Generation Z Artists

Chapter 387

The American version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" didn't rank high in the US domestic ratings, and its actual performance was just so-so, but it created a more sensational effect in Asia than before.

Fang Xinghe has internal data from HBO, showing that the peak viewership for a pay-TV drama in the US was the final season of "The Sopranos," with a single episode reaching a peak of 1200 million viewers and an average of over 800 million viewers per episode—a phenomenal achievement.

The next tier can be called ordinary phenomenal shows, such as "Sex and the City," "True Blood," and "Weeds," which all peaked at nearly ten million views, averaging over five million views per episode.

Fang Xinghe himself also remembers the historical milestone created by "Game of Thrones", with nearly 2000 million paying users.

Therefore, from the perspective of absolute value, the peak value of 582 million for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" can be ranked in the lower part of the second tier or in the upper part of the third tier.

If we add the data from the free channels as well... forget it, Friends is just insane.

Going back further, the finale of "Army Field Hospital" garnered over 1 million viewers, surpassing even the Super Bowl.

Moreover, the 582 million viewership rating for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was its peak. After its premiere, the ratings declined steadily, with the final total number of viewers being only 407 million.

It's not bad, but it can't compare to a truly blockbuster drama, and it might even continue to decline.

Yet, these very figures have caused a sensation throughout Asia.

The Yomiuri Shimbun of Japan: "A shocking piece of news is sweeping the world! The Fang family's period martial arts drama 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' which once created an unprecedented viewing frenzy in our country and enjoyed national popularity, has finally landed on American television screens, instantly crushing all other programs in the same period and gloriously winning the crown of number one in viewership ratings! This is an overwhelming miracle of Japanese art shining brightly on the Western stage like never before, and it is also a historic moment in which His Highness Fang Xinghe's extraordinary strength once again shines brightly on the world!"

This "first in the same period" refers to the first place in a single category of TV drama, calculated only for paid channels during the same broadcast time.

As you know, as long as enough qualifiers are added, even the Emperor can ascend the throne.

Furthermore, Fang Ge immediately spotted the veiled language used by these guys.

The original text used the term "東洋芸術" (Tōyō Geijutsu), which is pronounced Tōyō Geijutsu in Romanization.

Every word used in a formal newspaper is carefully chosen. "Oriental arts" is a term that emphasizes East Asia (mainly China, Japan, and Korea) and carries a strong regional cultural connection.

It's quite interesting that they don't write "Asia (Asian) Arts," "Japanese Arts," or even include Chinese characters.

Judging from the context, the wording of Oriental art carries a sense of warmth and identity from a "shared cultural sphere," making it the first choice for Japanese media when they are ambiguous about the source.

The text uses "it" specifically to refer to East Asian art, mainly from China, Japan, and South Korea. This not only aligns well with Japanese cultural perceptions but also appears as a blatant attempt to piggyback on Japanese ideas.

Wang Chali was shocked: "Oh no! The Japanese have learned the Koreans' secret technique too!"

Fang Xinghe laughed heartily: "Trying to imitate something you've never done is a complete mishmash; your attempt is really mediocre."

Look at the South Korean media, they just snatched it away.

"The historical drama 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' directed by renowned Chinese director Fang Xinghe and starring international stars Choi Min-sik, Jun Ji-hyun, and Son Ye-jin, caused a sensation in North America. It not only received high praise from Hollywood professionals but also ignited a passion for Korean culture among the American people..."

The drama extensively recreates ancient Korean costumes and successfully recreates large-scale siege scenes recorded in ancient Korean texts. In gratitude for Fang Xinghe's outstanding contributions, our organization solemnly proposes that he be awarded a Royal Order of Culture and that his return to his native country be expedited…

The news went viral, and the Koreans went crazy.

The calls to go home are endless, and the reasons are becoming more and more compelling.

"Fang Xinghe, how well is your father living in South Korea? He's gained at least 20 pounds!"

"Your younger siblings are all here, so you should be here too!"

"Come to South Korea! The government will build you a new palace that's a hundred times bigger than the Forbidden City, and we'll call it Star Palace!"

"Upstairs from the apartment above, does Fang Xinghe really have younger siblings?"

"Honey! The oldest one should be starting elementary school soon. I know a 4-year-old girl who's in a private kindergarten at Samsung!"

"His surname is Fang?!?"

"My surname is Liu, but I swear, my eyes and eyebrows really look like Fang Xinghe's!"

"Idiot, what good is it to look like that!"

"Speaking of resemblance, last time I saw a guy named Bang Xinghe at FACE-LINE Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seoul who was 68% similar to me. He was so handsome that I immediately asked for his phone number. But when he smiled at me, his cheekbones twisted like they were about to split open. I fucking called an ambulance right there and then!"

