Original title: "Hot Search": Looking back at the inner circle from the Internet world
If it is not intense, how can you get so many hundred thousand plus? This hot search-style questioning comes from the recently released movie "Hot Search". The film tells the story of a suicide case caused by cyberbullying. The person who was bullied at school jumped off a building. Chen Miao (played by Zhou Dongyu), the editor-in-chief of self-media, accidentally discovered the truth, and then used the power of public opinion to fight against capital and power, staging a difficult game of public opinion. war. The film is based on reality, confronts hot topics, and focuses on a series of Internet hot words such as traffic, topics, and hot searches in the Internet self-media era. Regardless of language expression or narrative techniques, it embodies the realism style and arouses public resonance and discussion.
The Silent Truth
An off-campus practice performance of the etiquette team sent the girl Zhang Xiaosui from the desk to the wine table, letting her step into the abyss. The moment the girls entered the charity school, they never expected that this would be a paradise for the rich to choose their concubines. Of course, the rich did not expect that an ordinary girl would refuse money after being sexually assaulted and try to prove her innocence in various ways until she died. They didn't even bother to think about what the heroine asked: Do you think raping a girl is a trivial matter? As public opinion ferments, online violence, sexual assault of young girls, manipulation of public opinion, and gray transactions gradually surface like bubbles. It seems to be getting closer to the truth, but it has become more complicated and confusing.
In 2020, the high-scoring online drama "The Silent Truth" also focused on girls who were sexually assaulted by powerful men. The network of interests behind them covered the truth in a huge darkness. In order to find the concealed facts, several groups of people paid a huge price and even risked their lives and their families were destroyed, and finally the truth came to light. The reason why this drama received high scores is not only due to the various suspense and reversals, but also the deep sense of powerlessness when facing the truth. This powerlessness intensifies the dramatic conflict and also touches the deepest feelings in the hearts of the audience. Sensitive nerves. The silent truth involves intricate interests. Is the truth itself more important, or is it more important to stick to your heart? This interrogation of the soul must be more inspiring to the audience, and is also the meaning of film and television works.
Compared with "The Silent Truth"'s in-depth interpretation of the innocence of injustice, the movie "Hot Search" is less probing and only touches on secrets that cannot be told. The film only focuses on depicting the excitement of the public opinion game and the success of the protagonist's halo, and pays less attention to the transfer of interests and capital control behind it.
Multi-faceted human nature
Flawed rescuers, silent onlookers, unlimited perpetrators, hypocritical and cowardly accomplices, victims trapped in fear, and compromised and helpless family members of the victims. The director connects the characters in the film through stories. The portraits of the characters are vividly outlined.
Chen Miao is an imperfect rescuer. From traffic first to speaking out for justice, she has a side that is eager for quick success. For example, she believes that self-media is not about writing what you want to write, but about writing what readers want to see, and capturing the most extreme clips. The lowest emotion. But she also has a righteous side. Compared with the timid onlookers, her lone heroic blood is like the waves in the stagnant water. The Justice League formed by Gong Wen (played by Wang Hao), Hu Qiao (played by Shi Rui), Wen Ni (played by Zhong Chenyao) and Chen Miao is not so much her allies, but rather every aspect of Chen Miao's personality outside of her own body: Keen, capable and persistent.
The unrestricted investor Yue Peng (played by Yuan Hong) is not only the spokesperson of capital and power, but also their puppet. The rich always hide behind the scenes, either behind glass or in vehicles.
When Yue Peng placed the capital increase agreement in front of Chen Miao, he had a condescending sense of superiority. He enjoyed the victory of controlling the puppet and felt that he was sure of victory and no one would have trouble with money. Indeed, doubling the capital increase is like a piece of fat and oily pork belly, which is full of temptation for the profit-heavy Chen Miao. At the same time, it is also a threat: either take the money and shut up, or refuse to get out. When the camera turned, Chen Miao clearly wrote silly X on the agreement. Chen Miao broke Yue Peng's understanding of money and power, and aroused the anger of the capital. The public opinion game between the two parties officially kicked off.
Yue Peng's heart is actually weak. At the end of the film, he secretly took a video of the rich having fun, which illustrates the darkness and the same nature of capital. The scene of the final meeting is set in the rain. In Yue Peng's eyes, their heavy blows turned Chen Miao into a drowned rat, so he said: He felt the collapse of his character.
Only when the character collapses can this battle be fought. It was a strategy for ancient counselors to enter the situation personally. In the film, due to the depth of the incident and the lack of roles of many people, many methods failed, so a desperate move was needed. Rain represents washing away dirt and gaining new life. The Internet is not a place outside the law, but it is a more cruel Shura field than a place within the law.
In addition, compared to the naked and unrestrained perpetrator, the silence of the onlookers and the connivance of the coward are more chilling, and it is even more tragic for the counselor to enter the situation personally.
Romantic Victory
In real life, the Internet has already penetrated into every field of life. From the beginning, the movie intensively lays out the Shura field of the Internet, and many scenes make the audience feel familiar. When the heroine Chen Miao made school bullying a hot topic, it aroused heated discussions among netizens and gave the audience a deep sense of involvement. We seemed to have become accomplices in reality.
The girl was originally the target of charity funding, but was treated with kindness by a wealthy businessman. He was forced to get on the bus, and in the end he was insulted and insulted. A book "Rules" with the notes of the deceased is connected to the deceased Zhang Xiaosui and the heroine Chen Miao to the other. Books are clues and symbols, more like concise and concise irony in the face of interests. Its arrival means breaking the old unequal rules and reshaping new fair rules. Reshaping to some extent means cutting off the chain of interests and also means sacrifice. The dialogue between women from two time and space advances layer by layer, leading the audience into an irreversible vortex of interests. On one side are the powerful and capital, on the other are the weak and ordinary people; on the one hand, they manipulate public opinion to cover up the truth, and on the other hand, they use death to get closer to the truth.
In the film, the weak rely on public opinion to win, which is somewhat romantic. Neither the powerful nor the righteous should become the controllers of the Internet. In the virtual online world, what you see may not be the truth, but what you want to see; what you think may not be the truth, as it hides shady transactions. The movie "Hot Search" only reveals the tip of the iceberg of the contemporary Internet ecology.
If language is a river that can make waves, then the Internet is more like an underground river filled with sand and mud. Not only can it stir up waves, but there is also a turbulent truth hidden behind it. Confucius said in "The Analects" that one should follow one's heart's desires without exceeding the rules. The Internet is not a place outside the law. You can pursue freedom, but you also need to always reflect on your inner circle in front of the mirror world. (Author: Zhu Huali)