As the big screen in front of her went black, the art festival that had penetrated the campus came to an end. The students left one by one, and Ji Mengsi stood up immediately without even looking at the strange looks from others. The girl wiped her tears hastily and walked back to the dormitory without even turning her head.
She knew what she had to do.
As soon as I walked into the dormitory, my roommate who arrived earlier looked at me worriedly: "Mengsi, what's wrong? Did anyone bully you?"
Ji Mengsi shook his head.
She didn't plan to tell her roommate about this. After all, she was a modern person who didn't understand or care about these things. There was no need to drag her into the fight, so she just asked, "Would you like to go watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets together during the Lunar New Year holiday next year?"
"Okay," the roommate didn't notice anything wrong. After making sure that she was calm, he sat back down. "I just finished watching the first part online a few days ago, and I was thinking about going to the theater to watch the second part. It's a good opportunity for us to watch it together."
Ji Mengsi smiled and said yes.
Perhaps because she had made up her mind, her emotions had calmed down. Indeed, even if an ordinary person like her wanted to do something for Huaying, she would be powerless in front of a behemoth like Yunsu, but so what
Isn't the old man in "The Old Man and the Sea" completely different from the shark? Even until the end of the story, the old man did not gain the value of the world, but this does not affect the greatness of the old man.
Are we doomed to fail just because we are powerless, and should we give up even the possibility of trying and struggling
It is undeniable that before "The Old Man and the Sea", she did have such an idea, but now Ji Mengsi doesn't think so - maybe she really can't do anything, maybe her efforts will not help the outcome of the whole incident, but she wants to give it a try.
Even if it doesn't make any sense, even if there is no result.
"What do you want to do?"
The person who asked this question was a fan of Huaying that Ji Mengsi knew well. Ji Mengsi did not hide her intentions, or rather, the reason why she mentioned this matter to him was that she hoped that he would act with her, so she asked directly: "Do you remember what I did before I joined Huaying?"
"Ah? What do you mean?"
The other party was a little confused. Ji Mengsi recalled his "first meeting" with Huaying, and curled the corners of his lips, revealing a smile with a hint of nostalgia.
Speaking of which, her "first meeting" with Huaying was actually not a pleasant one.
At that time, she was a fan of a popular celebrity, and her idol's drama happened to be on the same schedule as Huaying's "Cardcaptor Sakura". She was angry with Huaying because she couldn't get the remote control from her sister. But later she found that the little skirts in "Cardcaptor Sakura" were really attractive, and the animation plot was warm and relaxing. She was so attracted by it that she became a fan.
Also because of her obsession with the two-dimensional male gods, Ji Mengsi never became a fan of any popular star again after that.
However, just because Ji Mengsi no longer follows popular stars does not mean that he does not understand what his fans think.
Indeed, most fans of traffic stars are quite crazy. For their idols, they buy dozens of chart-toppers and magazines, and even buy dozens or even hundreds of movie tickets. However—
"I remember that the movies that were used by those film and television companies to suppress Harry Potter were not movies starring several popular actors?"
"Tell me, if those fans knew that the movie starring their beloved brother was directly used by the company as cannon fodder and stepping stone for the Lunar New Year holiday, what would they think?"
It's not just Ji Mengsi.
As The Old Man and the Sea spread more and more widely, the same thing soon happened to other audiences in other parts of the Blue Star.
Emily is not actually the kind of person who gets carried away easily.
In fact, after the truth of the Huaying incident was revealed, she was indeed depressed for a while. She also felt sad for the situation of Mu Suxing and Huaying being besieged on all sides. When she thought that she might never be able to see Huaying's animation again, she felt indescribable regret in her heart.
But that's all.
After all, she was just an ordinary fan of the comics. If she had to be special, it was that as a university history professor, she had used the comics of Sherlock Holmes as material to study London in the Victorian era, and her paper was published in an authoritative magazine on the history of the Blue Planet.
