《 Sauvignon Blanc 》
On July 8, 2024, the second season of the highly anticipated TV series "Sauvignon Blanc" was launched. Before the broadcast, the male protagonist Xuanxuan's plot drama was a highlight. The background of the story is set in the wilderness, where the three kingdoms of Xiyan, Chenrong, and Haoling stand at the same level. Xuanxuan is the grandson of the king of Xiyan and was sent to Haoling when he was young. Ling Kingdom served as a hostage, and later Xingxuan returned to Xiyan Kingdom to obtain the throne, and determined to unify the wilderness. But after the series was aired, his political ambitions were criticized by the audience as "relying on his wife, relying on his sister, relying on his brother-in-law"... The implication is that political intrigue is child's play.
In the scenes that have been aired, Xuanxuan, as the King of Xiyan, wants to move the capital. Although most of the courtiers find it difficult to support this proposal, he easily wins their support by cooking a meal from his hometown... …In this process, the audience cannot see his strategy and ambition at all. The creator of
envisioned Xuanxuan as having a "calm personality", which was shown by enduring the humiliation of marrying a woman he didn't like in order to be reconciled to his wife; his "cruelty" was shown by saying a sentence after the death of Fangfeng Bei, the son of the Fangfeng family, one of the four major clans. "It is not a pity to die for a mere bastard"; as for "acting firmly" is even more difficult to see. It can be seen that the simplified Machiavellian drama not only makes the plot illogical, but also directly affects the shaping of the characters.
Not long ago, the popular " Mo Yuyunjian " and "Hua Hua Nian" were also criticized by the audience for not being able to withstand scrutiny. The continuous bad reviews highlight the current plight of costume idol dramas: Machiavellian dramas have gradually become a background for the male and female protagonists to fall in love. The Machiavellian plot cannot withstand careful consideration, and even directly affects the sweetness of the audience's "CP".
Some netizens summarized the overused plot in ancient puppet plot dramas: the villain has an affair with a foreign enemy in order to usurp the throne, but in fact the plot has been seen through by the protagonist group, and the protagonist group planned to kill the villain at the last moment and catch him off guard, so as to obtain the victory. Superior power. This routine can not only take the villain offline and promote the development of the plot, but also create a perfect image of the protagonist who is not greedy for fame and wealth, but only rises to power for the sake of the country and the people.
Indeed, this kind of Machiavellian writing method is a common routine in many ancient puppet dramas adapted from Internet novels. Many Machiavellian stories in Internet novels are also mostly tinkered with on this basis. Machiavellianism is the "career line" of the protagonist. On the one hand, it extends the narrative, and on the other hand, it also gives highlights to the characters, gradually becoming the "Taiwan Balm Element" in ancient puppet dramas.
But the real Machiavellian plot corresponds to the operating rules of the real world and the psychology and actions of living characters. The lack of creative ambition and imagination in this regard is the fundamental reason why Machiavellian dramas cannot withstand scrutiny.
In fact, power plot dramas were once the strong point of domestic dramas. "Yongzheng Dynasty" (1999) and "Ming Dynasty 1566" (2007) are both enduring masterpieces. So why is the classic worth watching again and again, and what similar shortcomings do today’s plot dramas have?
"Yongzheng Dynasty"
The plotting of power became the plotting element in ancient puppet dramas
The plotting of plotting in ancient puppet dramas actually inherited from the early serious costume dramas and palace fighting dramas. "Yongzheng Dynasty", which set a CCTV ratings record, was launched in 1999, followed closely by " Kangxi Dynasty " and " Qianlong Dynasty ". These were also called "imperial dramas" at the time. The focus of the plots was on showing content such as court struggles, heir apparents, and power plots. They profoundly influenced the aesthetic taste of popular culture in the millennium. The "Nine Sons Seizing the Progeny" in "Yongzheng Dynasty" had a profound influence on the later ancient puppet dramas that were not historical dramas. For example, in "Bu Bu Jing Xin" with time-travel elements, the heroine's emotional clues are related to the Nine Sons Seizing the Progeny. story lines unfold simultaneously.
Policy is inseparable from the palace environment. The so-called harem of the former dynasty, and the characters involved in the plot are naturally related to the harem. Here I have to mention the rise of palace battle dramas. "The Golden Branch" broadcast by TVB in 2004 is recognized as the pioneer of palace battle dramas. TV dramas showing concubines fighting each other for favor and power became an official category.
In 2009, TVB broadcast "The Palace's Scheming", and then "The Beauty's Scheming " and "The Palace Locked Heart" were successively broadcast in the mainland, setting off the craze of "Gongdou Drama"."The Legend of Zhen Huan", which was broadcast in 2011, is considered by the audience to be the pinnacle of palace dramas. However, many of the so-called "big heroine" scenes after that were still written in the "Wu Zetian" style of the female emperor, and the intrigues and palace battles are inextricably linked.