"Hahaha! To stand there frozen like that and still try to smile at people like that is really rude!"

"68% is definitely too much. Trust me, around 30% is just right. It won't look too stiff, but it will still retain its charm."

"You bunch of idiots, stop going off-topic! We're discussing inviting Fang Xinghe home!"

"Come on, doesn't everyone know that he's Chinese and he doesn't like South Korea?"

"He speaks fluent Korean, all his blood relatives live in South Korea, he is loved by most of the country, and even the chaebols do not object to him developing his career here. Why can't he be Korean?"

"Stop arguing! Even if they are just Asians, we should be proud of them!"

"Westerners can't distinguish between Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese. They think all East Asians are the same. We share in the glory that Fang Xinghe brought. Even my stupid cousin who is studying in the United States has become more popular because of it."

"That's why we should push him to return to Korea! Once he becomes a true Korean, wouldn't we be able to bully him even more?"

"Damn it! Where did you learn idioms?"

Fang Xinghe International Language Training School.

"Sue them! The reason is that they're charging an exorbitant fee to feed a fool. They're treating you like a dog!"

"What's wrong with being Fang Xinghe's dog? I can even bring my own chain to keep me in check!"

……

The South Korean internet is acting up again, just like always.

What I mean by "everyday" is that this is not the first or second time, but a long-standing, psychotic-level delusion.

However, this time is indeed different from before; Fang Ge's recognition in South Korea has increased significantly.

Back then, "The Return of the Condor Heroes" dominated television in South Korea. Fang Ge was still the same Fang Ge, except that he gained a group of die-hard female fans because of Yang Guo.

Right now, "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is still a long way from dominating the United States, but ordinary South Koreans can't wait to get him a household registration.

China, Japan, and South Korea are all the same kind of despicable scoundrels in this regard—whoever can conquer the Americans is a national hero.

The only difference is that China still has a chance, while Japan, South Korea, and even Southeast Asia are completely doomed. They can only fight between their two "fathers," either using their brains to damage their cerebellum or their small heads to damage their big heads.

Forget about them, they're just a field of韭菜 (a metaphor for exploited people), let them do whatever they want.

Speaking of chives, a new harvest opportunity has arrived once again.

Due to the sensational success of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" in the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia are eager to start a second run of the series.

We'd been negotiating for a while, but Fang Ge was holding back and refusing to sell, which was making everyone uncomfortable. Now, the situation in the US is largely settled—although it's unlikely to explode, the value of exporting and then selling domestically is maximized, resulting in minimal price reductions in the second round.

Japan and South Korea together contributed another $5000 million, an unbelievable astronomical sum for a second-run drama.

Of course, this time Fang Xinghe returned the advertising rights to them, since it was impossible to achieve a 40% viewership rating again.

It is particularly worth mentioning that Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, unable to afford the buyout fee, had to bundle the advertisements together, allowing Fang Ge to make a killing.

Advertising sales are handled by Galaxy Entertainment, while the Taiwanese side is only responsible for broadcasting the content and will share 35% of all revenue.

If it weren't for the idea of ​​leaving a way out, Brother De would have even cut that number down to 20%.

But that would be too bullying and would make people hate you; it's unnecessary.

Immediately afterwards, even the arrogant Hong Kong and Taiwan couldn't stay so proud and had to humbly beg Brother Tak.

"We know we were wrong, please, give us a chance... I love Brother Fang so much too!"

"The Return of the Condor Heroes" has already swept the globe, and what's laughable is that Hong Kong and Taiwan didn't even spare the first round of its release.

The people on the island are both eagerly anticipating and impatiently waiting, but they are stubbornly refusing to admit it, which is quite amusing.

However, the TV station couldn't back down. They knew how much profit that was, and they dreamed of reconciling with Brother Fang.

Fang Xinghe ignored the matter and left it to Dong Youde to handle.

Brother De immediately snapped at him – “Go, sit at the same table as the Southeast Asians!”
ATV tolerated it, but TVB was even more shameless, forcibly reducing their revenue share to 30%. They said they didn't care about earning less, as long as we could broadcast their content.

This made Li Er so angry that he wanted to flip the table.

The two television stations engaged in another verbal battle in the newspapers, further escalating the internal conflicts within Hong Kong's entertainment circle.

As for Taiwan... that place is even more sinister.

With a population of 23 million, the island has over 100 television channels, including 5 terrestrial channels and 70 satellite channels, the vast majority of which cover the entire island.

With so many TV stations vying for one drama, the outcome was predictable.

Dong Youde completely ignored their stance, saying whatever they wanted, he didn't care, money talks.

