Author: Lu Peng
is adapted from a big IP and has the blessing of traffic stars who are close to successful dramas. Therefore, although it was launched silently, the highly anticipated Xianxia drama " Agarwood is like crumbs ", but I never thought about it because of "ugly" "And frequent hot searches. The so-called ugly of
is the most direct and intuitive experience and feeling of TV drama audiences. Specifically, such as the old-fashioned and procrastination of the plot content, the dry and thin characters, and the exaggerated and cheap special effects. where the pitfalls" are located. After careful calculation, the audience's complaints do not seem to be very mean, and these obvious failures may all stem from the lack of "Xianxia flavor" in "Agarwood".
"Xian" as the means, "Xia" as the purpose: Xianxia drama as a type of graft Not really soon. Xianxia drama should be a type of fusion and grafting of god/fairy drama and martial arts drama, or it can be said to be a new sub-genre development of martial arts drama. Although the Gayin/Xianwei drama is a type of TV series, its output is very small and it is not the hot spot of production and creation; while the martial arts drama has developed to a certain time and stage, the innovation is unsustainable, and the audience's interest is unsustainable. Transfer and change, coupled with the support of many Xianxia online literary works at the source of creation, have made more imaginative Xianxia dramas that combine the characteristics of god/fairy dramas and martial arts dramas to emerge. Since
is a type of grafting or fusion, for TV dramas, its essential characteristics as a type are reflected in its "Xianxia flavor". Therefore, the TV series that can grasp the core of Xianxia to some extent are mostly successful TV series, such as " Hua Qiangu ", " Chen Xiyuan ", " Fragrant Honey Ashes Like Frost ", " Liuli" " is the same. The so-called "Xianxia flavor" here can be regarded as the "emotional structure" invented by Raymond Williams, and it can also be regarded as the so-called "subject perception" by Judith Butler. It can also be understood as Althusser's "inquiry" to the subject, or the progression between the three. The reason why
quoted the views of the three scholars is to explain theoretically that, as a TV drama audience, the evaluation of whether the drama is good or not is actually the work of the TV drama and its embeddedness, but they may not be aware or aware of it. The result of the match degree of cultural genes. Therefore, from this point of view, a good TV series is the satisfaction of the audience's self-knowledge, emotion, desire and even imagination and "culture". The more satisfaction, the more "good-looking" the TV series will be.
For Xianxia dramas, "Xian" represents the expectation of being born in traditional Chinese culture and breaking away from the fireworks of the world; and "Xia" represents the expectation of actively joining the WTO and walking in the arena of happiness and enmity. The two seem to be contradictory, but in fact, they both combine to achieve the imagination of universal ideals with the ability that ordinary people do not have. The goodness shown by the immortals to the "devil", and "the great man is for the country and the people; the lesser man is for friends and neighbors", which is replaced by "the great is to help the world, and the poor are good for themselves". The standard of behavior of a gentleman is essentially the highest pursuit of the ideal of personality in Chinese culture. Therefore, for the Xianxia drama, its Xianxia core should use the means of "Xianxia" to achieve the goal of "Xiaxia". Only by grasping and cultivating at this level can we hit the emotional structure of the audience, let the subject gain perception and call out the "subject" of the audience, thus forming an emotional resonance with the TV series.
However, as a fairy-tale drama, "Agarwood is like crumbs" just did not grasp this main core well, so that the fairy-men of the TV series, whether it is a story or a character, cannot satisfy the audience's apparent or potential cognition and understanding. Feelings, so that failure - not good-looking - also becomes inevitable.
Inheritance is old, innovation is too clumsy: The failure of Xianxia narrative in "Agarwood is like crumbs"
How did the main core of Xianxia drama disappear from "Agarwood like crumbs"? The innovation and breakthrough of
genre dramas has always been a difficult thing. The reason is that the so-called genre stipulates certain production routines and viewing expectations, which are the needs of the genre market; innovation means breaking the comfort zone of creation, challenging not only the existing program of creation, but also the viewing habits and expectations of the audience. . However, the constant repetition of the same formula will inevitably cause the audience to experience aesthetic fatigue and affect the viewing effect. Therefore, the normal practice is to make small-scale changes on the basis of inheriting the characteristics of genre dramas.
"Agarwood is like crumbs" because the pearls and jade are in the front, so it inherits the inherent routines of the fairy tales, such as the battle between the fairy and the devil, the emotional entanglement of several generations of love, etc., but the story is inherited too straightforward and similar. It seems to lack at least creative sincerity. In the innovation section, the core of "Xianxia flavor", which is the most important part of Xianxia dramas, is lost in both form and interior.