It sounds quite impressive, but in fact it is of no use to Huaying in her current situation.
History and animation are two completely unrelated genres. Moreover, in such a major event of capital game, even if she wanted to do something, it would be nothing more than a gnat trying to shake a tree, a foolish dream.
After all, she is an adult, and no matter what happens to the painting, life must go on. However, until she attended the closing ceremony of the Muse Art Festival and returned to her home, the picture in her mind never disappeared, but took root in her mind, lighting up again and again, and replaying again and again.
The room was quiet. Emily buried herself in the quilt, as if she could escape the facts she didn't want to face. But she clearly heard someone stubbornly saying in her ear again and again:
"Man is not born to fail. Man can be destroyed but not defeated."
…It’s so noisy!
Emily sat up unbearably. On such an impulse, she simply sent the video of "The Old Man and the Sea" to all her friends - history professors and scholars like her, professors of various majors in the same university, directors of historical TV series and movies with whom she had worked before...
After the video was sent, Emily breathed a sigh of relief and said bitterly, "That's enough. Go and bother other people! Stop torturing me!"
Just as Emily was tormented by the "Old Man and the Sea" that was looping in her mind and was about to collapse, on the other side, in Xingning City, He Hongfeng, who had received the same invitation from Yunsu as Mu Suxing that day, was also silently watching "The Old Man and the Sea" on the computer screen.
This is actually an animation work that is both realistic and ideal.
The reality is that the old man in the animation suffers from continuous suffering and pain without any respite, but this is life. The ideal is the old man: his fishing trip yielded nothing, but he never compromised even though he knew the result, and he undoubtedly has a tenacious soul that never gives in.
He thought of the letter Huaying wrote to all employees, and imagined Muxuxing's desperate and courageous attitude when he wrote the letter. He also thought of the short sentence that had been used by so many people.
"A man can be destroyed but not defeated."
How similar is it to the current situation
Even if this industry will be destroyed by Yunsu, even if this industry will be destroyed beyond recognition by Yunsu, it is better than standing idly by and watching. Before it even starts, you have already lost your fighting spirit and can only watch Mu Suxing and Huaying move forward alone, putting all the pressure and expectations on Huaying.
Thinking of this, He Hongfeng made a decision in his heart.
That afternoon, in the conference hall of the Luofeng Animation office building, He Hongfeng did not sit in his seat as usual. He just stood there and announced his decision in a calm tone that even surprised himself.
"I plan to reject Yunsu Group's cooperation," said Ho Hung-fung.
This is actually a very risky idea. Although Luofeng Animation is one of the best animation companies in the Blue Star animation circle, it can't compare with a behemoth like Yunsu Group. The most important thing is that when Huaying Animation is crumbling, rejecting Yunsu Group is undoubtedly seeking death.
He was prepared to be dissuaded by others, but ten, twenty, and thirty seconds passed, and the meeting room remained silent, with no one speaking. Looking at everyone else, they all looked calm, with the word "oh" written on their faces.
He Hongfeng was slightly stunned: "You... aren't you going to dissuade me?"
"Why should I persuade you?" The person who spoke was a young man. He had always been dissatisfied with Mu Xuxing, an animation producer who was the same age as him but performed a hundred times better than him. He snorted coldly and said as a matter of course: "When it comes to conscientious production, our Luofeng Animation is not bad. Why do Mu Xuxing and Huaying get all the limelight?"
He had always wanted to defeat Muxuxing, but not in the way he was doing now.
No matter how much pressure Huaying is under, she has to reject Yunsu for the sake of Blue Star Animation. If Luofeng Animation sides with Yunsu because they are afraid of death, wouldn't they be completely outshined by Huaying
How can that be
"Xiao Ruan is right," another person also said, "Although our Luofeng Animation is not as good as Huaying, we are definitely not less courageous."
He Hongfeng felt warm in his heart.
