Sunday, March 31st.
Bai Ruoxue took out a stack of newspapers and a few letters from the mailbox outside the hospital and walked quickly back into the house.
"Teacher Fang, I have your letter!"
"Who sent it?"
"It's Ms. Nie."
"That's right!"
Fang Yan was greatly surprised. After receiving it, he immediately opened the envelope and read the entire text in traditional Chinese.
Bai Ruoxue, Gong Jie and others all stared at him, and saw a change in their faces, and a smile appeared at the corners of their mouths.
"Ms. Nie invited me to Iowa as a guest. The local Chinese are planning to hold a meeting to pay their respects to the Oscar statuette."
Fang Yan said: "I also hope that I can be there. The University of Iowa held a lecture to teach students about the creation of film scripts.”
Bai Ruoxue asked curiously: "Teacher Fang, will you go?"
"I'm afraid it won't work this time."
Fang Yan shook his head, Random House packed his schedule to the limit , arranged several reader meetings and TV interviews.
“Speaking of interviews, a reporter from Asian Weekly called the foundation yesterday and wanted to make an appointment for an interview.”
Li Zhi blinked, “What do you think? To answer him, should I refuse, or..."
"No, let Asian Weekly go to the 'Chinese Film Week' and I will be interviewed on the spot."
Fang Yan rolled his eyes, "Other Chinese newspapers also want to be interviewed If I say it, I have to go to the 'Chinese Film Week'."
"Yes! That's it!"
Gong Chou and Bai Ruoxue looked at each other, surprised and happy.
The "Chinese Film Week" to be held by Shanghai Film Studio in the United States is like throwing a pebble into the sea. It will not cause much waves. Few media will be willing to invest in it. Even the local Chinese newspapers and television stations in Los Angeles did not pay attention to it.
But if dialects are present, the attention of "Chinese Film Week" will immediately rise several notches!
After all, the popularity of "Oscar for Best Screenplay" has not completely subsided.
What's more, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" guide has now entered the top 20 of the New York Times bestseller list. Although its sales volume is not as good as that of "Saving Private Ryan", it is still popular in the film industry. Thanks to the unremitting publicity of the media and the media, the popularity of the topic has actually surpassed the previous level.
"Teacher Fang, I still can't figure it out."
Li Zhi wondered: "Why is "The User's Guide to the 'Hero with a Thousand Faces'" more popular than your other works? ”
Gong Zhen and Bai Ruoxue were also puzzled. They couldn't understand why Hollywood respected a mere seven-page booklet so much.
Fang Yan smiled, "The reason is actually very simple, because whether it is the 'mono-myth model' or the 'hero's journey', both are very suitable for them. Specifically speaking, they are in line with the aesthetic standards of Europeans and Americans. , thinking logic and ideology.”
Bai Ruoxue seemed to understand: "Are you referring to 'personal heroism'?"
"Heroism is just one of them." Fang Yan said seriously, "The more important thing is religion."< br>
“Religion?!”
The three of them were greatly surprised and looked at each other.
"The Hero with a Thousand Faces involves not only literature, mysticism, and anthropology, but also comparative religion." Dialect said: "And there is nothing that has the most profound influence on European and American Western civilization than ' "Double-Xi civilization'."
"Double-Xi civilization?"
Li Zhi's clear eyes were filled with confusion.
Bai Ruoxue explained: "It is the Greek and Roman civilization and the Hebrew Christian civilization. The two Greek civilizations are called the source of European civilization."
The dialect shows a "teachable" appearance, and the two Greek civilizations The representative works are "Homer's Epic" and "The Bible". The former is an important document of ancient Greek religion, and the latter is a religious classic that runs through the entire Western civilization, whether it is the Old Testament or the New Testament.
“The heroes in Homer’s Epic have no growth process.”
“For example, Odysseus went through untold hardships and traveled long distances for ten years before returning to his hometown. Ithaca, during the long journey, he experienced countless events and adventures, which can completely become opportunities to show Odysseus' growth, but as "The Bible" does not give any explanation. "The Bible just makes up for the growth process of the hero. For example, King Saul in the "Old Testament" went through ups and downs and had a bad fate, until he was in his dying years. With his unique personality, he can be regarded as a model chosen by God, and has a more complex character than David.”
"Such examples abound in the Bible. Almost all characters have elusive inner worlds and complex interpersonal relationships, and they gradually grow up under the guidance of God. God not only created them, but also nurtured them from beginning to end... …"
"It can be said that the 'hero worship concept' in "Homer's Epic" has made Western culture advocate individuality. Human heroism.”
“The ‘view of heroes’ in the Bible makes Western authors and readers love the ‘journey of becoming a great hero.’”
“That’s it. No wonder the producers, directors, screenwriters, and critics in Hollywood praise your booklet so much!”
Bai Ruoxue suddenly realized.
"I once talked with Mr. Liang Suming and Mr. Ji Xianlin."
Fang Yan said: "We all have the same view, that is, the 'two Greeks' are like the 'two wings' of Western civilization, helping it move forward. Okay.”
Although Li Zhi didn’t understand, she was greatly shocked, and her dull eyes were full of admiration and admiration.
When he looked at Gong Zhen, his envious eyes were mixed with a hint of unexplainable jealousy, and she pursed her lips and smiled and said:
"You said it so eloquently, why didn't I see you? Is this included in the booklet?”
"It's not because you asked me that I just remembered it."
Fang Yan spread his hands, "But it doesn't matter. There will be interviews next. I will be at the 'Chinese Film Week' then. As all the media said, let’s bring a wave of enthusiasm to the ‘Chinese Film Week’!”
Seeing him wink at her playfully, Gong Yanran said with a smile! Laughing: "Virtue! It's a shame you figured it out!"
"Ahem!"
Bai Ruoxue pretended to cough, "Sister Gongjie, don't fight in front of singles like us. "It's so funny." Then he turned to Fang Yan and said, "Teacher Fang, how should we reply to this letter from Ms. Nie?"
"This matter is easy to handle. Although we can't be guests in Iowa, we can invite them to Los Angeles."
Fang Yan asked Bai Ruoxue to invite Nie Hualing, Pan Yaoming and others in his own name Come and participate in "Chinese Film Week".
So, as Wu Yigong, Bai Chen and other Shanghai Film Studio leaders expected, "Chinese Film Week" was supposed to be a small, unknown and unnoticed exhibition. On the day of the opening ceremony, Not only Steven Spielberg, Lucas and others came to support, but Nie Hualing, Pan Yaoming and many overseas students, overseas Chinese, and Chinese media came to the scene. Suddenly, the crowd was loud and the scene was quite Spectacular.
The only thing missing is "the roar of gongs and drums and the blast of firecrackers".
"North American Daily" and "Asian Weekly" in San Francisco rushed to report on this grand event, spoke highly of "Chinese Film Week" and commented on Fang Yan, the new "Light of the Chinese". He also does not forget to recommend works such as "The Ring" and "Artificial Intelligence" to readers.
Immediately afterwards, Chinese-language newspapers such as Seattle's "Xihua News" and New York's "China News" and "Chinese Express" also started free publicity.
The news spread wider and wider, even across the ocean, reaching Xiangjiang on the other side of the ocean. (End of this chapter)