Education

Acting hopefuls are homogenized drones

By Han Bingbin (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-22 07:56

From my limited acting experiences in college, I'm going to be presumptuous and conclude what it requires to be a good actor.

First of all there is the need for a fairly good understanding of a script and, furthermore, the respective culture. Then comes the ability to empathize. Last but not least, there must be buckets of creativity.

The key word is talent. The movie industry is not compulsory education in that it doesn't have to give every dreamer a fair chance; it has the right to select only the best.

However, as thousands of well-dressed and good-looking people gather at the Beijing Film Academy for a chance to study at the prestigious film school, the scene encourages no sense of hope at all.

Instead, it conjures up the unsettling prospect of Chinese performing arts: how many of these dreamers might illuminate Chinese screens? The answer is not pleasant.

I feel that their motivation is doubtful. They may claim loudly how much they want to act, but their superficial understanding of the career reveals that the passion is but a desire for stardom.

A more revealing fact is that many of these young people head for an artistic future because their academic performances cannot promise a decent alternative.

I am not preaching the importance of scoring high in college entrance exams, but how much can you trust a person who can't score half marks to garner the abilities needed in acting?

Many abandon academic studies that might otherwise sharpen their minds and cultivate their thoughts. Instead they pick up classes in piano or dancing that their parents think can guarantee artistic success.

The fact the Beijing Film Academy has shown a noticeable preference for anyone possessing instrumental and dancing skills has enhanced the mistruth that these talents suggest an acting ability.

The so-called talent show is a key part of the recruitment process, helping skilled musicians and dancers to move to the next phase. They are then usually asked to give a monologue or impromptu play, which are usually similar in style to dramas seen on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala.

Exaggerated facial expressions and voices appear to be what recruitment experts are seeking and exposure to standardized acting courses with subsequent involvement in cliche TV dramas continuously enhances this aesthetic standard. Recruitment experts even have a preferred appearance idea that usually requires a girl, for example, to have big eyes and an oval-shaped face.

This all leads to the strange phenomenon on Chinese screens where actresses look like each other and act in the same polished way, completely destroying their individuality.

In my opinion, China's entertainment industry is facing a crisis. Resumes show that most Chinese actors are professionally trained at the country's film academies, but there is still a poor talent pool on offer. These "assembly lines" are producing more than boring overnight sensations.

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(China Daily 02/22/2011)