Language variety shows:
It's interesting, but it's more meaningful and reasonable
【Literary and Art Views】
Recently, a number of language variety shows have been launched one after another, which has become the "good heart" of the audience.
The program has received hundreds of millions of views, and related screenshots, short videos, and review articles have also become frequent visitors on Weibo hot search lists and WeChat Moments.
Why did the creation and broadcasting of this type of program renew its upsurge?
With the increasingly fierce competition in the variety show field, how to further meet the diverse needs of the audience?
If we want to achieve healthy and sustainable development, what else can we do?
While the popularity and traffic of programs continue to rise, these issues require the creators, the industry and all sectors of society to calmly think about these issues.
From a small circle to popularization, it becomes a new hot spot for variety shows
Language variety shows feature language and aim to use language to convey information and express opinions.
According to the form of expression, it can be subdivided into categories such as conversation, recitation, speech, debate, talk show, and cross talk.
In China, language programs have been developed for 40 years, and they have undergone an evolution process from traditional television to online production, from small circles to popularization.
The first stage of the development of language programs can be traced back to the early television era.
In the 1980s, the cross talks and sketches that were active in various TV evenings can be described as the original form of language programs.
Most of these programs are easy and funny. Every time they appear, they are warmly welcomed by the people, and they are even known as the "signature" of the party.
However, due to the short duration, it can only be presented as part of a variety show, and cannot be alone.
It wasn't until the launch of "Oriental Live Studio" in 1993 that language programs appeared in front of the public as an independent program form.
Three years later, "Tell the Truth" was born, which produced a enthusiastic response among the public, and language variety shows entered a period of rapid development.
After that, "Dialogue" and other times emerged.
Language programs at this time were mainly based on host, guest dialogue or host, guest, and on-site audience interaction. The style was funny, or touching, or profound. It set off a creative wave in the field of variety shows.
The second phase began in the early 21st century.
On the one hand, with the introduction of market-oriented operation mechanisms in film and television production and the continuous changes in audience appreciation tastes, games, puzzles, marriage and love, and talent show programs have successively become the "protagonists" of the variety show market, and language TV variety shows have declined for a while.
On the other hand, with the rise of the Internet, the communication environment of variety shows has undergone profound changes.
Driven by media communication thinking and communication technology updates, a number of online language programs have emerged.
"Dapeng Boom Boom", "Please, I'm the Refrigerator" are all the rage, making the themes and forms of language programs more abundant.
In the third stage, 2016 was the turning point.
With the increasingly diverse selection of guests and the introduction of new media marketing thinking, language programs have once again become a hot spot in the variety show market.
The program not only attracted celebrities from the entertainment, cultural, sports, and business circles to enter the game, but also invited traffic police, doctors, programmers, workers, housewives and other amateurs to participate.
People from different age groups, different occupations, and different regions tell their own stories and share their respective topics of concern, so that the content involved in the program has more contemporary value and social significance.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that the emergence of programs such as "Chinese Poetry Conference" and "Long Reader" combined the core of traditional culture with variety expression, opening up a new space for the creation of language programs.
Fragmented expression fits the consumption habits of the younger generation
Why can language programs attract the attention of current audiences?
Fragmented expression and simultaneous distribution on multiple platforms are its external reasons.
The pace of life of modern people is getting faster and faster, and short videos have gradually risen. As a result, the consumption habits of the younger generation have undergone profound changes.
Rather than spending a lot of time sitting in front of a TV or computer watching the entire program, many people prefer to use fragmented time to follow variety shows on social networking sites or short video apps.
The format of language programs is just suitable for editing into several independent short films, which has the natural advantage of being suitable for fragmented dissemination.
In terms of publicity channels, in addition to traditional TV stations and video websites, social media and short video apps have become important channels for the promotion and marketing of variety shows.
The main user groups of each platform are different. Multi-platform distribution can cover a wider audience, so that the highlights of the program can be quickly spread in a short period of time, forming a hot spot in social public opinion, so that the attention and topic levels soar, and thus obtain considerable flow.
