The theatrical version of the Japanese basketball cartoon Slam Dunk, “The First Slam Dunk,” mobilized 17.2 million viewers in China and earned over 12.8 billion yen (approximately 120 billion won) in box office revenue, creating a box office hit.
At the movie theater, Chinese fans are showing their strong affection for slam dunk by wearing the Shohoku High School basketball team uniforms worn by the main characters.
Attention is focusing on the reason why slam dunk is causing a ‘social phenomenon’ in China.
Born in China and raised in Japan, Yang Junxiao (楊駿驍), a researcher of modern Chinese culture, picked ‘generation’ as the key to understanding the cause of the popularity of slam dunk in China through the ‘Weekly Munchun’ magazine on the 2nd.
◇ “When was your glory days?”… ‘Youth Textbook’ Slam Dunk for Chinese people in their 30s and 40s
Of the 17.2 million Chinese who watched Slam Dunk, 60% were over the age of 30. Yang affirmed that there is no Chinese man in his 30s or 40s who does not know slam dunk.
Yang argued that Chinese people in their 30s and 40s, who are classified as Baringhou (born in the 1980s), are a generation with a huge generation gap from the older generation.
Mr. Yang said, “In 1978, when the reform and opening policy was proposed, China, a closed socialist country, gradually began to open its doors. Since then, China’s economic growth has accelerated rapidly, and society has changed accordingly.”
He pointed out that “before reform and opening, China underwent the Cultural Revolution, and at that time arts such as literature and theater were limited to only a small part of expressing revolutionary ideas.
On the other hand, with the rapid market economy in the 1990s, games, movies, music, and cartoons from overseas flowed into China via Hong Kong and Taiwan. .
In particular, Mr. Yang said that Slam Dunk was the first work that presented the image of ‘youth’ that Japanese people have today. “Until then, the concept of ‘youth’, which is devoted to sports and competes with peers, did not exist in China.” claimed. In the past, Chinese cartoons were mostly ‘childish works’ for children or educational works that met the taste of the country or parents, so slam dunk came as an attraction.
According to his explanation, slam dunk provided images that had never existed in the lives of young Chinese people, such as youth love, hot friendship between parents, and efforts to achieve their dreams. In short, Slam Dunk showed an attractive image of ‘youth’ that did not exist in the lives of young Chinese people.
Ms. Yang said, “School gates with cherry blossoms, after-school club activities, the way home with a view of the sea and the opposite sex seen beyond it are very familiar symbols of ‘youth’ in Japan.” Because of this, the ‘youth’ presented by Japanese cartoons has become a fantasy,” he analyzed.
On January 6, the premium box edition of Slam Dunk is on display at Kyobo Book Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2023.1.6/News 1◇Balinghou, who values self-realization rather than country or ideology… Fall in love with slam dunk ‘hot-blooded’ image
Mr. Yang said, “In modern Chinese history, ‘youth’ refers to those who have a role to serve the state and ideology.” emphasized,” he points out.
Ms. Yang analyzed that this image of youth was imprinted on the Baringhou generation, saying, “Youth in Japan is a time when students and others worry about various things, encounter possibilities, and go through trial and error without bearing social responsibilities or obligations.”
In addition, he cited ‘hot blood’ as one of the important elements of slam dunk comics.
He said, “In China’s modern history, young people were, of course, ‘hot-blooded. At the same time, he cited the young Red Guards as a basis during the Cultural Revolution.
However, Ms. Yang insisted that for the Balinghou generation and subsequent generations, personal self-realization, such as success in work or academic achievement, became more important, and the saying, “Anyone can succeed if they work hard,” was talked about.
He explained that slam dunk comics changed the Baringhou generation, saying, “It depends on what the hot blood is for, for a cause, or for one’s own freedom.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.