In August this year, the popularity and broadcast volume of the micro-short drama "Flash Marriage My Wife Is a Rich Family" became popular after it was launched, allowing practitioners to see the huge potential of middle-aged and elderly themes. However, a large number of micro-s

In August this year, the popularity and play volume of the micro-short drama "Flash Marriage My Wife Is a Rich Family" became popular after it was launched, allowing practitioners to see the huge potential of middle-aged and elderly themes.

However, a large number of micro-short dramas with the same theme emerged subsequently. Not only were their contents obviously plagiarized, but they also contained a lot of exaggerated and vulgar content. Topics such as #国产小剧 already crazy# were frequently searched for.

Recently, multiple platforms and short drama production organizations have received management tips from the Network Audiovisual Department of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. This reminder affirms the positive side of middle-aged and elderly-themed micro-short dramas that meet the emotional needs of middle-aged and elderly people. It also mentions that some micro-short dramas deliberately create conflicts and design bloody plots to attract attention, and deliver content that goes against the trend of the times and is not in line with the spirit of the times. Values ​​have triggered public concerns about the addiction of middle-aged and elderly people and the harvest of micro-short dramas. At the same time, the creation of micro-short plays on the theme of middle-aged and elderly people is proposed to "reverse the stereotyped creative tendency of the 'evil mother-in-law' and 'evil grandma' that emphasizes sons over daughters, greed for money and calculation, vicious and overbearing", "reverse the tendency of deliberately creating conflicts and tearing apart values" "Creative Tendency" requires "reversing the creative tendency that excessively marginalizes and stereotypes the images of middle-aged and elderly people."

A reporter from Red Star News noticed that before this, many micro-short dramas with exaggerated content about middle-aged and elderly people have been removed from the shelves. How to deal with micro-short dramas about middle-aged and elderly people with great potential?

"Wealthy Wife " mass-produces

micro-short dramas with middle-aged and elderly themes, which were originally not so "crazy".

For example, the first batch of "Flash Marriage My Wife Is a Rich Family" was aired. The drama tells the story of a single mother, Shi Xiaoxiu, who was rejected by her daughter-in-law's family after her son started a family. During the low period of her life, she accidentally saved a man named Lei Mengjie. The girl's life has been reversed. With Lei Mengjie's help, Shi Xiaoxiu went on a blind date with Lei Mengjie's father, Lei Zhiyuan, and soon got married. What Shi Xiaoxiu didn't know was that Lei Zhiyuan appeared to be an air-conditioning repairman, but was actually the chairman of a large local company.

It is undeniable that "Flash Marriage" still has the same routines and plots as those in micro-short dramas. For example, after the female protagonist is bullied in various ways, the male protagonist saves the beauty, and the plot focuses on a strong reversal and fast pace. , the characterization is relatively thin. However, the series mainly conveys truth, goodness and beauty. For example, Shi Xiaoxiu was able to go from being a single mother selling lunch boxes at a construction site to reaching the top of her life, mainly because of her kindness. She immediately took action to rescue the righteous daughter of the boss, and she only cared about filling the workers by selling box lunches... The relevant person in charge of Tinghua Island, the producer of the drama, once said that the real creative motive of this drama is to fill the film and television content The neglected “needs of middle-aged and elderly people” in ecology.

After "Flash Marriage My Wife Is a Rich Family" became popular, almost all micro-short drama practitioners are paying attention to the middle-aged and elderly market, which has become the biggest trend and trend in the micro-short drama industry this year. You can see similar dramas on various micro-short drama platforms. Most of the plots are about middle-aged people meeting the right people in various strange events and finally coming together.

An actress in a micro-short drama told reporters helplessly that she had become popular after starring in a micro-short drama about middle-aged and elderly people. After that, she received a large number of dramas with similar themes. Some of the scripts seemed to be hot spots at first glance. A little innovation, completely copying some micro-short dramas for middle-aged and elderly people out of the industry. Each drama has a plot, the protagonist changes his name and starts filming again.

A reporter from Red Star News noticed that a mini-series also had the title "Flash Marriage: My Wife Is a Rich Family", and the content was almost a replica of "Flash Marriage: My Wife Is a Rich Family", except that the heroine in the drama became a massage parlor worker, and the male The protagonist is still the boss of a large group, but he disguises himself as a security guard and goes on a blind date with the heroine and gets married. In terms of the content of the story, the heroine also saved the hero's daughter and went on a blind date with her father under her auspices. The heroine also has a useless son and an unruly and evil daughter-in-law. "Such following and plagiarism are too normal in the short drama industry." A screenwriter said that many times when a drama becomes popular, a production company will immediately request an identical script, just changing the character's occupation and name.

"Domestic short dramas have gone crazy"

In addition to plagiarism, more micro-short dramas with middle-aged and elderly themes have been completely liberalized in content, and a lot of eye-catching content has been added in order to pursue traffic. For example, in the popular "Flash Marriage, My Wife Loves Me", the opening chapter shows the female character deliberately trying to get close to the boss. During the filming, the entire camera was focused on the sexy actor.

In fact, before the administration’s management prompts came out, many middle-aged and elderly-themed dramas had been removed from the platform. For example, "The Return of the Cleaning Mom", which has caused heated discussions on the Internet, is currently no longer searchable on the Hongguo Short Drama app, with a prompt that "the series has been removed from the shelves."