First of all, the TV series treats "immortal" dramas as "human" dramas. According to the existing creations in China, Xianxia dramas can be mainly divided into two sub-types, one is the cultivation of immortals, that is, the protagonist is a person who cultivates to become an immortal, and the other is to tell the story of an immortal. Scrap" is the latter. But in either case, it is emphasized that the characters in the story are different from "people" and manifest in specific life and emotions. In life, if our cognition and imagination of immortals are not human beings, hungry and thirsty for food and dew, and the higher-level ones are nectar and jade dew, and even if there is a real comparison in the world, it is Pantaoyuan Peach. However, "Agarwood is like crumbs" eats egg fried rice, cucumbers and chicken legs in the heaven, and there is no "immortal spirit". If this kind of human life in terms of food and clothing expenses can be forgiven, then the emotional downgrading of "immortal" to "human" is even more clumsy. Like all Xianxia dramas that set the premise that love is not allowed, but the male and female protagonists have emotions, "Agarwood is like crumbs" cannot break through its genre constraints. However, the immortal forgetfulness is not just love, but the extreme increase in the threshold of emotions in various aspects such as joy, anger, sadness, etc., or the abandonment of seven emotions and six desires. Therefore, the sorrow and jealousy of the immortal as an individual should be rare. However, the TV series tries to exaggerate the "human" side of the characters in the play. For example, the male protagonist Ying Yuan drinks on the roof in annoyance and sorrow, the female three Ying Deng are jealous and narrow-minded, as well as the philistines and even all kinds of provocation and gossip. The way of dealing with house fighting and palace fighting or real life dramas, so the form and spirit are all out of the "fairy chivalrous flavor".
Secondly, the relationship between characters and the structure of the story deviate from the "Xianxia flavor". Although the image of Xianxia is a symbol of freedom and splendor, it is framed within the broad scope of the Three Realms or the Six Realms, and hierarchy and order should be the necessary premise and foundation, otherwise it will take care of the common people, eradicate demons, and protect the Three Realms. The inner requirements of "chivalry" cannot be implemented, and the root of the entire drama's existence is gone. "Agarwood is like crumbs" seems to inherit some rank and order, but these rank and order may be turned into personal charm - such as the love of the fairies to Yuan, or these orders and ranks may be treated as separate affairs - such as The immortal servants in Yingyuan Palace can only deal with it, etc., and Huo De's constant challenge to Yingyuan's mess is like a joke.
If the above is the setting for the plot and conflict, and it is forgivable as a detail that has nothing to do with the overall situation, then the shaping of the protagonist character will highlight the problem. In
Xianxia dramas, men are strong and women are weak, and the strange images of female protagonists are not uncommon before, such as " Eternal Juechen ", "Sweet Honey as Frost", "Liu Li", etc., all of which are set in this way , is also reflected on the basis of hierarchy and order, and the needs of characters such as rebellion and resistance are the performance of 's dramatic conflict and 's genre innovation. However, Yan Dan, the heroine of "Agarwood is like crumbs", in the play shows the quirky and eccentric as no big or small, no brains, no matter whether it is trouble or resistance, it is not because of the naive romantic elves in their nature. It's because of his ignorance of etiquette, reckless behavior, and lack of education. This is not an eccentric fairy, but a rebellious and homeless girl in a real life drama. Not only that, in the entire story structure process, whether it is the narrative of the supporting characters or the construction of the protagonist's image, they are all out of the rules and requirements of "immortals", and they cannot justify themselves full of loopholes, so as to stay away from "immortal chivalrous flavor".
Finally, the spiritual core of the TV series deviates from the "Xianxia flavor". As mentioned above, Xianxia dramas can be regarded as a fusion of god/fairy dramas and martial arts dramas, and can also be regarded as a new variation of martial arts dramas under the aesthetics and imagination of the new era. Therefore, the spiritual core of martial arts dramas is also the spiritual core of Xianxia dramas, and "Xian" is actually a means of realizing a new form of "Xia", thus expanding the depth of "Xia" and the time-space scope of its implementation. The chivalrous spirit in martial arts can emphasize its freedom and even more emphasis on its own doing. The former requires gradual growth and awakening. However, for the immortals who are higher than people, the spirit of the "chivalrous" as the superior should be self-conscious and self-conscious. In comparison, judging that the male protagonist's responsibility to protect the common people in the six worlds in "Agarwood is like crumbs" is an external endowment and imposition, which actually makes the whole TV series' conception and value.It is weak and deviated from the foundation. On this basis, the emotions of the hero and heroine, and the logical structure of the conflict between the fairy and the devil, all seem specious. This is why the audience feels that the storyline is old and unreasonable. Tired.
observes the production and creation of Xianxia dramas from a limited future. The combination of big IP and traffic stars will still be a trend. Absorbing the essence of existing types and adapting to the market's changes and adjustments to certain types of elements will also be a trend. inevitable action. However, for the production and creation of Xianxia dramas, we must first grasp the core and requirements of genre dramas, and on this basis, we must respect the audience's aesthetics and culture. Only in this way, it is possible to make the TV series a success and achieve a double victory in word of mouth and ratings.
(The author is director and researcher of the Research Center for Film and Television Culture and Audio-Visual Communication, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences)
Source: Wen Wei Po
