Human darkness on screen: Cultural discounts in the reception of Chinese audiences through the South Korean film Concrete Utopia (2023)
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Abstract
In the realm of intercultural film transmission, cultural discount is a prevalent phenomenon that reflects the devaluation of cultural content among audiences from diverse backgrounds. Despite South Korea’s robust film industry and its aggressive global expansion, there is limited research on the cultural discounts experienced by Chinese audiences when consuming South Korean films. This study undertakes a qualitative survey involving 25 Chinese viewers to investigate the cultural discount in their engagement with the South Korean film Concrete Utopia (2023), which was a contender at the Academy Awards in 2024. The research findings suggest that various content elements, such as film setting, verbal expression translation, nonverbal expression, visual image, and non-diegetic music, did not significantly contribute to cultural discounts among Chinese audience participants. The primary cultural discount experienced by Chinese audience participants centres on the portrayal of human darkness and is evident in the plot and thematic elements of Concrete Utopia. A subset of these participants also noted that the film's tragic ending led to a noticeable cultural discount. This study contends that after South Korea abolished its film censorship system in the late 1990s, the South Korean film market witnessed a surge in productions exploring humanity's dark aspects. South Korean audiences have developed sufficient aesthetic sophistication and viewing experience to effectively interpret such films. In contrast, China's propaganda framework emphasizes societal beauty and brightness, while its censorship regulations restrict filmmakers from depicting darkness of society and human nature. Consequently, Chinese audiences have limited exposure to films addressing these themes. This scarcity has resulted in limited interpretive capacity, leading to cultural discount when viewing works like Concrete Utopia.
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