mesbooks Chapter 513: The Call of Cthulhu? Nanyang's Cultural Strategic Weapon
Chapter 513: The Call of Cthulhu? Nanyang's Cultural Strategic Weapon
In Zhang Chi's office, the thick velvet curtains were half-drawn, blocking out the scorching afternoon sun in Nanyang.
He leaned back in the wide leather seat, frowning slightly, holding an Ansa language book in his hand and reading it carefully.
The cover of the book was a bit strange, with the outline of the Antarctic ice sheet and strange mountains printed on it.
The book itself is not thick, it is a simple paperback, but the title is very intimidating - "At the Mountains of Madness".
On the table in front of Zhang Chi, there are several works of the same style scattered around.
The Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow over Innsmouth.
To be honest, when I was a student in my previous life, whenever I came across memes like Cthulhu giving out candies or unspeakable horror on the Internet, Zhang Chi would always say a few words about them.
But he has neither read the original novel nor seriously participated in a COC group. At best, he just talked about it.
After coming to this world, he accidentally discovered that the author of these works, which exuded a cold, cosmic atmosphere of fear, Howard Phillips Lovecraft (HP Lovecraft), had passed away in 1937.
In this regard, Zhang Chi can only say that even in an era without the Internet, these literary masters had incredibly broad imaginations.
Whether it is aliens, time travel, rebirth and revenge, or galactic adventures, they have long existed in current literary creation.
Even in a few years, JRR Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" will be published, and fantasy races such as elves, dwarves, orcs, and goblins will slowly unfold as the picture of Middle-earth unfolds, becoming the common memory of generations of readers.
Of course, those unspeakable "strange stories" about unsatisfied female elves, female knights, and goblins will have to wait patiently until the 21st century, with the information explosion of the internet age, before they can flourish in certain dark corners...
So Zhang Chi, who was preparing to make a move on the cultural front during the Cold War, simply asked someone at White Eagle to buy a large number of popular works, including the complete works of Lovecraft, and probably read them as a reference for the future direction of Western propaganda.
At this time, the "Cthulhu Mythos" system created by Lovecraft was still a niche, like a behemoth sleeping in the deep sea, and had not yet set off a storm that swept the world.
But its core - the fear of the unknown, the despair of human insignificance in the vastness of the universe, and the description of the indescribable "Old Ones" lurking in the shadow of civilization - has cast a long-lasting psychological shadow on a certain group of readers.
It is only because of the outbreak of the world war again that the entertainment industry around the world is currently in a state of abnormal explosion.
Anything that was beneficial to the war, such as propaganda films, comics, and novels, flourished, while topics unrelated to the war fell on deaf ears.
Zhang Chi's eyes swept across the passages on the page that described how the Elder Things built a huge non-Euclidean city in Antarctica, but a meaningful arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He is not obsessed with these horror stories themselves, but is thinking about the complex mentality of the Western world towards "exotic" and "unknown" that they represent.
Is it fear? Curiosity? Or a voyeurism lurking beneath a deep-seated sense of white superiority?
"Fear stems from the unknown, while curiosity drives exploration and dissemination..." Zhang Chi buried his face in the shadows and whispered to himself, "Westerners like to create 'others' in their stories, whether it's the terrifying beings from the stars described by Lovecraft, or the orcs, elves, and Maia that will soon be defined by Tolkien..."
"Essentially, they are all imaginative projections of things beyond the boundaries of their own civilization. And to them, isn't our Southeast Asia... and even the entire East, a mysterious 'other' filled with spices, gold, and exotic customs, yet also shrouded in the shadow of the 'Yellow Peril'?"
He closed At the Mountains of Madness and pushed it aside.
The cold cosmic view of the Cthulhu mythology is not the communication tool he wants for the time being.
What he needs is a propaganda weapon that is warmer, easier to spread, and can create a more positive image.
"Report!" A crisp and slightly childish voice came from outside the door.
"Come in." Zhang Chi sat up straight with a gentle smile on his face.
The door was pushed open and a young man about seventeen or eighteen years old walked in quickly.
He was wearing a well-tailored uniform of an officer of the Nanyang National Defense Force. He had an upright posture, bright eyes, and the youthful vigor that is unique to young people. He was Xiao Qi, who was "exiled" by Zhang Chi to the propaganda department to serve as an "imperial envoy" for training.
"Commander-in-Chief." Xiao Qi stood at attention and saluted. His movements were standard and powerful, but there was still a trace of the liveliness unique to teenagers in the corners of his eyebrows and eyes.
"Sit down." Zhang Chi pointed to the chair opposite him. "How do you like the 'homework' I gave you?"
Xiao Qi's eyes lit up, and he immediately took out several colorful magazines and picture albums from his canvas bag and placed them on Zhang Chi's desk like a treasure:
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, I have read it all. It is very interesting."
"Oh?" Zhang Chi tapped the table gently and said gently, "Then from a young man's perspective, what is interesting about these comics?"
He picked up a Superman comic book translated into Chinese, which had a giant "S" on the cover, with a red and blue bodysuit and a car in one hand:
"This Superman is incredibly strong, can fly, and has eyes that emit heat rays. He specializes in fighting criminals and protecting Metropolis. It's a bit exaggerated, but it's really exciting to watch."
Then he picked up a comic book with a more realistic style and darker tones:
"This is Batman, Bruce Wayne. He's a wealthy man without any super powers, but he relies on his equipment and brains to fight crime in Gotham City. He's pretty cool."
Finally, he picked up a comic book with a unique style, simple and clear lines, and full of European style. The cover showed an image of a young reporter with a signature tuft of blonde hair, a little white dog, and wearing bloomers.
"But my favorite is still this one." Xiao Qi's tone was obviously excited. "The Adventures of Tintin. It was drawn by Hergé from Lowland Gaul. Tintin is a reporter who travels around the world with his dog Snowy on adventures, catching bad guys and solving strange cases. It's really exciting."
For Xiaoqi, who had never been abroad before joining the expeditionary force, these comics depicting places around the world showed him a completely different overseas world that was beyond his imagination.
Especially comics, as a special medium, are more vivid and imaginative than boring novels and texts, and are more suitable for teenagers like Xiaoqi who have just learned to read for one or two years.
Xiao Qi opened one of the books, "Blue Lotus," and pointed at the pictures filled with Chinese elements, saying as if presenting a treasure:
"Commander-in-Chief, please read this book. It tells the story of Tintin in Shanghai during the Republican era, where he uncovers the conspiracy of international opium traffickers and helps his local friends fight against the Japanese invaders.
The painting is very good. The cities, characters and Chinese characters on the street signs in the Republic of China are all drawn very carefully.
Hergé must have put a lot of thought into his research, unlike some comics that make us Chinese look weird."
What Xiaoqi was talking about was the obviously ugly image of Chinese people, like Fu Manchu, with squinty eyes, a wretched mustache, and a long pigtail.