In the end, TTV made a tough decision and sold off all its assets, finally raising $2000 million in cash and agreeing to the terms of 50% advertising revenue sharing, ending up laughing through tears.

Because the most ruthless PTS had already reduced its profit sharing to 20%, with the main message being "I may earn less, but you shouldn't earn either," TTV started adding cash, betting that the 30% profit sharing would exceed US$2000 million.

In Taiwan's market, it's hard to raise advertising prices, and no one dares to follow TTV's crazy approach.

When the show officially premiered, TTV immediately burst into laughter – the first day's ratings reached 26.7%!

What concept is this?
It's twice as popular as "Princess Pearl 2" and four times as popular as "Meteor Garden," a miracle that has broken the pattern of Taiwanese prime-time dramas.

First in history!

Taiwan is different from Hong Kong Island. They are first and foremost pro-Japanese, and secondly, they admire the United States. Twenty years from now, things will only be slightly better, let alone the current situation.

If "The Return of the Condor Heroes" were to air in Taiwan first, it would be a martial arts drama with a viewership rating of around 8% to 10%, and many viewers would inevitably give up watching it because of their dislike of Fang Xinghe himself.

However, in "The Return of the Condor Heroes," the situation changes drastically when the story first conquers Japan and then attacks the United States.

"Fang Xinghe is really annoying, but 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' isn't wrong..."

The stubborn Taiwanese person kept criticizing the author while praising the work, like a madman, but then, as they read, they became completely absorbed.

For the Chinese cultural sphere, Fang Xinghe's "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is a killer.

Mr. Yong added fuel to the fire, admitting, "Fang Xinghe captured the brilliance that I could never have described. The scope is grand, the artistic conception is lofty, and it has reached the pinnacle of martial arts fiction."

Of course, the world of martial arts is far from over. Aren't Wei Xiaobao and The Number One Under Heaven both being filmed with great fanfare?

As October approached, the storm surrounding the crackdown on the entertainment industry subsided, and the broadcast situation in the United States finally came to a conclusion.

The number of views for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" has fluctuated, but it has now stabilized at around 350 million.

While the data wasn't a huge explosion, the phenomenon it created eventually formed a trend.

Ratings do not equal word-of-mouth; this is basic common sense.

For example, the American TV series "The Wire," which aired around the same time, had an average viewership of only 150 million to 200 million, but it was a typical example of "low viewership but high reputation." Its artistic achievements and far-reaching influence were completely disproportionate to its viewership ratings.

The novel "The Return of the Condor Heroes" also follows this trend, with its artistic value being praised to the skies by American professional media and industry insiders.

The most common topic, of course, is the actions themselves; we're tired of praising them, so let's not mention them anymore.

Movie-quality visuals and special effects are standard features of American TV series, but the media only mentions them briefly.

What truly earned high praise from the American industry was the core values ​​of "The Return of the Condor Heroes"—an Eastern belief in heroism that differed from American individualism.

It's not the part about "the greatest heroes serving their country and people," but rather the steadfastness and freedom of "holding fast to one's own beliefs."

The American version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was heavily edited and did not focus much on the word "hero," nor did it deliberately emphasize the dialogue. Instead, it highlighted the indomitable spirit of each character.

To put it simply: Once I decided to do this, I didn't care who did what, I was going to see it through to the end. Success would be great, but failure was just that—regrettable, but not a cause for regret.

Li Mochou was like this, Jinlun was like this, Guo Jing and Huang Rong were like this, and even Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu did not complain after experiencing so many twists and turns.

Fang's version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is almost entirely free of resentment, and its overall temperament is extremely fierce, which can be clearly felt from the deaths of each character.

Only in the finale did that profound sense of melancholy emerge.

The American working class may not understand much of the complexities of Eastern philosophy, but their awareness of emotions is just like that of Easterners—illness doesn't equal stupidity, right?

Therefore, this style, so different from American TV series, began to impact American culture in a very direct way.

They call this kind of temperament "the violent philosophy of the mysterious East".

Violence Philosophy of the East
Eastern philosophy of violence and Eastern aesthetics of violence are not the same thing; this phrase has never appeared in the United States before.

However, due to Fang Xinghe's influence, and the mid-level popularity and high-level reputation of "The Return of the Condor Heroes", they created such a new concept, which caused a large-scale uproar in the film and television industry, cultural circles and philosophical circles.

Logically, such discussions based on propaganda needs shouldn't be ignored, but no one expected that they would directly trigger an academic war—

The debate revolves around whether Fang Xinghe is already a master artist.

Discussions reached their peak just one month before StarNet's official launch.

(End of this chapter)