On March 21, the Korean drama "Itaewon Class" officially ended. Although it was inevitable that there were doubts about the ending and the collapse of the ending, it did not affect the majority of viewers as "the first cool drama in 2020". Adapted from the comic of the same name, "Itaewon Class" tells a story of revenge, "Heaven will fall to the great responsibility, and everyone must suffer from his heart, his muscles, and his body." The male protagonist, Park Shilu, was dissatisfied with his classmate Zhang Genyuan's implementation of campus bullying, but he was dismissed by the school because his counterpart was the son of Zhang Daxi, the owner of the catering giant, and even lost his father's job. Yes, Park's father escaped because of Zhang Genyuan's accident, and Zhang Daxi, who had a wealth of money, created perjury for his sheltered son. Instead, he put Pu Shilu, who was seeking justice, to jail for hurting someone. After being released from prison, Park Shi-lu aims to avenge Zhang Daxi and the elders of the chaebol group behind him. With the help of the heroine Zhao Yirui and others, a group of small people from the bottom are on the "anything is possible" commercial street in Itaewon. A challenge to the power and rules of this world has been launched. "Itaewon Class" highly restores the original style and story of the comics. High energy and blaze are the most intuitive impressions of the series on the audience. Park Shilu's attitude of "stubborn, strong-spirited, and alive with conviction" is overflowing with " The solitary courage of the "two-dimensional" gene is completely different from the usual perseverance in Korean dramas in the past, and it is no wonder that fans feel that "Little Fresh belongs to the last century, and" Itaewon Class "is the episode in the new century." .

Marginal groups and the "anti-socialization" path

The extremely fast plot rhythm is probably the first reason for the audience to "enter the pit" "Itaewon Class". In less than two episodes of the opening episode, the episode has already expelled Park Se-lu from his fight against bullying, his father ’s tragic death, his release from prison, and a youthful relationship with the female No. 2 and so on. The horn sounded. The third episode outlines the character background of the female No. 1 Zhao Yirui, and immediately begins the many difficulties encountered by Pu Shilu's Sweet Night Restaurant in the protracted battle against the elders. The process of appearing and solving problems one after another is like the "upgrade and fight against monsters" in the game. During this period, the skills of the protagonists continue to strengthen and improve, and the confrontation between the front and the back is getting more and more tense. This is "Itaewon "Class" plot forms an important aspect of "cool feeling".

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. What makes the audience feel more refreshed is the concern for small people and marginal groups wrapped in the plot of Itaewon Class, and the spirit of resistance to the strict social hierarchy and unreasonable rules and orders. The two opposing camps in the episode are actually very interesting to analyze carefully. On the side of the sweet night restaurant with a positive stand, almost all the members come from the "marginal crowd" in the society: the boss Pu Shilu has had a prison sentence; the manager Zhao Yirui is a "genius girl" with a high IQ, and can easily get everything he wants Instead, he developed an anti-social personality that hopes to destroy everything; chef Ma Xianli is a transgender person; among several shop assistants, Cui Shengquan mixed with the gangster, Zhang Genxiu is an unrecognized sister-in-law, Tony is a black face, but he will not say English-speaking Korean natives ... each of them is a "wonder" in society, each with a difficulty of being accepted by the public in one way or another, but at the same time with a clear self-identity, they are trying to extract in their own way The society has given them the inherent labels of wearing colored glasses in an attempt to prove their personal worth. The villain Zhang Daxi represents the superiors and the high social rules, but after studying it, Zhang Daxi himself is also from the bottom. In order to prevent the family from starving and eating safe and healthy food, he started from the roadside and started slowly. Slowly built his family into an oligopoly in the restaurant industry. The successful Zhang Daxi was gradually swallowed up by the improper rules of money rights, forgotten his original intention of doing catering, turned his head and used a contemptuous attitude to take extreme crackdowns on the low-level civilians like Pu Shilu, who have similar origins. This has to be said to be An irony.

