characteristic； the Chinese film； cultural influence

中图分类号：G642 文献标识码：B 文章编号：1002-7661（2015）07-028-02

It is a very important decision for Chinese film culture to draw on the experience of western film culture development. As the western culture is more advanced in development than other countries， experiences of western culture development play a wide role throughout the world. Chinese film culture is basically still at the exploring stage， thus to draw lessons from the western film culture has the function of guiding Chinese film industry， which can avoid economic losses from operation failures of our countrys film industry. Therefore， it is of great significance to know well the characteristics of western film culture in order to give right directions to Chinese film culture.

1. Characteristics of western film culture

Lots of elements left behind by the western culture have artistic characteristics. Films are the common expression forms of civilization art in the modern society. Along with the elapse and development of time， the western film art has made a remarkable achievement in the development of both modern films and traditional films. The western film culture presents us with several characteristics as below.

a. Characters emotion

As many people can find out， a part of western films usually use different scenery as the bedding and set-off of the film. Relying on the scenery， the film can lay stress on characters emotion and environmental atmosphere at that time. This seems to be the inheritance of western culture and some modern lyrics. In addition， the western film is more likely to depend on subtle actions and rich expressions to depict the characters emotion. After all， the conclusion can be made that western countries lay more emphasis on the laws of nature and the subjective initiative of ego.

b. Thinking and imagination

Chinese traditional culture mainly focus on the theory of “unity of man and nature” which advocates the respect for nature， the follow of natural law and the pursuit of harmony between human and nature. The western culture regards the nature as the target to adore and imagine but not the subject for study， explore and conquer. It always takes the seeking for harmony and unity among human， nature and society as the main theme of worldly ideals. This has resulted in modest， prudent， reserved and introverted cultural characters， which strengthened the phenomenon that the depiction of scenery becomes one of the characteristics in western films.

c. Cultural character

In western countries， people advocate individuals freedom of will and personality independence and emphasize the value， dignity and protection of individual's life. Therefore， the western people are shallow in universal consciousness and collective idea. Because of the western free education mode， the western people are encouraged to take challenges and pursue what they like on the one hand， but on the other hand， they advocate at force and seek quick success and instant benefits. And they even use the one-sided way of thinking and unscrupulous way of act to achieve their goals and earn victory. This spirit quality and psychological states make their cultural character of frankness， generosity and firmness. In the film， the subtle changes of one characters expression have become one of the criteria to judge his acting skill.

2. The influence of western film culture on Chinese film culture

Ostensibly， the film is a part of cultural and artistic creation. It mainly embodies the theme of film and television culture. But actually， the value of film works not only lies in the field of art， but also manifests its unique artistic effects in the field of history and literature. The western film culture has a wide range of influence on Chinese film culture， which is reflected in the aspects of social value， cultural value， humanistic value， etc.

a. Social value

Our country is a civilized country of socialism. Chinese society maintains the attitude of development on traditional art. It uses the advanced social thoughts to guide the application of art value， which gives a major push to both the social culture and social civilization. Along with the popularization and development of the film arts creation activity， people have gained more knowledge about the value and achievement of the film culture， which has laid a great influence of film art on the construction of social cause.

b. Cultural value

The social culture is an inheritance of our ancestors ideas and concepts. It is the transmission of future thinking. This can follow the social trend of art and meet peoples pursuit of traditional cultural art. In the process of actual transmission， the film has expressed its rich cultural value which has a wide influence. For example， for those children and juveniles， the film can create a happy childhood for them and edify their consciousness of cultural art. And for those adults， the film is the sweet recollections of the past experiences. The happiness of the past is revealed in every film and touches the deepest soul of the people. Therefore， the film art impacts the humanistic ideas of the social group and runs through the social and cultural activities and devotes itself to the reformation and development of the ethnic culture.

c. Humanistic value

People-oriented is the idea of society development. The traditional film art also reveals abundant humanistic values. It centers on the humanistic society and advocates the citizens deep understanding of the film art to demonstrate the internal humanistic implication of the film culture. For example， Emotion is the specific subjective consciousness that every person has. Different kinds of expressions of emotion can indicate different states of life in the film. It is also the major theme that the film wants to express. The reason that the film has art function is because that theme selection and inscription of the film can easily stimulate the purest personal emotion of the audience.

3. Reformation of Chinese film art

In the context of rapid developing social cultural undertaking， the film is going to be an indispensable part of popular art and has a certain influence on personal thoughts. In order to promote the development of Chinese film art， our country not only need to learn the successful experiences of the western film culture， but also need to draw lessons from the sustainable development of the western film culture.

a. Keeping pace with the times

Chinese film culture is still in the developing stage of learning about the world. It is lacking in recognition of objective things and does not have a clear cognition of the culture and art. With the continuous change and development of the social times， the film art is also keeping pace with the times. This inheritance and reformation of the culture and art have the spirit of continuity. Of course， how and how long the features of the film art will last in the future needs a hard thinking of contemporary film makers. Only by creating in the course of development and promoting in the course of creation， can the charm of the film art be better expressed.

b. Mass communication

The film is an indispensable part of our Chinese culture and art. It not only occupies an important place in the history of art civilization but also has a profound influence on Chinese social civilization. It is one of the prerequisite contents of modern culture and art system and has developed to a special social artistic form. Along with the continuous development of the social artistic field， people have paid more attention to various aspects of traditional film art. Diffusing thoughts of the film culture to the public and bringing them various artistic feelings in mind enable them to feel the features of the film culture and the connotation of the art， which comprehensively promotes the cultural value of the film art.

c. Creation of the humanities

With a widespread public concern over the culture and art concepts， the universality of the film art has gradually presented to the public. The film is no longer an art form of an area or a nation but has been diffused to the art field of the whole country. It can make the original and ecological artistic ideas be better expressed to publicize our countrys good music and art thoughts in the film program and integrate the humanity ideas and concepts into the process of art creation.

As time goes on， more and more film styles come into being in different regions and different ethnic groups all over our country. The development of these films can satisfy peoples demand to construct their civilization of spirit. It also indicates the influence of culture and art on the social civilization and extends the influence range of films in the course of social culture. Nonetheless， the western film culture has a guidance function to Chinese film culture in various aspects. Therefore in order to seek a better development， Chinese film culture must adhere to the principle of internationalization and draw good experience from the western film culture.

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