Comments on the Report [1] Concerning the Public Screening and Organized Criticism of the Films “Jiangnan in the North” and “Early Spring in February”
(August 18, 1964)
These films should not only be shown in a few major cities but also in dozens to over a hundred medium-sized cities, so that this revisionist material can be made public.
It is possible that there are other films besides these two that also require criticism.
Mao Zedong
August 18
Chuan
In its report dated August 14, 1964, to the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee stated that “Jiangnan in the North” and “February” were two films with serious ideological errors.
Their common characteristics were the promotion of bourgeois theories of human nature and humanitarianism, sentimentality, the denial and distortion of class struggle, and a focus on portraying individuals in ambivalent positions as heroes of the times.
In order to eliminate erroneous viewpoints within the film and literary circles and to enhance the ideological awareness and critical thinking of literary and artistic workers as well as the general audience, it was proposed to publicly screen these two films in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and to launch discussions and critiques in the press.
During the screening, “February” was retitled “Early Spring in February.”
Following the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee, this campaign of criticism was subsequently repudiated.