Well, I'm no Chinese, but I feel I'm well enough aquainted with the culture to take a stab at this:
Judging from other recent movies from China, feminism is a pretty hot topic. And on top of that, "strong women" have always been an interesting facet of gonfu movies and mythology (I'm thinking of Wing Chun or some stories about Damo's female disciple). So, I really don't think this movie is "pandering" to Western tastes, it's just continuing a tradition that's been building in China. In fact, I'd say Jen's quest to be free from everything that wants to pin her down (Jade Fox, her parents, Lo, and even discipleship under Li) is pretty universal, wouldn't you think?
Then again, I've only watched the movie twice so far, so there might be some deeper stuff I'm not getting at.
I don't think CTHD is derivative, at least not in a bad way. I just meant to point out that it uses a lot of the same plot elements and themes as SW. (There's no question that Ang Lee and Jim Schamus, the creative team behind CTHD, have both seen SW.) SW itself recycles plot elements and themes from The Wizard Of Oz.
The creative "team" behind the movie? The book was written by Wang Du Lu, like, back before WWII. While I will agree that CTHD has some of the same sort of appeal that Star Wars had, let's keep in mind that this movie's development is very distinct from Star Wars.
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Judging from other recent movies from China, feminism is a pretty hot topic. And on top of that, "strong women" have always been an interesting facet of gonfu movies and mythology (I'm thinking of Wing Chun or some stories about Damo's female disciple). So, I really don't think this movie is "pandering" to Western tastes, it's just continuing a tradition that's been building in China. In fact, I'd say Jen's quest to be free from everything that wants to pin her down (Jade Fox, her parents, Lo, and even discipleship under Li) is pretty universal, wouldn't you think?
Then again, I've only watched the movie twice so far, so there might be some deeper stuff I'm not getting at.
The creative "team" behind the movie? The book was written by Wang Du Lu, like, back before WWII. While I will agree that CTHD has some of the same sort of appeal that Star Wars had, let's keep in mind that this movie's development is very distinct from Star Wars.