Movie watching from the back window

Author: Wei Xidi / Huang Xiaolu (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: "Watching Movies from the Rear Window" forum is one of the earliest film forums in the renowned online community "Xicang Hutong" and also one of the oldest film forums in China, founded by Wei Xidi in December 1998. Since its inception, "Watching Movies from the Rear Window" has consistently been one of the most popular and high-quality film forums. It has been featured and reviewed by numerous well-known print media across the country, such as The Southern Weekly. Slogans like "Film is a rear window of life" and "Images solidify into words" have also become widely circulated within the forum. Over the years, the forum has nurtured several generations of talented writers, many of whom have become pillars of film criticism in media outlets nationwide. They include many renowned filmmakers and film academy professionals, as well as long-time lurkers within the community. The six years since the forum's founding coincided with the rise, development, and maturation of online film criticism. The writings of "Watching Movies from the Rear Window" essentially represent the fruits of grassroots film criticism over these years. This book compiles some of the best pieces, emphasizing authenticity and personal insight rather than professional or mechanical analysis. It reflects the direct impressions of filmgoers and carries a strong cinematic spirit.
The internet is a double-edged sword. While it provides a platform for ordinary people to express themselves, it also stages a platform for those who love to perform and builds a fortress for those who crave. In the real world, countless self-proclaimed and mutually admiring circles gradually form in the diverse online forums, and this is precisely what we cannot accept. When possible, under the management's capability, "Watching Movies from the Rear Window" can be a film appreciation event or a film criticism publication. But in my view, its fundamental form is a forum—a BBS, an online discussion platform—a place where people can come and go freely, speak freely, and express themselves freely. If this is the case, then "openness" must be the most important reason and pillar for its existence.