Opinion | Black Myth Wukong, an example of how soft power is done right
By Tom Fowdy
The Chinese produced role playing game Black Myth: Wukong, has proved to be a phenomenal success. The game, inspired by the famous Chinese novel "Journey to the West" and its character the "Monkey King" (Sun Wukong) has been met with positive reviews and become one of the most downplayed and played games on the commercial gaming platform Steam. The game is undeniably the biggest exposure many people in the west will have had to the Chinese literary tradition, with Journey to the West being well known in China, but typically unknown outside of Asia.
In a world that has been dominated by Japanese and Korean cultural products in the form of gaming, animation, music, comics, and television, largely owing to the convenience of geopolitics, Black Myth Wukong is probably one of the first Chinese things of its kind to gain worldwide acclaim. Despite ideological assumptions that is China is incapable of "cultural innovation" owing to the realities of its political system, anyone with proper understanding would have noted China's cultural products are now increasingly developing, with its domestic cinema having boomed and slowly forced out Hollywood from its market, even if it is yet to penetrate overseas.
I have always been an advocate of "soft power," the concept coined by Joseph Nye that argues that power in international relations is not solely defined by military force and sheer strength, but also by its own cultural and imaginative appeal. It is thus soft power which can be used to define the lasting appeal of the United States. Even as America in practice commits a great deal of atrocities overseas with a long history of war and meddling in the affairs of other countries, it is the sheer power of its culture that makes the USA a deeply admired and romanticised nation through its ability to "sell its story" and ideals through producing the greatest films and media franchises in the world.
In other words, the existence of "soft power" allows a nation to readily magnify its own appeal, justify its actions and create a narrative which people buy into. Few people in the west, for example, remember Japan for their wartime aggression and history, but understand the country in a romanticised mirage of anime and other cultural products. This is politically consequential. Even as Koreans are meant to distrust and loathe Japan in the "political sense" it is undeniable simultaneously that Japanese culture holds great appeal amongst younger Koreans, and thus many travel to Japan accordingly. However, on the other hand, no such cultural appeal exists for China in the Korean mindset even as its influence subtly exists over how its ideals shaped Korean society and life.
It is thus my observation that contemporary geopolitics is a battle for hearts and minds, and not merely a presentation of guns and force. The overwhelming military power of the Soviet Union at its height in the 1960s dwarfed the United States, but its cultural unimaginativeness ultimately nullified any appeal it might have had. It is therefore logical that many people assume the same fate awaits China, and it is not hard to imagine why its political system is seen as antagonistic to that. However, I believe that this negativity is overstated and that the existence of market dynamics within China's economy has not, contrary to all stereotypes, stifled innovation.
This speaks for itself given Chinese smartphone brands, electric cars, drones, E-commerce systems and of course, TikTok, increasingly dominate the world. Of course, a country must develop its economy before it can create "cultural products" as this is a natural order of progression. Human society is concerned with surviving before it can ultimately express itself. The ability to create cultural products on a large scale is contingent on existing degree of modernisation. Hence, Japan and South Korea reached that threshold of development at an earlier stage and Seoul's output only made its influence felt within the past 15 years or so. Thus, as China develops further, we are likely to see its cultural products enhance and we are also seeing this happening to the Chinese film industry as one example.
Now, as Chinese gaming companies are becoming more developed and competitive, Black Myth: Wukong, has developed the ability to project Chinese traditional culture and literature to a worldwide audience like never before. It is my wish these things can change the way people think about China, a country which of course has been overwhelmed with cynical and opportunistic negativity by the United States and its pull over the mainstream media. Of course, this point alone is a reminder of how soft power is ultimately king in shaping global discourse and narratives, and China thus faces a gargantuan challenge in finding its place in a global media system that is dominated by the United States and its allied countries, but there is no cold war without a cultural war too.The pen is mightier than the sword.
The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Tom Fowdy:
Opinion | A quiet patch in US-China relations
Comment