2024-04-08 11:13:32
– Why “The Three-Body Problem” divides in China
This American adaptation of a famous Chinese novel provokes reactions because of the changes made to the plot and the Chinese roles.
Published today at 1:13 p.m. Updated 45 minutes ago
Saamer Usmani, Marlo Kelly, John Bradley, Zine Tseng, Liam Cunningham, Jess Hong, Benedict Wong, Eve Ridley, Sea Shimooka, Rosalind Chao, Alex Sharp and Jonathan Pryce attend the Los Angeles debut of the Netflix series ‘The Threesome body”.
Getty Images via AFP
New Netflix blockbuster, “The Three-Body Problem”, adaptation for a Western audience of the famous Chinese science fiction novel, is sparking a passionate debate in China – even if the series is not officially broadcast there.
The American video-on-demand platform is not present in the Chinese market. But that doesn’t stop fans of the series from watching this new version through virtual private networks (VPN) or pirate sites.
Hashtags relating to the series have been viewed more than 2 billion times on the Chinese social network Weibo. And tens of thousands of comments were posted on a review site.
Reactions range from disappointment at the changes to the plot and characters, to satisfaction at seeing Chinese cultural production gaining international popularity.
The Netflix version, like the first Chinese adaptations released in recent years, is based on the literary trilogy “The Three-Body Problem” by writer Liu Cixin, now a science fiction legend in China and around the world.
Alter the original work
Previous adaptations have thus strived to respect the original work.
During a conference, Liu Cixin explained that he himself had suggested a small visual change in the narrative for the Chinese series. But he was told by the director: “There is no question of making too big a change that would completely alter the original work!”
And this is exactly the criticism that many Internet users are leveling at the Netflix adaptation.
Led by the team behind the hit US series ‘Game of Thrones’, it moved most of the plot to the UK from China, and changed the nationality and the gender of some key characters.
A choice criticized by many in China but also abroad.
Chinese “villain” roles
Because if the series was the most watched on Netflix from the second week, the comments were dubious, the American cultural magazine “Rolling Stone” describing it as “a big failure”.
In China, some also question the fact that the roles of “bad” Chinese have been retained while the positive characters are now mainly played by Westerners.
“The casting once again shows that Americans are ideologues,” wrote one Internet user in a widely shared comment.
Others see the presentation of Chinese history as another source of controversy.
The series begins in the 1960s, with a scene from the Cultural Revolution in which a physics professor, father of the novel’s central character, is killed for refusing to deny scientific theories.
The use of this scene in the opening has led some to believe that Netflix wanted to present China in a bad light.
“Makes you wonder if they didn’t write this series just for that,” wrote one Weibo user.
Other spectators say they appreciated the more rhythmic and simple plot than previous versions, making the work more accessible to the general public.
Worldwide distribution
Through its worldwide distribution, this version also helps draw worldwide attention to Liu Cixin and to Chinese literature in general.
“People from other countries can now see that Chinese authors are capable of writing great works of science fiction,” said Harry Zhou.
Netflix’s participation is seen as a mark of confidence in the genre.
“Chinese science fiction is increasingly recognized, with concrete financial investments […]. It’s a huge encouragement for the Chinese science fiction author community,” enthuses Li Dongdong of Geek Movie.
“It’s a small step for [Liu Cixin]but it’s a big step for science fiction creation in China.”
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