Have you been "planted" by the period drama?
A few days ago, "Dajiang Dahe 2" ended with a Douban score of 9.1. The previously broadcast "Secret and Great" also reached 8.2 points.
No matter how far apart the narrative time and space are, some elements in the period drama are never outdated, and they can always quickly capture the "taste buds" of young audiences.
The plot of Song Yunhui's hard work in the Donghai factory and dealing with interpersonal relationships in the factory in "Dajiang Dahe 2" is called "the textbook of workplace drama" by netizens.
Gu Yaodong in "Secret and Great", when he first entered the police station, he did nothing, he was a "professional novice", and the office became his earliest space for fighting monsters and upgrading.
Some scholars believe that, to a certain extent, period dramas will form a narrative experience that is separated from the contemporary aesthetic and cultural context. It is a kind of existence that "seems far but near"-although period dramas have a certain distance from the contemporary in narrative time and space , But it often reflects a certain continuity and relevance to the contemporary under a clear background.
What kind of experience is it like to accidentally start a "workplace textbook" while watching a period drama?
Period dramas provide an "old mirror" for young audiences to substitute for workplace values
Ruoyun, a newcomer in the post-95 workplace, has just entered the workplace for two years.
She recently followed "Secretly and Greatly" and "Dajiang Dahe 2" one after another, and is most concerned about the twists and turns of the protagonist and the boss in the play.
"Gu Yaodong is useless as soon as he enters the unit, and he is hung and beaten by various people in the workplace. Although it looks pitiful, it is too empathetic. The dilemma he faces with his boss and colleagues is in the current workplace. Isn’t it also very common here? So I look forward to his counterattack every day when I follow the drama.” Ruo Yun said, "Secret and Great" attracted her to chase down, but Gu Yaodong turned from a little white rabbit to a little tiger. process.
In the workplace scene of "Dajiang Dahe 2", the rivalry between Song Yunhui played by Wang Kai and Director Lu played by Li Guangjie is very attractive to the audience.
In the play, in order to keep the East China Sea project, Song Yunhui leapfrogged to ask for approval, so he formed a relationship with Director Lu.
Unexpectedly, when the Donghai project was unable to import imported equipment, Director Lu and Song Yunhui ushered in a "great reconciliation". The two had a meal in the small restaurant and formed a "business CP".
The actor Wang Kai described the relationship between these two roles in this way-they don't know each other if they don't fight.
"We are the same people, but we stand in different positions. Director Lu stands taller than me, looking at the overall situation of China and the world. I only look at the overall situation of the East China Sea and China, so there will be friction, but When we understand each other's thoughts, we become good friends who cherish each other." Wang Kai said.
Cultural critic Han Haoyue was also deeply impressed by Song Yunhui and Director Lu's rivalry.
"If leaders in reality can have a benign interactive relationship like Director Lu and Song Yunhui, all communication will become smoother."
When Han Haoyue pursued the play "Dajiang Dahe 2", she thought that the "horse director" in the play was very attractive.
"He is very stable, not like other little officials, who have soft ears. When others say good things, he immediately listens. If you say good things or bad things in front of him, he can listen to them without changing their faces and using them. A particularly tolerant approach to deal with the contradictions of a few people around him-and at the same time establish prestige in his small environment."
The plot fully demonstrates that "Director Horse", as an ordinary person, has "considerations from deep in his heart", with seven emotions and six desires, as well as selfishness.
"But when he is at a point in time and needs to make correct judgments, he can still make judgments that do not harm the collective. Although a bit personally scheming, he can take care of the overall situation. This is my work relationship with "Dajiang Dahe 2" Very interesting place".
Han Haoyue believes that period dramas provide an "old mirror".
"Young people see through this old mirror how their fathers dealt with these trivial things in that era."
Period dramas must have the spirit of realism and cannot stay at "reissue"
The creation of period dramas naturally has a premise, that is, there must be something different from the contemporary social context.
But does literary and artistic creation complete the "return" to the background of a certain era?
Or is it a reinterpretation of the workplace environment in a specific era?
He Tianping, a TV research scholar and postdoctoral fellow in sociology at Renmin University of China, believes that period dramas must also have a realist spirit, and cannot just stay in "re-engraving", otherwise it must be outdated, and there is no aesthetic space and value.
"Dajiang Dahe 2" has a hearty interpretation of the previous generation of workplace culture.
"If we can find the connection and dialogue with the present from this kind of'returning', then there will be practical value." He Tianping said that when we evaluate period dramas, we can refer to a standard of whether it is "outdated", such as Some period dramas have been questioned before, because they only did a re-enactment of the period environment, but did not inspire today's audiences and cannot be absorbed by the current culture. Such period drama expression would be difficult to achieve.
When it comes to period dramas, the "sense of age" is often the first latitude evaluation thrown by the audience.
In Han Haoyue's view, among the many functions that period dramas provide audiences, the first one is nostalgia.
"Why are the images, sets, and costumes that attract the attention of the period dramas first, because these things will bring the audience back to that era, especially middle-aged audiences, and suddenly recall their childhood teenagers. This is a period drama that attracts the audience to watch. One of the most direct reasons for ".
In addition to nostalgia, there is salvage.
The current period drama creation is based on a posture of looking back, and at the same time "standing on a high place and a low place", looking at it from two perspectives.
Han Haoyue feels that we are envious and yearning for the simplicity and simplicity of that era, the gleam of idealism and a little romanticism from that era.
Standing on a "high place" and looking down, it is that after we have abundant material, we re-observe what was lacking in that era-why can we get the life we want through our own hard work in that era?
Why have many people failed to change their destiny?
Learn the positive personality in the period drama and get rid of "workplace PUA" by strength
When workplace problems appear more and more in chronological dramas, what kind of expression is qualified?
He Tianping believes that any period drama must contain several basic elements: fidelity to the background and characteristics of the era; narrative design, character structure and the linkage of the context of a specific era; an era where the story is completed under a distinct era background Spiritual reinterpretation.
Song Yunhui's role has experienced significant growth in the workplace of "Dajiang Dahe 2".
Song Yunhui is an intellectual who has love, filial piety, childlike innocence, principle, bottom line, tenacity, and dare to fight.
Regarding Song Yunhui’s "intellectual" attributes, Wang Kai made a special design: "Intellectuals have less emotional fluctuations and restrained movements. I want to keep acting. After Song Yunhui becomes the director of the factory, he will become more stable and speak his voice. I have dealt with it accordingly in terms of movement processing and expression. For example, when Song Yunhui became more and more stable, I stopped arching my glasses with my nose and held the glasses with my hands."
In Han Haoyue's view, qualified period dramas can inspire young audiences to adopt a correct attitude towards reality in the workplace.
For example, young viewers who travel through the years and observe the office space in "Dajiang Dahe 2" can get many "tips for working hard in the workplace."
"Through such a period drama, the audience can learn not to waste time and energy on things meaningless to work, but to simplify the workplace relationship." Han Haoyue said.
He said frankly that nowadays, there are frequent remarks on the Internet about how to open up the workplace relationship, how to please the boss and colleagues.
In fact, Song Yunhui's successful example in "Big River" tells the young people today that as long as you have the strength and vision, you can eliminate the interference from the surrounding accidents and realize your own growth.
"This is also a challenge to our current workplace culture, especially in the current so-called cruel environment that promotes Internet companies." Han Haoyue pointed out that learning from Song Yunhui, focusing on self-growth, becoming an "irreplaceable person" wherever he goes. In order to truly get rid of those "workplace PUAs" and avoid becoming victims of "negative workplace culture".
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Shen Jiequn