Megazone 23 and Alan Tam

[llj]

I popped in Megazone 23 last night and noticed something pretty funny that never hit me before.

Don't know how many people here speak Cantonese, but does anyone know the history behind Megazone 23's "Sentimental Over My Back" that Eve sings?

Hong Kong singer Alan Tam's "Love Trap" is basically the same melody, although I surmise the lyrics are different.

Doing some research, it appears that both "Love Trap" and Megazone 23 came out in the same year, 1985. Though the odds are stacked in Megazone 23's favour since it was in production since at least a year before, while Tam could simply have heard it in 1985 and do his own version the same year. I also read a claim that a Japanese composer helped Alan Tam compose "Love Trap", though I don't know exactly WHO composed "Sentimental Over My Back" (It can't automatically be assumed that Sagisu Shiro, the film's composer, composed the song)

That said, I would not be surprised if one cribbed from another, as both Japanese and Chinese singers have a tendency to swipe songs unabashedly from other sources. My instinct as someone who grew up in a Cantonese-speaking household is that Tam cribbed from Megazone 23, as Hong Kong singers are notorious for using songs from other sources. In some cases, they can even make it their own, such as Faye Wong's "Dreamlover" (a cover of "Dreams" by The Cranberries), which was featured prominently in the film Chungking Express.

Anyway, here are the two songs:

Eve's "Sentimental Over My Back"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HABztzndFi4

Alan Tam's "Love Trap"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv6CysqZJsk

[greg]

I sometimes wonder if Chinese have any spark of originality at all in their bodies (I'm speaking facetiously, of course). From cheap knockoff plastic toys to pop songs, all they do is copy Japan, it seems. They copy Korea too, to an extent. Here is a very famous example when the Shanghai Expo 2010 blatantly copied a '97 Japanese pop song from Maya Okamoto (dangit, J-pop was so much better in the '90s...). If you follow the link I provided, only the 3rd video down will work.

[llj]

Chinese mentality is usually more about getting things done in the most efficient way possible. They're creative when it comes to finding ways to get something done in the most efficient manner, but not that creative in the artistic sense, at least for the past 100 years or so.

A lot of great Chinese art in the pre-Communist days, unfortunately, has been either ignored or lost because of politics and general public apathy. There is also very little interest from outsiders in Chinese art, unlike in Japan where there has been great interest in the works of Hokusai and the like. I suppose the fact that it's very difficult to attribute works of art to singular persons has also been an obstacle to exploring ancient Chinese art.

Chinese culture is genuinely interesting, but unfortunately, not much of anything truly inspired has been added to the culture in the past hundred years or so. If you attend any Chinese festival, you see that *all* the great ideas, memorabilia and artistry on display is basically stuff from the pre-20th century, or at least only up until the 1930s (Shanghai in the 1930s is somewhat romanticized by certain Chinese historians today, with its smoky bars, criminal underworld and seedy pleasures) You have to understand that Chinese culture had generally been put on hold for many years for many reasons (politically mostly), whereas in other countries such as Japan, they encouraged cultural growth even in their darkest years. That is the sad price you pay when culture and the arts is neglected.

Of course, that doesn't really excuse Hong Kong for most of the 20th century, which was operating under the British Empire until 1997, but to be fair they did contribute to the evolution of action cinema, if nothing else.

[Daishikaze]

Oh I wouldn't say there have been no contributions to Chinese culture in the last 100 years or so, Jin Yong, Gu Long, and Liang Yusheng would dispute that rather strongly. They are (or in the cast of Gu Long and Liang Yusheng were) pioneers in the art of Wuxia Fiction, which before they came along had started to stagnate. Their works influenced both Film and Television, though I grant you, their works have been remade time and time again to the point where you're getting a new adaptation every single year (ENOUGH ALREADY! WE GOT IT!)

Point is, they added to Chinese culture

[greg]

llj, I'd forgotten that you mentioned that you're Chinese in your intro. Your insight is truly appreciated. I was just reading a book by an Asian art collector who mentioned how China's communist revolution basically destroyed their arts and they really lost a huge part of their cultural identity as a result.

[Daishikaze]

As much blame that should rightly fall at the communists feet, We also should remember that Chinese culture was about to hit one of its highest peaks before the Opium war, From what I read they were on the verge of a renaissance that was quickly derailed by the british, so I would say they are still recovering from that blow as well.

[llj]

Yes, the British and they were also fending off the Japanese later on, too.

However, great art tends to be made during times of great turbulence, but while China's past 100 years have been VERY turbulent, it didn't result in a great explosion of art and culture.

Wuxia fiction is an interesting case. In a way, it was the one of the few ways where Chinese creativity could express itself without as much worry of censure. I suppose because that it's considered fantasy (even though wuxia sometimes wasn't limited to fantasy) and that any political undertones tend to be subtle or seen as non-subversive, unlike the visual arts or music or print fiction with more immediacy to current times. Which is funny, since a lot of wuxia fiction do subtly make jabs at corrupt authority or oppression.

And yes, they do get remade too much. I've watched WAY too many Condor Heroes stories in my lifetime. On the other hand, one might say that a lot of American franchises are getting remade way too often now, too.

It's getting better now, but obviously you still hear stories of the government getting extremely annoyed with the more subversive artists and make life difficult for them. There's also a growing underground movement of "free" artists, but they haven't managed to catch on yet, possibly because the government keeps tabs on them to make sure they don't start any serious trends they don't like.

[greg]

Yes, I love Zhang Yimou's movies that were banned in China like Raise the Red Lantern and To Live. House of Flying Daggers was really awesome and so beautifully colorful, but I like his depressing tragedies more than his "safer" kung fu type of films that don't disturb the government.

[greg]

Thinking back to what I'd said about Chinese lacking originality culturally, the Turks are the same way, but in a far more amusing way. Check out videos for Turkish Star Trek, Turkish Star Wars, and Turkish Rambo and you'll see what I mean. Hilarious!