At the same time, "Itaewon Class" also has a wonderful point is that it designed the female No. 2 Wu Xiu'e who walked between the two camps. Compared to other comic-character characters, Wu Xiu'e is probably the most realistic character in the episode. Before the big reversal of the ending, she always embodied a savvy and correct "socialized" principle of life: always insisting on the choice that is best for her. Therefore, even if Wu Xiu'e had a loved one to Park Father, she would choose to rely on Zhang Daxi for the scholarship. Although she did not agree with Zhang Daxi's method of suppressing Park Shilu, she would still follow all Zhang Daxi's arrangements to maintain Own position within the extended family. From the perspective of ordinary people, Wu Xiu'e's submission to the social system may not be wrong, but this makes the characters not so cute. The audience does not recognize the role, perhaps because we in our lives can more or less find the irrationality of society, but often also choose patience and assimilation, and regard "most" as a protective color. The significance of "Itaewon Class" beyond the simple counterattack story is precisely to show the audience an "anti-socialization" path for marginal groups to fight back and challenge established rules. This path may not be a practical possibility, but it entrusts the sincere desire of creators and audiences to desire social justice, which is also the spiritual force that the drama can reach people's hearts.

Another way to open a youth drama

Of course, Itaewon Class has shortcomings, even as significant as its advantages. The adaptation of the episode is very loyal to the comics, so the logical chain of the story is not strict. For example, Zhang Daxi's insistence on making Park Shilu kneel and apologize and admit wrongdoing, and Zhang Genxiu's blackening has become better, all of which seem to be unreasonable; the abrupt reversal and ending of the ending were also handled stiffly and hastily. The characterization is relatively flat, no matter the protagonist Pu Shilu, Zhao Yirui, or the opposite character Zhang Daxi, they are quite inexplicably stubborn and persistent, lacking the arc of change. However, dialectically, although the flat characters are lost in three dimensions, they also have other advantages in their creations-they are good for highlighting the character traits of the characters. The episodes of underworld kidnapping and bare-handed rescue at the end of the episode are far from reality, but an important reason why the audience is still willing to finish the show is that the hero and heroine are too cute. Pu Shilu's chestnut hair style for more than ten years, an attitude of never giving up in detail to complete the goal plan, direct frankness if he likes it or not, and the ancient spirit of Zhao Yirui, who is “positive and positive” about all unreasonable phenomena The courage and determination that a person is willing to fight for the enthusiasm and sincerity of the world, has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people through the past and past. The audience has a strong inertia for the protagonist's love, even if the ending of the story is flawed, they can not bear to let go of their favorite characters.

In addition, in addition to providing a fairly good reference sample for the diffuse drama, "Itaewon Class" is inspirational for its creation in that it presents another way to open the youth drama. When it comes to "youth drama", our usual first reaction is the theme of pure love on campus; but out of the category of love themes, it is also a young and dazzling lineup. Youth dramas can have a different color. There is also an element of love in "Itaewon Class", but the proportion of the plot is very small. Huaiyu's expectations for the established love routine of the youth drama watching "Itaewon Class" may make people complain: the actor counts down In the third episode, I was sure that I had nostalgia for the heroine. It was too late. But from another perspective, "Itaewon Class" does not need to emphasize the emotional entanglement of the characters, and is more focused on the "upgrade and blame" inspirational model. Why is it not a good comment on different levels of youth? As a series of dramas with a high degree of fault tolerance, ordinary audiences have always been very tolerant of the less exaggerated artistic fiction in the creation of youth dramas. The audience's nostalgia for their young age often makes them more willing to believe and accept the story told by the episode, even if the story is slightly distorted and lacks some realistic criticism and reflection. That's why those "fate doomed to love you" Marie Su love stories in youth dramas in the past still always have more or less moving reasons. In contrast, "Itaewon Class", although Pu Shilu's revenge process is bloody, every time he encounters difficulties, he is extremely lucky to reach out and help him. In a way, it may be regarded as a "Jack Su". It doesn't matter if Mary Su is Jack Su, youth drama is not impossible, but the biggest secret to success is to "Su" not to annoy the audience. How to do this, the character setting and rhythm control of "Itaewon Class" give a good example. In short, a higher fault tolerance rate actually reserves a lot of space for the creation of youth dramas. It would be a great pity if the creators limited their choice of genre to love. And the success of "Itaewon Class" may give the creators an incentive to broaden the extension of the youth drama series. Youth is not only a romantic love, but youth can and should be an unremitting struggle.

Forrest Gump