China Ping Pong： The ＂Jedi Counter-Strike＂ of China Sports Films

(Table Tennis) is another sports movie that has attracted wide attention in China after (Volleyball). Looking back at China’s sports theme history of film, from the last century’s (1957, basketball), (1964, diving) and "Milk Swallow" (1979, gymnastics) to the new century’s "Women’s Football No.9" (2000, football), (2001, baseball), (2008, sprint) and "Breaking the Ice". Regrettably, most sports movies have neither achieved box office success nor won word-of-mouth recognition, and they are always in an embarrassing situation of tepid. Leap, who was directed in 2020, succeeded in one fell swoop with his star-studded lineup and commercial operation, which made sports movies break into the audience’s field of vision and provided a useful reference for China Table Tennis.

Writing about competitive sports

Sports is a social activity aimed at strengthening physical fitness and promoting health, and sports events are also an important channel for international political and cultural exchanges. In the early 1970s, "ping-pong diplomacy" became an important event to promote the normalization of Sino-US relations. Under the influence of national interests, ideology, economic interests and other factors, it is undoubtedly particularly important to win gold medals and enhance international influence, in addition to embodying the sports spirit of challenging the limits and uniting and fighting.

Compared with ordinary people, the physical quality of sports athletes is more outstanding than ordinary people after professional, professional and scientific systematic training. "China Ping-Pong Fight Back" is the opposite. The main character in the film has no vigorous body and strong posture. Gong Feng, the "chopper", is even more than 1000 degrees nearsighted, and his vision is obviously weaker than that of ordinary people. In addition to the obvious physical defects, most of the main characters in the film have suffered different degrees of trauma due to long-term training, such as athlete Bai Min and his right arm were severely strained, and head coach Dai Minjia suffered a long-term waist injury. Physical fitness and physical disability seem to be contradictory levels, but in fact they all point to the sports competitive spirit of "challenging the limit and striving for a dream". Coaches endure pain and insist on making training plans and playing plans, and athletes overcome defects and grind their teeth, which are all positive choices that have gone through hardships and are eager for breakthroughs.

At the beginning of the team’s formation, it was dismissed as a "beaten army" and was at a low point in international competitions. After six years’ hard work, China men’s table tennis finally got revenge at the 1995 Tianjin World Table Tennis Championships. The counterattack of an underrated team and a group of underrated people is not only dramatic and ornamental, but more importantly, it can provide emotional comfort and spiritual support for ordinary people, demonstrating the spirit of sports competition that dares to struggle and never gives up.

Individual will in the spirit of collectivism

In 1936, the delegation of the Republic of China participated in the 11th Olympic Games hosted by Germany, and nearly 100 athletes were wiped out in the competition. A Singaporean newspaper published a cartoon mocking China people — — "The Sick Man of East Asia", in which China athletes wear long braids, robes and haggard descriptions. Since the late Qing Dynasty, the name "the sick man of East Asia" has become a lingering haze for China people. From pedantry to physical weakness, the century-old humiliation history has strengthened the China people’s will to strive for self-improvement and their courage to strive for progress. From being bullied to self-reliance, the history of sports development in China and the history of China’s struggle for a hundred years have progressed together, and the expectation of winning in sports competitions represents the people’s desire for national victory.

Winning or losing in the sports arena is exactly the same as national strength and international status. "Table Tennis in China" begins with a brief account of China’s repeated attacks in international competitions, which quickly aroused the audience’s sense of national identity. In the ceremonial arena, the athletes’ every move is related to the national image and national strength. The film takes the characters as the narrative core, writes China spirit with individual words and deeds, and awakens the patriotic enthusiasm of the audience.

Fighting back and winning in a desperate situation has met the audience’s expectations for the national image. The film has shown many times that during the World Table Tennis Championships in Tianjin, people sat around the TV to pay attention to the game. Ordinary people can strengthen their sense of national identity and pride from a proud competition, and the audience can also gain a sense of pleasure from a film showing the improvement of China’s men’s table tennis strength. It is worth mentioning that the film is not limited to the single positive portrayal of the characters, but gives the characters vitality and vitality. Dai Minjia’s "oily face", Bai Minhe’s impulsive nature and Chen Wen’s jealousy and generosity make the characters more full and appealing.

Artistic Creation Based on Historical Memory

A little understanding of the development history of table tennis in China shows that although the names of the characters have been changed, the films are all based on real history and real people. China Ping Pong, like Leap’s Li Na, Xu Haifeng’s Gun and One Man’s Olympics, is a retrospection of past history, showing historical events that have happened. Such films help to awaken the collective memory of the people and enhance their sense of identity in looking back on the past. However, there are also difficulties in the artistic creation of historical events, that is, how to create suspense and tension in events that are well known to Chinese people.

The charm of major sports events lies in the fact that the unknown nature of the game will make the audience feel nervous. If the supporting team wins, it will have a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, and if the supporting team loses, it will have a sense of frustration. The fun and psychological motivation of watching the game lies in this to a great extent. How does China Table Tennis create a sense of tension when the audience knows the result? The most obvious image language is the use of slow motion on the court. Through close-ups and slow motion, the director intends to prolong the audience’s expectations and arouse their curiosity. However, the repeated use of this method can easily lead to the fatigue of perception, which shows that the exploration of the film in the image language level is slightly insufficient.

On the whole, China Ping-Pong’s Jedi Counter-Strike sets a typical case for China’s sports films, which deals with the authenticity, artistry, commerce and entertainment of the films in a balanced way. In the future, China’s sports movies can boldly carry out genre innovation and integration, which should not be limited to historical reappearance. The depth of sports movies can not be separated from the present and reality. (Author: Si Jinran, a graduate student in drama and film studies at Southwest University)