"The Return of the Cleaning Mom" ​​tells the story of Zhao Fangfei, a hotel cleaner, who accidentally had a one-night stand with the boss. Afterwards, the boss learned that Zhao Fangfei was actually the richest middle-aged man in the world.

After the show was aired, it caused quite a controversy on the Internet. For example, at the beginning of the story, a woman drugged the boss to make the two of them "raw rice and cooked rice." After cleaning lady Zhao Fangfei kicked the woman out of the hotel room, she accidentally fell into the bathtub with the boss. After one night, Zhao Fangfei was wearing pajamas and said, "Young people are in good health." The plot is even more "ruining" for people. The boss insists on marrying Zhao Fangfei, who is 18 years older than her. After everyone meets, they find out that the boss's mother is her college classmate, and the boss's father also pursued her... …

It doesn’t matter whether the story makes sense or not, it only matters whether it is hot or not, whether it has gimmicks or not. With such an outrageous plot, it’s no wonder that many netizens complained on social media, “Domestic short dramas have gone crazy.”

"Silver-haired people" are willing to spend money

Despite the loud complaints from the outside world, there are still a large number of short dramas with middle-aged and elderly themes being created and broadcast on the market.

Micro-short dramas about middle-aged and elderly people are rapidly rising, and the logic behind them is actually not difficult to understand. According to the "54th Statistical Report on China's Internet Development Status" released by the China Internet Network Information Center in August this year, as of June 2024, there will be 7.42 million new Internet users in my country compared with December 2023. Among them, 50-59 years old , 60 years old and above accounted for 15.2% and 20.8% respectively. “Silver-haired people” have become a new force among netizens.

In May 2024, iResearch surveyed 1,022 micro-short drama users and also released the "2024 China Micro-Short Drama Industry Research Report". The report shows that users aged 40-59 account for 37.3% of micro-short drama users, and users aged 60 and above account for 12.1%; and the "Short Video Live E-commerce Development Insights" shows that users aged 41 and above on Douyin and Kuaishou account for 12.1%. Compared with 36.3%, users over 51 years old also accounted for 18.9%, 30% of whom have monthly online spending power of more than 2,000 yuan.

The middle-aged and elderly-themed drama series on the short drama platform

It is not difficult to see media reports. News such as "old people swiped their bank cards to top up their bank cards for short dramas" frequently appeared in hot searches. For many silver-haired people over the age of 60 who have ample time and are financially independent, short videos, mini-series, and live broadcasts have become important ways to pass the time and relieve loneliness. For this reason, the "Elderly Boss" mini-series, which focuses on the pain points of life, provides sufficient emotional value, reverses and progresses the rhythm, and provides a sense of virtual pleasure, has become increasingly popular.

Fu Guoshuai, a registered psychologist in clinical psychology of the Chinese Psychological Society, mentioned in an interview that the reason why micro-short dramas can "target" middle-aged and elderly people is first of all due to the relevance of the content. Micro-short dramas tailored for the elderly are based on the daily lives of ordinary people, with themes such as parental turmoil, family friendships, and workplace competition. The protagonists are basically elderly parents who silently sacrifice for their children. They are kind-hearted, live frugally, and middle-aged and elderly people can See yourself reflected in the play and resonate with it.

The needs of middle-aged and elderly people should be "seen" by the market

Muzi, a short drama practitioner, told the Red Star News reporter that after "Flash Marriage My Wife Is a Rich Family" became popular, similar short dramas about middle-aged and elderly people soon followed suit, but The consequence of following this trend is that the content becomes increasingly outrageous and the values ​​become outdated.Like "The Return of the Cleaning Mom", the boss in the play can casually say to Zhao Fangfei when she wakes up, "Here are 20 million, just consider it as compensation for you." Money and wealth are simply numbers and can be picked up at your fingertips. This kind of plot that puts money first, exaggerates the gap between rich and poor, objectifies women, and drugged people at every turn will inevitably have a negative impact on society. At the same time, it is also harmful to micro-short dramas that are gradually getting on the right track.

Muzi reluctantly told reporters that at present, with the removal of some drama series and the supervision of regulatory authorities, this subject should cool down. In her opinion, short dramas about middle-aged and elderly people have huge market potential. The needs of these middle-aged and elderly people should also be "seen" by the market, but what the audience wants to see is not suspended, exaggerated, and vulgar performances and plots. , but a work that can truly express the voices of middle-aged and elderly people and touch their hearts. For the entire micro-short drama industry, creators should calm down, correct their creative attitude, and tell good stories in a plain and vivid way. This is the only way to develop the market and industry.

A short drama practitioner said that the General Administration actually encourages the creation of micro-short dramas with middle-aged and elderly themes, but it also points out the direction, such as encouraging the creation of middle-aged and elderly characters who are kind and loving, wise and open-minded, brave and self-reliant, and getting older and stronger, and reverse outstanding performance. The typical creative tendency of "evil mother-in-law" and "evil grandma" who favor boys over girls, are greedy for money and calculation, and are vicious and overbearing. "If you step on these lightning points in creation, it may be difficult to broadcast. The short drama industry is taking the route of quality. Creators should still be based on reality and pay in-depth attention to the spiritual and cultural needs of middle-aged and elderly people, so that they can better reach the needs of the elderly. A vision for the future where people will be happy in their old age.”

Red Star News reporter Qiu Junfeng Editor Su Jing