The shaping of characters can not only promote the development of the plot, but also reflect the ideological theme of the film, which is an important aspect of film creation.
reviews Chinese youth films, many of which are based on telling the life of the protagonists in the context of the times, thereby setting off the characteristics of the times.
such as " Road Angel " and "Cross Street" in the 1930s and 1940s, "Song of Youth" in the 1950s and 1960s, "Lushan Love" and "Small Street" in the 1980s, and "Sunny Days" in the 1990s ", until the beginning of the 21st century, elite culture was replaced by mass culture, which made youth movies reflect the distinctive features of nostalgia and carnival.
The youth films since 2017 focus on the inner world of the youth group. The content dilutes the social background and focuses on the growth experience of the youth. Through the expression of social reality, it explores the difficulties encountered by the youth in the growth process, and the rationale effective solution.
tends to be stylized in character creation, that is, when creating characters, they are more inclined to be independent, real and touching, and have the power to promote the rational development of the story.
has created many typical characters with both commonality, universality, personality and particularity in a typical environment. Following the laws of individual physical and mental development, we can know that there are individual differences in the growth of boys and girls. There are two types of youth movies in the current youth movies, one is the youth who are forced to grow up under resistance and compromise, and the other is the youth who grow up actively under the confusion and impulse.
Rebellious and compromised female images
In the past youth films, the growth of women was rarely the focus of the narrative. The female image exists in the film as the character image of the victim to satisfy the male imagination, thereby presenting typical images such as cowardice, helplessness, and humbleness.
For example, Zheng Wei in "To Youth" was abandoned by Lin Jing and Chen Xiaozheng successively; Li Bala in "Left Ear" had a car accident for Zhang Yang ....
is different from the past. The change of female roles in youth films since 2017 is the most obvious. Female directors such as Wen Yan , Luoluo , Chen Yushan , Zheng Fenfen have given female teenagers more The right to speak.
Rebellion and compromise are the characteristics of the characters in most youth movies, because at this time, teenagers are in the rebellious period of growth, their bodies and minds are immature, and it is easy to have a rebellious mentality, and even cause serious consequences.
In the contradictory process of resistance and compromise, teenagers have also completed their own growth. By shaping the image of women who are forced to compromise after resistance, it highlights the growth dilemma of contemporary teenagers, which also makes youth films more and more favored by female audiences in recent years. Xiaomi, a 15-year-old homeless girl in
" Carnival ", holds evidence that two junior high school students were sexually assaulted. At first, she hoped to take this opportunity to make money and change the embarrassing situation, but the cruelty of reality made her lose more than her gains. key evidence.
When she had to sell her body to make a living, the criminal was finally brought to justice, and Xiaomi finally chose to escape. When Yi Yao was bullied and isolated in " Sadness Against the River ", he was enlightened by the male protagonist Gu Senxi , and he also took off the bubblegum stuck to his hair and stuck it back on the bully's head; he was smashed by a volleyball She smashed her head back in the same way, and resisted by spraying water at the person who abused her with a hose. It can be seen from
that Yi Yao is not cowardly. Although she speaks loudly, she still dares to vent her anger to bullies, accuse bystanders of inaction, and finally choose to prove her innocence by jumping into the sea in the most tragic way.
became a "murderer", the classmates came to their senses, and the tragic collective growth ceremony was completed. The heroine Chen Nian in
" as a teenager", she helped the deceased to cover the clothes but kept silent to the police; she could not protect herself but helped Liu Beishan to call the police...
Chen Nian faced the conflict between violence and injustice And helplessness makes this figure represent most of the teens. These people are not used to the many injustices in life, but they do not have the courage and ability to challenge the powerful forces, and present a complex and contradictory state.
For Chen Nian and Yi Yao's character image settings, the audience may not feel the same way, but it will definitely produce empathy . This kind of real feeling inspired by the protagonist's thoughts and thoughts in the face of suffering and injustice is inseparable in the current domestic youth movies.
In addition, there is a category of films in which the female image achieves success by actively resisting real problems. For example, although the girl Xiao Huang in " " is pure and naive, she has great imagination and creativity.
In order to meet the so-called "mother", Xiao Huang was disgusted by the teachers and classmates in the school. Just as the dream was about to come true, "mother" Zheng Xiuwen came forward to disintegrate Xiao Huang's beliefs, and the decadent Xiao Huang was in his father and With the help of friends, her fighting spirit is rekindled, this time for all those who love her. The heroine Chen Jing in
" Flash Girl " dares to challenge authority and break stereotypes. The object of her confession disliked her as a student of Chinese folk music. In order to prove that folk music is still valuable, they gathered students from this major to conduct a "folk music defense battle", showing the young people's adherence to traditional Chinese virtues and culture. The power unleashed by the female characters emphasized in youth films such as
also guides the values and outlook on life of young audiences, and softens the cruelty in the film.
Adolescents, as independent living individuals, have distinct personalities, which include positive cheerfulness, optimism, freedom, etc., as well as negative chaotic, noisy, eccentric and so on.
Many people abandoned this personality in the process of growing up to meet the expectations of their parents or those around them. This is the saddest thing about growing up as a teenager.
Confused and impulsive male image
In the growth process of teenagers, confusion and impulsiveness are also common character states. While the current youth movies focus on portraying female characters, male images are often weakened and softened, showing a state of confusion and impulsiveness, and even become an image of being sacrificed by women.
A weakened, softened male image. Although Luo Xiaoyi is a little gangster in "Teacher Good", he does not have too many scenes of fighting, but does a lot of heart-warming things, buying ice cream for the class teacher's children and donating money for friends' medical treatment.
was being framed for puppy love, and he was just bluffing and did not take revenge. " Five Swimming Boys " started from a misunderstanding and established the men's synchronized swimming team. The team spirit finally successfully completed the performance, and gradually established the sportsmanship of "tenacious fighting and brave struggle". The spirit of
sports and the promotion of the main theme convey an exciting power.
" gives you a little red flower ", the "mourning" teenager Wei Yihang, as a brain cancer patient, has been giving up on himself, and finally completed the "final" of Wei Yihang's growth with the death of his friend Ma Xiaoyuan. One lesson", he began to face life positively, face relatives and friends. Figures of men sacrificed (for) women.
Liu Beishan in "Youth as a Teen" is willing to go to jail for Chen Nian's crime. In the film, Liu Beishan was pressed to the ground by the police, shot in close-up, his face is deformed and smiling, and his eyes are clear and firm, which makes the audience better understand that he is sacrificing himself in exchange for Chen Nian's freedom.
also used a lot of hand-held and close-up shots in the film, focusing on conveying the tension of the picture to the audience, making the audience feel the tension and depression of school violence.
The image style of 's violent aesthetics is to measure and criticize the real growth dilemma of contemporary teenagers with an aesthetic height, and thus achieve the effect of moral education for teenagers.
In youth movies, the ideas and practices of teenagers idealizing, unconventional, challenging tradition and authority may be funny or even absurd, but there is a line that says it right: "We won't do it, but they will, because they are still Teenagers."
is because they are young, they dare to act, dare to fight, dare to act recklessly, without any scruples. This "young and frivolous" state describes the style of behavior in adolescence, but it is also an attitude that people lack when they grow up.
