In a CPPCC discussion about art and literature, Feng commented on China’s film censorship, saying that themes like the Cultural Revolution should be viable material for filmmakers.
Feng said he believed that a film about the Cultural Revolution could be a reflection of history: “It gives meaning to what we have gone through.”
He said most young people in China today do not know much about the Cultural Revolution. “If we don’t give younger generations the chance to learn about it, or to understand the magnitude of disaster brought about by the Red Guards riots, they might find smashing glass with bricks very amusing.”
Feng brought another controversial historical movie 1942 to the screen last year, after spending 18 years fighting mainland bureaucrats and censors. The film examines the famine in China that killed three million people, but which was neglected by the government during the Japanese invasion under Chiang Kai-shek’s rule.
Feng recalled some of his past brushes with Chinese film censors. He was said to be encouraging negative social values by making a burglar the protagonist in A World without Thieves (2004) while Assembly (2007) was seen as having a negative influence on the army.