The popularity of language programs is also that they meet the psychological demands of audiences to relieve stress and negative emotions, and learn useful knowledge in a short period of time.
Many language programs aim to entertain the audience. Easy and humorous words can create a place for people to relax outside of their busy lives.
Some programs take the initiative to assume the social function of popularizing knowledge and cultivating the public.
For example, debates, speeches, and forums programs pay attention to what is said. The host’s commentary, guest exchanges, and contests of contestants all contain a wealth of information.
The audience can learn selectively and improve their knowledge system based on their own judgment standards, value orientation, and psychological appeals.
Language is the cloak of thought.
The creation of many language programs does not stop at relaxing and learning knowledge.
It also hopes that by paying attention to hot topics in social life, it outputs thought-provoking views and arouses emotional resonance from the audience.
The programs often set up topics based on the hot topics that audiences care about, and discuss topics such as work, workplace, love and marriage, and life value in a light-hearted expression.
The guests talked about the perplexity of ordinary people in ridicule, or pointed out social problems sharply, or debated and confronted, expressing clear views. The sparks of various ideas exchanges and collisions can often hit the audience's thoughts and make the program and the society. , The times resonate at the same frequency.
Find a balance between deep thinking and vividness
The core point of language programs is to express opinions.
Whether it looks good or not, it depends on the mouth.
Therefore, "what to say" and "how to say" have become the fate of a show's success.
At present, there are two situations in language programs: one is having high-quality content, knowing "what to say" but not grasping the "how to say", and it is necessary to seek a breakthrough in how to attract the attention of the audience; the other is deep Knowing the "how to say" technique, constantly renovating the patterns in form, always make the audience shine, but it is difficult to choose "what to say".
For the first case, the program paradigm needs to be advanced.
Some programs focus on the introduction and discussion of high-quality content such as poems, reading aloud, idioms, and Chinese characters.
Whether these relatively niche cultures can be expressed in an easy-to-understand way so that the public can understand it, recognize it, and like it, becomes the key.
Under the renewal and iteration of film and television production concepts and media technology, with the improvement of aesthetic ability, audiences have higher and higher requirements for the format of the program. Connections, comment barrage and other forms have become participants of the program, and even determine the direction of the program.
In the current variety show market, "Variety N Generation" accounts for a large proportion, and new programs are relatively insufficient.
After the season of the season program is broadcast, the audience knows the program flow very well. In addition, many programs invite so few guests, and the repetition rate of appearances is too high, which can easily cause the audience to be aesthetically tired.
Therefore, the creation needs to deal with the relationship between break and establishment, stability and progress, and constantly seek new changes from the program mode, link setting, guest lineup, and interactive form to further enhance the aesthetic expression ability, and strive for advanced performance in every season.
Newly launched programs must also find their own characteristics to avoid homogenous competition with existing program types.
For the second situation, we should pay attention to the depth of thought and the broadening of topic radiation.
Nowadays, some programs are full of Internet, with interactive links and topical discussions, but they lack ideological value and social significance.
The content of the program is full of funny gossip and little seriousness and depth. Some of them directly transplant jokes and funny videos on the Internet, and some of them, in order to create hot searches on topics, do not hesitate to personally attack and invade privacy.
It should be noted that high-quality content is the core factor that determines how far a program goes.
The output of opinions is the unique feature that distinguishes language programs from other types of variety shows.
Paying attention to reality, letting the program feed back to society more, allowing public opinion to form a positive flow, and guiding the audience correctly is its unshirkable responsibility.
Therefore, in order to make better use of this function, it is also necessary to seek new breakthroughs in listening to the voice of the times, feeling the pulse of society, and improving the spiritual realm.
Only by keeping integrity and innovation, using the advantages of the Internet, digging out original talents, incubating innovative content, and realizing the transformation and upgrading of programs, can we achieve a double harvest of social and economic benefits.
(Author: Jiang Linlin, a 2019 PhD student in Communication Studies, Communication University of China)