Cinema can indeed motivate people. China is in the middle of some of its fiercest protests against stringent Covid curbs in the country, with many memes, chants and catchphrases going viral. However, one phrase seems to have struck a chord with the protestors and filmmakers of the country recently.
According to a report by US-based entertainment outlet The Hollywood Reporter, a video went viral across the Chinese social media portal ‘WeChat’ where purported protesters from Shanghai are seen chanting, “I Wanna See a Movie!”
The video was shared and re-shared many times over by eager moviegoers and film industry professionals as well. The posts mostly included crying emojis or a reiteration of the viral phrase.
“Everyone was forced to give a final roar: I wanna see a movie!” the head of a major Chinese theatre chain wrote on WeChat. With Beijing’s ‘Zero-Covid’ policy being enforced strictly, China’s move screening business has hit a downward curve in the recent past. According to The Hollywood Reporter, citing Artisan Gateway, China’s box office total for 2022 was just 3.88 billion USD, a 36 per cent drop from 2021 and upwards of a 50 per cent drop from 2019. While movie theatres are largely open in China, a recent sharp upwad spiral in Covid-19 cases in cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Chongqing has seen strict curbs on the movement of the public being enforced, in addition to compulsory PCR testing at public places.
Meanwhile , there have reports of censorship during television broadcasts of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022, with images of fans without masks in Qatar snipped and replaced with those of players and coaches.