The Guardian-Flat and shallow Netflixs 3 Body Problem divides viewers in China
March 22, 2024 4 min 660 words
从中我们可以看出，关于Netflix改编刘慈欣的科幻小说《三体》系列的TV剧在中国引发了不小的争议。部分人批评该剧的“美国化”，声称其中的科幻概念被简化，原作中的文化背景被“东方化”，甚至人物性别一事也引发了反感。但我们必须承认，事实上，所有翻译和改编都涉及到文化的解读和再创作，甚至可能更形象而直观地揭示原作意义。Netflix系列剧《三体》可以说进行了一次全球性的尝试，让全球观众可以共享一个中国科幻故事。同时，相比被严苛审查制约的国产版本，Netflix的版本在创作和政治自由度上表现得更为突出。这可以说是它在全球范围内更具影响力的关键。离开言论和创作自由的限制，中国的优秀IP《三体》才有可能在世界范围内产生更大的共鸣和影响力。
Netflix’s big-budget adaptation of Three-Body Problem, a series of novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, has divided opinion on Chinese social media.
The eight-episode series, 3 Body Problem, was released in full on Netflix on Thursday. It is based on the first book in Liu’s trilogy, an ambitious sci-fi series spanning civilisation from the 1960s to the end of humanity.
The TV series was co-created for Netflix by the Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss, and the True Blood writer Alexander Woo, working with the director Derek Tsang.
Reaction in China has been mixed but widespread, even though Netflix is not accessible behind the country’s firewall. By Friday morning, a 3 Body Problem hashtag on the microblogging platform Weibo had been read 2.23bn times and discussed 1.424m times.
Some have objected to Netflix’s taking of a largely Chinese story and moving a lot of the action to the UK, with an international cast. Others criticised the gender swap of the main character (although GQ reported the idea had been suggested by Liu to the showrunners).
The series creators have defended the casting. Netflix described 3 Body Problem as “purposefully global in nature”, spanning continents, cultures and timelines.
“We wanted people from all over the world,” Benioff said. “We tried to make this a very diverse, international cast to represent the idea that this isn’t just one country’s struggle – it’s a global struggle to survive.”
Some of the criticism has been embedded in geopolitical animosity towards the US, attracting nationalistic backlash and accusations of Americanisation of the story.
“Flat and shallow, the difficult concept of science fiction is roughly transformed into a simple visual spectacle,” said one commenter on Weibo, accusing the creators of “orientalising” the Chinese background story and making a Hollywood story of western heroism instead.
Many Chinese viewers are likening it to a 2023 Chinese adaptation, produced by the Chinese tech company Tencent. Those who favour the latter have described Netflix’s work as “General Tso’s chicken” – a Chinese dish served in the US and rarely seen in China – compared to Tencent’s “banquet”.
Tencent’s series was released to US streaming audiences last month and is considered to be a more faithful adaptation of the books, albeit at a lengthy 30 episodes.
There were also social media discussions of the fact that Netflix has more creative and political freedom. “The biggest advantage Netflix’s version of Three-Body Problem has over the domestic version is no censorship, no taboos,” wrote one viewer.
The Netflix series opens with a scene of brutality: a Communist party struggle session during the Cultural Revolution targeting the father of the main character. The Tencent version depicts that time but is more muted.
The director of the Netflix series told Radio Free Asia it was becoming increasingly difficult to portray the period of the Cultural Revolution in China.
“But it is an important part of history and, if we are honest about it, we can all learn from it,” Tsang said. “It is very important to show everyone how ridiculous that period was.”
The books also treat the topic differently. The English translation of the first novel opens with the struggle session, while the Chinese version buries that scene in the middle, a decision Liu and his publishers reportedly made to make the book less politically sensitive in China.
Some viewers are happy to see the story shared with a broader audience. A Chinese film review site, Mtszimu, said the adaptation was “not only a new interpretation of Liu Cixin’s original work but also an important contribution to global science-fiction literature”.
One Weibo commenter said: “Everyone has a version of this interpretation in their own imagination. My personal attitude is more encouraging, after all, Three-Body Problem is the IP that we created. Now it goes to the world. I hope that this hit will have a greater echo and resonance.”
Chi Hui Lin contributed to this report