That day, when he and Mu Suxing were in the hotel opposite the restaurant and witnessed their former companions turning back one by one, He Hongfeng felt a little disappointed. It was not that he could not understand other people's choices, but when he thought about the future of Blue Star Animation, he couldn't help feeling sad.
It is the same at this moment.
He still had no hope for the outcome of this battle, but now he had great determination and courage, and said with a smile: "Since you have no objection, then reject it."
Then he will live and die with the painting's shadow.
late at night.
The clock on the wall had already pointed to twelve o'clock midnight. Luo Gaofeng just sat in front of the desk with the computer on, looking at the blank document on the screen in silence for a long time.
Reason told him that this matter should end here—
Perhaps Huaying Animation will disappear from now on, and perhaps the Blue Star animation circle will be monopolized by Yunsu, so the once flourishing animation works will be replaced by homogenized fast-food assembly line works.
My friend said, "It's just an animation company. Is it necessary to be so upset about it?"
Even if the animation industry falls apart, even if there will be no more good-looking animation works, life will go on and people will grow up. Perhaps before long, animation will completely disappear from their lives.
But Luo Gaofeng knew that was not the case.
How can it be "just an animation company"
This is clearly an inseparable part of his youth. It is the "friend" who has accompanied him through countless happy or unhappy nights. It is also the young man who is not much older than him, who he has watched grow from obscurity to world-famous. He has witnessed its changes, and it has witnessed his growth.
That was all his feelings and beliefs.
Thinking of this, Luo Gaofeng took a deep breath and began to write the words that had been buried in his heart for who knows how long. He was not a good writer, and now he was simply expressing his thoughts in a simple way.
He wrote straight to the point:
"To be honest, whether it was when Huaying and Muxuxing were misunderstood and abused by everyone, or when the truth came out and most people regretted and apologized, and lamented the future of Blue Star Animation because of Huaying's situation, I was actually very unhappy."
"Teacher Tan Qingyi said that if we want to change the future of Blue Star Animation, we must have capital that does not seek returns and use truly excellent works to pave the way for the entire industry. Even Mu Suxing himself seems to hope that Huaying can become such an existence, but as a fan of Huaying, what I want to say is - I don't want to."
The future of Blue Star Animation is obviously neither the future of Mu Suxing alone, nor the future of Huaying Animation as a single company. But why do almost everyone, including Mu Suxing himself, place such a heavy burden on themselves, so that even the sacrifices caused by it seem great and justified.
What is this
Why can other companies and other producers just give in and give up, while Muxuxing and Huaying must take the lead and bear the burden of the future rise and fall of the entire industry? Why is it that even if there is fake news about grabbing subsidies for small producers, it will be blacklisted by the entire network
It shouldn't be like this.
“The future of Blue Star Animation should be the common future for all animation industry practitioners and all those who love animation.”
"It is a distorted idea to expect capital to show mercy, or to place all pressure and expectations on conscientious capital, or to expect a company to be selfless and self-sacrificing without asking for anything in return."
"Yes, as ordinary people, nothing we do can affect the current situation. But have you ever thought that it is the capital from all sides that makes the animation, but it is we who can choose whether to watch it and whether to spend money on it. Capital can choose the production line, but we can also choose not to buy it!"
"Some people always say that this generation of audiences is not good enough. This is true, but not entirely true. If we ourselves cannot support the animations and movies we like with practical actions, then why should capital produce them according to our preferences?"
"I really like the works of Animation. I did so in the past, I do so now, and I will continue to do so in the future."
"Maybe I can't do anything, maybe what I'm saying now won't help the current situation of Huaying, but what I want to say is that this time during the Lunar New Year, I will only support Harry Potter. From now on, I will also use the most direct way to keep the works I like. Capital speaks with money, so I also use money to express my choice."
“If it doesn’t work this time, I’ll try again next time, and the next time, and the next time. I want to tell the investors: I will not accept any perfunctory works. Only animations and movies with excellent quality can get my support and empty my wallet—until this generation of audiences wake up, until the day comes when quality is king!”