Chinese creative constructions
must be within constraints

> Does the world need more strange buildings?

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor

 

en it comes to art,
there is nothing more

impressive than a city that sparks
imagination with its facade while
also facilitating practicality.
There are countless unique
buildings of great significance
in the world that we can identify
ina flash: the Pentagon, the
Burj Khalifa, and the Petronas
Towers, for example. These aren’t
monuments like the Statue
of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower,
these are functioning buildings
where people work and live
everyday. So what’s wrong with
making them look interesting?

On February 21, China’s
State Council announced that
there would be stricter guidelines
for urban planning. What does
that mean? Well, in the past
few decades, China has been
erecting odd buildings all across
the country, many without any
links to cultural heritage or
functionality. In another word,
China was making buildings
weird for the sake of being
weird. Buildings shaped like

pants, coins, and even a pile of
debris can be found in China.
Now, I love art. I don’t
always understand it, but I like
the fact that it exists. I live in
a city full of art instalations
that serve no purpose but
to take up a spot where a
bench ora garbage bin could
have been. But it gets people
talking, so that is a positive.
However, I always question
the monetary value of a piece
of art. I know artists need to get
paid and all that, but when the

money is coming out of taxpayers’

pockets, there better be a damn
good reason for the art. China,
of course, is now faced with the
same predicament. They want to
construct interesting buildings,
but when the production to
make them “original” is costing
more than the facades are worth,
then the projects need to stop.

A building at its most
basic is a box. No matter how
interesting a building is, once you
are inside, you are in a box. The
world would be a pretty awful
place if all the boxes looked the
same. Take a look at suburban
America, where every house
is constructed from the same

blueprint. That is something we
must avoid at any cost... even
if the cost is saving money.

Economically, keeping
buildings cube-shaped makes
sense. It saves room, and in
a world with limited space,
that’s important. But we
need landmarks. Humanity
is built upon landmarks;
that is why we have the Great
Wonders of the World. But
greatness is not just about
being strange or impressive,
it’s backed with history.

It doesn’t matter how the
world sees it, it matters for the
people who walk in and out
of those buildings every day.
Yes, tourists will come and go.
They'll snap pictures, and they’ll
share the image with people
all around the world. Yet, for
the people who work and live
there, buildings need to bea
structure of pride. We spend
so many hours of our lives in
buildings. Let’s create ones that
aren't just weird, let’s create ones
we are proud of. And pride is
worth paying a premium for.

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Awkward superheroes: Deadpool and Po

> What really is the difference between ‘Deadpool’ and ‘Kung Fu Panda’?

Jamal Al-Bayaa
Staff Writer

 

he plots in Deadpool and
Kung Fu Panda are eerily
similar. They’re built off of the
same “awkward superhero”
genre-type, where the character
is ugly, witty, and exceptionally
poor at fulfilling the traditional
superhero role. Instead, they
excel at four things: breaking
(superhero) clichés, breaking
the fourth wall, breaking any
overly serious, “downer” parts
of the movie with immediate
comedic relief, and breaking
jaws with wicked choreography.
Both movies make you
reconsider everything you've ever
thought a superhero should be.
Superheroes are traditionally
strong, courageous people,
so Kung Fu Panda created a
hero that was fat and cowardly.
Superheroes are supposed to
be chivalrous good-hearted
people, so Deadpool created a
hero that was sadistic, immoral,
and excessively sexual.
Recreating movie
superheroes is effective at

catching our attention because
of its ability to take old, dusty
plots and add a touch of life to
them by mocking the old movies
they’re inspired by. We laugh

at the ridiculousness of it all.
How can we not, when we're
presented with superheroes
breaking their own fists on metal
giants, or completely messing

up the timing of their expected
superhero entrance? This is
almost exactly what Charlie
Chaplin did in the 30s by slipping
on banana peels, getting up, and
then slipping on them again.

If my Philosophy teacher saw
these movies, he would call this
“an appeal to ridiculousness.”

These recycled plots
only survive because of A-list
actors who consistently
provide the comedic relief.

But... Kung Fu Panda doesn’t
actually have a recycled plot
when you look deeper into it.

It leaves its older audiences

to ponder on themes such as
morality, loyalty, and inner peace.
The scenes between fights scenes
genuinely develop the characters
and do a fantastic job at making

you emotionally invested in
them and the story. You might
even find yourself crying at one
point, not because youre sad,
but because you're so happy
that everything worked out.
Kung Fu Panda finds a way
to present all of this information
and be an incredibly funny
movie, yet it never breaks
character as a children’s
movie. While it does all this,
it presents a new superhero
mould for children who are still
defining what a superhero is.
Kung Fu Panda provides
options for the child in us all,
but also the adult in us who's
looking for a bit more substance
from a movie, and has more
pressing issues than listening
to 1001 ways to reference sex.
Deadpool’s success comes
from the fact that it’s marketed
to the most over-indulged-yet-
neglected demographic of all
time: the young adult who goes
to the movies to be reminded
of their childhood heroes, not
necessarily to watch a good
movie. While these young adults
are legally old enough to hear

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about sex and watch people get
cut open and torn apart, they’re
often not quite old enough to
recognize and support movies
with any substantial plots.

Maybe you enjoyed Deadpool
more than Kung Fu Panda, and

you wouldn't be wrong if you
did—there is no “right” movie
style. But, undeniably, you
have to admit that you chose
cheap laughs over thoughtful
movie watching, probably
because it’s so much easier.

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Image via www. businessinsider.com

Photo illustration