Although they all focus on interpersonal relationships, palace fighting is different from political intrigue. The environment of palace fighting is a closed space, and the essence is that the concubines strive to survive within limited resources, while the plot drama involves court battles, foreign invasions, and rebellions... Although they all involve struggle, the physical space of the plot story is inherently It is much larger than the physical space of Gongdou.
With the gradual decline of serious historical dramas and the disappearance of palace fighting dramas, these types of TV dramas have almost disappeared from the mainstream TV drama market, but the dramatic conflicts caused by writing "fighting with others" have not disappeared in costume dramas.
Ancient puppet drama is a branch of costume drama, which refers to costume dramas with the core of idol drama. Most of the actors are handsome men and beautiful women, and the main plot of the story is mostly about love. Before 1998, costume dramas were basically traditional dramas adapted from historical dramas, classics and mythological stories.
"Huan Zhu Ge Ge" broadcast in 1998 is considered to be the first ancient puppet drama. The subsequent broadcasts such as "Marrying the Right Man in the Wrong Sedan Chair" and " Oolong in Love" are also ancient puppet dramas that are different from historical dramas. drama. After 2005, the number of fairy tale and fantasy costume dramas began to increase gradually, and most of them were adapted from online novels. The most famous one is "Legend of Sword and Fairy" broadcast in 2005, which launched the genre of fairy tales and ancient puppets, but it did not form a large scale at the time.
After 2010, with the development of online video platforms, the broadcast position of dramas has also shifted from TV stations to video platforms. The change of channels also means the replacement of audiences, and the number of ancient puppet dramas that are more suitable for young people has grown explosively. . The broadcast of "Bu Bu Jing Xin" in 2011 triggered a wave of ancient puppet drama "traveling through the Qing Palace" craze. The official debut of the fairy tale drama was " Ancient Sword and Legend " which became popular across the Internet after it was aired in 2014. The popularity of " Flower Thousand Bones " aired in 2019 further boosted the popularity of the fairy tale theme in film and television dramas. Popularity in the market.
As a result, ancient puppets have gradually differentiated into two types, one is the immortal ancient puppets, and the other is what the audience calls the "down-to-earth ancient puppets." In the concept of most viewers, "land-based ancient puppet drama" mostly refers to ancient puppet dramas that use less special effects to distinguish them from ancient puppet dramas that rely on special effects to promote the plot. The background of the story is either a real dynasty in history or an imaginary dynasty.
In ancient idol dramas, the male protagonist’s identity is mostly that of a prince or general, and “carrying out a career” must be inseparable from court struggles; and even in idol dramas, the plots are mostly about seizing the imperial palace and turning into a series of plots, and the focus is on When it comes to interpersonal relationships, it implies the value of resource worship, paying attention to camps, who sides with whom, and who gets what benefits. This is the inheritance of ancient costume dramas and palace battle dramas.
And the emotional model of the male and female protagonists is just a variation of "the overbearing president falls in love with me". With the male protagonist's identity as a prince, general, and prime minister, the female protagonist's identity becomes more and more noble. This is the "love between dragons and dragons" that makes the current audience tired. In order to set off the difficulty of starting a career and falling in love, the plot of "fighting with others" is naturally needed, so "villains with low origins" and "evil female supporting characters frame the heroine" have become common creative ideas. The ancient costume conspiracy drama that had previously stalled The palace fighting dramas have gradually become the elements of intrigue and house fighting in ancient puppet dramas.
One more thing, for the negative side of Tianlong Ren, you can refer to "Huan Zhuge Ge" broadcast in 1998. From today's point of view, "Huanzhugege" is a standard ancient puppet drama, telling the love story between a grassroots heroine and a prince and aristocrat, and the fifth prince and Erkang, who are princes and nobles, are not idols nowadays. The typical "tyrannical CEO" image in the play is actually the role of a partner in a marriage in modern society with a concept of equality.
"The Legend of Zhen Huan"
Machiavellianism is not the protagonist. Golden Finger
Machiavellian scenes in ancient puppet dramas are often to increase the charm of the male protagonist's character.The generation of viewers who have grown up with Internet literature often wants the male protagonist to be "dark and cold", "courageous and resourceful", and they also want the male protagonist to be "angry and become a beauty", which is another routine of the "domineering president".
However, compared with the ancient costume power dramas broadcast in the early period, the plot dramas in ancient puppet dramas are closer to the palace fighting style. The soldiers, money, food, and people involved in the court battle are just a line of dialogue between the characters, and the specific operation of the material world is never considered, as if the resources used for political intrigue are inexhaustible.
