A still from Peggy Sue Got Married Photo: CFP

A still from Goodbye Mr Loser Photo: CFP

On Thursday, when the producers of Goodbye Mr Loser broke the 1-billion-yuan threshold a 29-year-old movie made thousands of miles away was probably the farthest thing from their minds. Their jubilation, however, came to an abrupt end when a movie critic called Wenbai said the film was a "copycat" of Peggy Sue Got Married, a 1986 US movie by Francis Ford Coppola, arousing huge discussion.

While domestic movies are occasionally accused of plagiarism, so much so that people kind of get used to hearing such charges, it is easy for audiences to buy Wenbai's accusation, particularly for people who have not watched Peggy Sue Got Married.

Mahua FunAge Production, the company behind the movie, is making great efforts to prove their innocence, including legal means. They also posted a statement, explaining that their inspiration is from a post on tianya.cn contemplating what would happen if one wakes up to find himself sitting in a high school classroom.

Well, the easiest way to clear doubts before the legal result comes out is probably to watch the two movies and compare.

Personal investigation

Wenbai's post said that Goodbye Mr Loser copied Peggy Sue Got Married scene by scene. The movie critic listed the suspected scenes, the beginning, how they traveled back in time, their reaction when they found themselves in a different time, and so on. Whether it is deliberate or not, the screenshots he chose and his captions could lead people to think that the two are similar in several ways.

I could not help feeling a bit disappointed. Even if Goodbye Mr Loser is not a landmark comedy, its reputation makes many see some hope for original domestic work. I guess many would share my feeling. It is just too easy to buy into the idea that domestic movies are copies.

In spite of his examples, it appeared a bit far-fetched to me. I was a little suspicious because Goodbye Mr Loser has been out for several years now, and no one complained.

I found Peggy Sue Got Married online and watched it.

As I watched, my distinct impression was that they are two different works, but still I stopped from time to time to recollect the scenes in Goodbye Mr Loser and compare. I tried to find the similarities Wenbai listed. But I failed. As far as I could see, the two movies do fall into the same genre. They are both time travel movies and inevitably share similar frames like the hero's travel back in time and his return to the present but this has been done in numerous other movies in the same genre. Besides that, there's nothing in common when it comes to details like the characters, the storyline, or even the theme of the movie, except for maybe that they both travel back to high school.

After watching the movie, I found that Wenbai's comparison now looked rather far fetched. The scenes he chose and his introduction seemed to be a deliberate attempt to get the audience to agree that Goodbye Mr Loser is a copycat film, to be frank. Following that logic, all movies of the same genre could be cited as copycats.

Audiences matter

But obviously I was among only a few netizens who bothered watching unsubtitled Peggy Sue Got Married before uttering an opinion. On Sina Weibo, a majority of the netizens are following the crowd, showing support without principles and rational thought.

To say nothing of the ordinary viewer, it is ironic to see that even many zilaishui fans (voluntary recommenders) for this movie have changed their stance after reading Wenbai's article. "Oh, ok, no wonder it looks good," they wrote on Sino Weibo, accusing Goodbye Mr Loser without even watching Peggy Sue Got Married.

On the other end of the spectrum are netizens who are casual enough to say that "copycat or not, I like it. That's enough." Others posted "What's wrong with plagiarism as long as it looks nice?" showing their irresponsible attitude toward plagiarism and an obvious lack of consciousness about copyright infringement.

The lack of calm judgment from viewers is probably one reason Wenbai's accusation, warranted or not, has created such an uproar. Without their own judgment, many netizens/audiences are too easily influenced and led.

Particularly in today's film industry, plagiarism is so serious a charge that such accusations can immediately and effectively kill a film. In the case of Goodbye Mr Loser, it would be worthy of applause if the movie is indeed a copycat film; but it would be rather regrettable if it is wronged.

Mahua FunAge is taking the legal route to solve the problem. While waiting for the result, it is probably a good time for audiences to reflect. As terminal of the film production, the audience plays a significant role in forming a benign environment for movies. They could help form a more mature film market if they would learn to be on the alert for cases of copyright infringement while at the same time becoming more informed so that they can make up their own minds.