MovieChat Forums > Marco Polo (2014) Discussion > Are we suppose to root for the Mongolian...

Are we suppose to root for the Mongolian?


As a Chinese, I felt offended. Millions of Chinese were massacred and enslaved when Genghis Khan invaded and took over China as part of the Mongol Empire.

What will you guys feel if you saw a show that Hitler as the good guy?

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The story is about Marco Polo. Since Polo went to China in the company of his father and uncle, for the express purpose of going to Kublai Khan's court, that is what the series is about. If you root for any of them or not, that is of course entirely up to you :)

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Nope, Marco Polo didn't went to China, he went to the Great Mongol Empire, and in this TV series he helped the Mongolians to invade China, and most of those Mongolian characters were portrayed as good people and most of the Chinese were portrayed as bad people which offended me.

Actually, most of the Chinese viewer felt the same way, they just didn't talk about it in America. One Chinese version of IMDB "Douban" website, this show was given the rating of 5.8 out of 10.
http://movie.douban.com/subject/10539839/

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Well, if you want to get very technical, then yes, they went to Kublai Khan's court, which resided in (modern) China. The Mongolians had already invaded looooooong before Marco Polo was even born, and it was in its last phase around the time when Marco Polo arrived (the defeat of the Song Dynasty, and Kublai Khan's establishment of the Yuan Dynasty).

And yes, in the TV series, he is helping to build a new type of Trebuchet. This is historically accurate, but we dont know if Marco Polo was actually there. Historically, the Mongols did capture Xiangyang through use of the new (Persian) siege weapons, and the Song dynasty surrendered shortly after.

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Let me show you the deep raw passion of unbridled sexual frenzy. But Lucy... im British

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"most of those Mongolian characters were portrayed as good people"

Did we watch the same show?

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Have to agree with you. Neither side is shown to be all good or all bad. Since the focus is more on the mongols, I guess that is why this poster Tsukasa is offended. There are likable characters on both sides. The mongols obviously would not have created and managed this big an empire if they were just undisciplined barbarians. A ruler who can not inspire loyalty among her/his subjects can not do so.

But I also understand Tsukasa not liking Mongols being shown in some positive light because the mongols were extremely clinical in their approach towards eliminating/treating people they conquered.

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Offended by a movie/tv series? Stop being such a baby.

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I am an Australian and I too am offended by the depiction of the Chinese and the Mongols. We must remember this is Fiction... a TV show. I know it has been a long time since you wrote your question but I have just watched the second episode of the Second Season where Kublai murdered the little Emperor. This is not fact and is just for the Series.

I feel we should not be 'rooting' for anyone in the Series. Just watching it (or not) for what it is... entertainment.

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most of those Mongolian characters were portrayed as good people

Seriously? We have the manipulative mother of the prince, then we have Kublai Khan, who is shown as a weak fatso half the time, and a prince so full of jealousy that it's actually ridiculous. Oh, and of course this disgusting and historically inaccurate scene where this fat old man suffocates the child emperor after being manipulated by his prime minister, and then even publicly hangs the child's corpse and lets it rot on the rope for everyone to see (the child emperor really died when during an almost lost sea battle one of his own ministers grabbed the child and jumped overboard, drowning himself and the kid).

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I think you are comparing apples to oranges. Ancient history is filled with countries going at war with each other to expand their empires. Hitler was trying to eliminate a specific group of people.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_under_the_Mongol_Empire
The Mongols were much worse than the Nazis.

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Yeah, the Chinese weren't really so innocent. Foot binding is a horrific and barbaric practice. Plus they had it coming from the way they have treated outsiders for all those years.

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By the same token, the European countries that Hitler invaded were even less innocent. Infact Nazi Germany played the biggest role in ending colonialism.


~Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes~

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The Mongols were much worse than the Nazis.


Okay now we know you are an imbecile.
The industrialized genocide of million of jews and minorities is by far the worst thing that happened. And I´m german

...but they hung him anyway.
Hanged, Ami. Your father was not a tapestry.

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Nobody gives a flying fuск about you and your feelings, to be honest.




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And pussies like you were up in arms against the man in the high castle.

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Stop being so thin-skinned. History is history and there are no good guys or bad guys. I was born Chinese but I have a great deal of admiration for Genghis Khan. You don't have to think they're saints because they weren't, but you can appreciate what they achieved. Besides, you probably have Mongol in you.

Compared to the 'civilized' Chinese of the same era, Genghis Khan was equally merciful when dealing with people who stood in his way. Plus, he was open-minded, unlike the Chinese who weren't that interested in other cultures because they thought they were better than everyone else.

If all artists considered the sensitivities of someone who held grudges against a certain culture who offended them some hundreds of years ago, we'd have no real stories to tell.

Also, I don't suppose you'd feel equally offended if someone made a show about how the Chinese massacred all the other non-Han tribes and forced them to integrate into Han culture?

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I was born Chinese but I have a great deal of admiration for Genghis Khan. You don't have to think they're saints because they weren't, but you can appreciate what they achieved. Besides, you probably have Mongol in you.

Compared to the 'civilized' Chinese of the same era, Genghis Khan was equally merciful when dealing with people who stood in his way. Plus, he was open-minded, unlike the Chinese who weren't that interested in other cultures because they thought they were better than everyone else.


Thanks to the brainwashing education from PRC, nowadays some Hans like you actually admire the Mongols and the Manchurians, if the Japanese actually ruled China back then would you admire them as well? And no I have no Mongolian nor Manchurian in me.

Also, I don't suppose you'd feel equally offended if someone made a show about how the Chinese massacred all the other non-Han tribes and forced them to integrate into Han culture?


Not as bad as the Mongols though, over 2billion people were massacred all over Eurasia, and the Northern Hans were almost fully killed, this is genocide.

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2 billion massacred ? I think you need to double check historical demographics buddy :)
Worlds population in 13th century is estimated to be 400 million.

Yossi

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No, no you're not, as both sides probably had evil, nasty, blood thirsty people.

All I can see by your post is someone that's found something to complain about.


Heck I'm from the U.K. and know DAMN well that the British did a whole heap of bad things.

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I strongly suspect this is a troll post but let's break this down anyway:

1) This is not about Genghis Khan. This is a fictional story based around a real event - Marco Polo travelling to Kublai Khan's court.

2) This show is much deeper than "good guys vs bad guys". Instead of looking at nationalities, we look at individual characters. There are no good guys/villains in this show. Everyone is their own individual character, with motivations, fears, and hopes etc.

The Mongols are in no way shown as the heroes - in one episode it shows them literally butchering Chinese. In terms of characters, the closest guy to a villain is the Chancellor, but even then, we are given flashbacks to his childhood that give greater insight to him and his circumstances.

You are not "supposed" to "root" for anyone. Alot of TV has moved past that point, making great and interesting character driven shows.

3) If you are offended, it sounds like a you problem to me. Perhaps you shouldn't take things so personally? And stop generalizing large groups of people? Every group of people, every nationality, every country has done bad things.

Also, no one cares if you got offended. These days everyone is a victim. Get over it and move on.

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Truth is, people are bound to feel more empathy for the Khan than The Chancellor. Which is why the OP is whining.

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Well, even Chinese culture demonizes chancellor Jia Sidao, making him solely responsible for the fall of the Song empire. His character might or might not be historically accurate (I actually doubt it), but that is not really important.

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Get over it and watch the show, you little bitch.

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In the West and other parts of the world that didn't receive the wrath of the Mongols they are actually admired for their awesome military acheivements.

Just like Nazi Germany is admired in some parts of the world because they took on rest of the world powers and pretty much put an end to most of the colonial empires.



~Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes~

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