Take "Nirvana in Fire" (2015), which is famous for its plotting, as an example. Someone asked a question online: Why is the plotting in "Nirvana in Fire" so trivial? One of the top comments was, "The screenwriter doesn't understand what a hundred thousand troops mean, nor does he understand what kind of blow it would be to a separatist regime if an entire elite army of 70,000 people were wiped out? Mei Changsu (the male protagonist) has such a clever plan. , but the whole play cannot see where the money for his plan comes from, and how he recruits the troops. "
This actually highlights the narrative focus of a "real-life" conspiracy drama - not to show how omniscient and omnipotent the protagonist is. strategy, but to show how the protagonist arranges his troops under the condition of limited resources and information, and adjusts his decision-making based on the new information obtained.
How to collect taxes, how to support 100,000 soldiers, and how much it costs to replace an official... all need to be written according to the operating logic of real society, rather than wiping out 70,000 elite soldiers with a wave of a hand, or thinking about it. Replace a general with one move. "Nirvana in Fire" lacks the characterization of these links, and the strategy is reduced to paper talk. Mei Changsu is just a Tianlong male protagonist with a golden finger. This is not a Machiavellian plot but a Machiavellian story.
Here you might as well take a look at the power plot drama in "The Ming Dynasty 1566" that has been praised by the audience. The political strategy involves "the country, the country, the country, and the people of the world", so it must have something to do with the country and the people. Take the "disaster relief" section that almost appears in costume dramas. A county has suffered a natural disaster, how many people have been affected, how to relieve the people, where the disaster relief money will come from, whether the disaster-stricken county will be exempted from taxes, and the resulting deficit in the coming year. How should we make up for it? It will bring about conflicts of interest.
All characters in "Ming Dynasty 1566" have their own plans for disaster relief, and the choices they make are based on human nature and personal interests and values. As for who is in the same camp, it is even secondary. Through disaster relief, some people want to be promoted, some want to save their lives, and some want to make money. Different people make different actions, and each person leads to a different fate because of their own choices. They are not just a pawn in the protagonist's strategy. The audience will Empathize with their changing fortunes.
It is these details and vivid characters that show the political ecology and social environment at that time. This is the "implementation" of the conspiracy. The reason why the audience finds it interesting is essentially that the content reflects the operating rules of the real world and makes people feel sad.
"Nirvana in Fire"
Let's look at the "disaster relief" in the ancient puppet drama. The function is only to allow the protagonist to "do meritorious service". As for how the money for disaster relief will be provided and who will provide it, there is no explanation at all. The so-called country, country, people and common people have become nothing more than a dry slogan from the protagonist's mouth. It's not just saying "for the sake of the common people" that takes the moral high ground. A few words cannot stand up to careful consideration. Of course, the actions of the characters in the plot are also needed.
At the imperial financial meeting, officials from all parties were arguing over the loss of four million taels of silver, but the male protagonist in the Machiavellian novel did not have to pay any price for his strategy. The audience only had to take the role of the protagonist and experience his IQ crushing others. Pleasure is all that matters, and the same principle holds true for the heroine's home-fighting novels. Especially with the support of the protagonist's "unforgettable plan" setting, the little characters in every plan are tool men, and the audience cannot see their actions and the motives behind them.
The creators of Machiavellian articles lack descriptions of the political ecology, national operating order and human nature. They purely write about "fighting", how the strategies are linked together, and how wonderful the strategies are. However, this is contrary to reality - —The more people involved in a strategy, the greater the risk.But this is undoubtedly an extremely clever way of writing - the plot is compact and the pace is fast. It is no wonder that most of the plots the audience sees are factional struggles, plots turning into fraud and interpersonal strife. These superficial strategic struggles are essentially another form of palace fighting.
A positive example is " Royal Gift Xiaodu Works " broadcast in 2021. It is an ancient puppet and also has a powerful role, but the screenwriter firmly grasps the three points of money, soldiers and news, starting from "The Great Tang Dynasty" "The accidental death of an official" and then "King Chang raises an army", the little people involved in each link of the conspiracy have their own desires, and the logic of action can also withstand scrutiny, which undoubtedly makes the conspiracy fall to the ground. The male protagonist is not omniscient and omnipotent, he makes mistakes and suffers. The characters can stand, and so can the strategies.
But there are too few ancient puppet shows with plots and characters like this. There are more and more leading actors like Mei Changsu with golden fingers. It has to be said that compared with the serious costumed conspiracy dramas of more than 20 years ago, the plot, vision and character's mind of the Machiavellian novel are much narrower.
Southern People Weekly Contributing Writer Ding Hui
Editor-in-Chief Yang Jingru
