How New Mainstream Video Approaches and Influences Youth
——A survey on the acceptance attitude of young audiences to new mainstream images
【research report】
Young people are the most vigor, vitality, creativity and pioneering group in the new era. They always stand at the forefront of the times and promote the formation of new values and fashions.
The video world composed of film, television and online audio-visual works has become an important position for them to express their own opinions and discuss social issues.
When new mainstream film and television dramas such as "My Father and I" and "The Age of Awakening" become the main topics for young people to discuss "self-growth and personal value", when new mainstream programs such as "National Treasure" and "Tang Palace Night Banquet" become young people share "cultural The main focus of "interest and individual aesthetics", we once again confirm that adhering to the leadership of mainstream values should become the main theme of literary and artistic creation in the new era.
What types of video content are young people more interested in?
Which social topics do they pay more attention to in video works?
What are your expectations for the cultural content and value capacity behind the video content?
In response to these questions, the research team recruited 906 people from March 2022 with high-viscosity film and television exposure characteristics (watching film and television episodes and programs for more than 1 hour each week), aged 18-27 years old. The young people in between, conduct online research in the form of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews in order to obtain answers.
Inquiry: The main factors that attract young audiences to new mainstream images
Pay attention to the core of value: expect the theme of the work to have a more "sense of value"
The pursuit of value at the spiritual level often has lasting power, it dominates the taste preferences of young people, and even determines the life pattern of young people.
So, what kind of viewing content is generally liked and valued by young people?
According to the survey, growth themes are the most popular (77.2%); the second is the exploration of the unknown field (76.8%); the third is the theme of the meaning of life (76.0%).
The youth's preference value for love themes related to family, love, friendship, etc., and the contest between good and evil, good and evil, etc., also exceeded 75%.
It can be seen from the survey that the overall emphasis on the theme of film and television narrative among young people is as high as 71.0%.
They do not buy into the "hollowing" audiovisual content creation method under the guidance of commercial value, but believe that the value discussion after watching the movie is more meaningful.
A series of films such as "My Motherland and Me" and "My Fathers and Me" are created around the development and changes of individuals and family and country, which have aroused heated discussions among young people.
Themes such as "Big River" and "Mountain and Sea Love" focus on grass-roots characters seeking breakthroughs in life, allowing young people to experience the perseverance and character of the protagonist in the face of unknowns and obstacles.
Since young people are willing to share their movie viewing experiences on social media, the social discussion period brought by new mainstream film and television works often far exceeds the broadcast period.
In-depth discussion and serious reflection after watching the film will bring the audience a lasting sense of gain.
Focus on social issues: expect video works to respond to real social concerns
A successful film and television work often benefits from its ability to accurately address the social issues that the public is concerned about.
What kind of social topic movies do young people prefer to watch?
The results showed that the top topics were: dating topics (76.6%), workplace topics (75.2%), psychological topics (74.8%), and ideal topics (73.0%).
Among them, 25% of the respondents said they were "very interested" in dating, workplace and psychological topics, and more than 20% of the respondents were "very interested" in ideal topics.
In the process of entering the workplace and integrating into the society, young people continue to explore and find a sense of self-existence, and possibility and uncertainty coexist.
When feeling the great conflict and tension between the self-world and the external world, people can't help panic, struggle and anxiety, and constantly look forward to healing and seeking comfort.
As a result, film and television became a platform for them to perceive warmth and to construct social cognition.
In the meantime, they have a new understanding and expectation of making friends, interpersonal relationships, decompression, ideals, etc.
For example, "Ode to Joy" and "I'm Good in Another Country" describe how urban new immigrants solve the dilemma in making friends, choosing a career, and doing things; "Settlement" and "Ideal City" and other dramas describe how newcomers in the workplace deal with unspoken rules and ethics in the workplace. The contradictions and conflicts between them; "The Heartwarming Offer" and "We Forge ahead" show the gap between the ideal professional state and the actual ability, and help those who have experienced it to make up for the shortcomings and meet the challenges.
These works aim at the thoughts and thoughts of young people, provide psychological healing and positive responses, and help the audience to achieve spiritual growth.
Rich in Cultural Interest: Finding Aesthetic Experience and Cultural Identity in Works
"National tide" has become a new trend among young people.
Can the integration of traditional cultural elements in film and television creation enhance the willingness of young people to watch?
The results show that 94% of the respondents are interested in cultural film and television programs, 80% of the respondents said that they "feel the beauty and charm of traditional culture" through watching movies, and 60% of the respondents expressed their interest in related cultural topics. Active concern with aesthetic trends.
Variety shows represented by "National Treasure" and "Classic Chanting", and film and television dramas represented by "Qing Ping Le" and "Chang'an Twelve Hours" have both ratings and reputation. The secret is: to integrate cultural heritage into In artistic innovation, while satisfying the curiosity of the audience, the threshold of traditional cultural cognition is lowered, so that more young people can feel the potential connection between individuals and history.
Condensing Group Identity: Finding Value Consensus in the Field of Video Public Opinion
How to provide positive spiritual power for young people through film and television works?
The results show that by watching new mainstream films and TV works, young people are "more proud of being Chinese" (88.8%); "more hopeful to live a meaningful life (86.2%)"; "more agree that China's destiny and personal life are closely linked" ( 80.0%); "more willing to make personal efforts for the construction of the new era" (78.4%); "more concerned about society" (77.9%).
For new mainstream film and television works, the word most frequently mentioned by young people is "burning".
For example, respondents who watched "The Age of Awakening" said that "the thought of our ancestors fighting hard for our lives makes me feel 'burning'".
Respondents who have watched "Changjin Lake" said that "the blood boils when they see the scene of defending their homeland and fighting bloody battles".
In fact, young people are more willing to express their personal opinions on good works by sending bullet screens, commenting or forwarding hot topics, etc., so as to "introduce" more young people to the audience and form a stronger positive public opinion field.
Perspective: Young people have their own judgment and determination in content selection
Due to the pursuit of commercial value, there are still chaos in the film and television and online audio-visual fields to attract the attention of young people through traffic stars and emotional consumption.
But in fact, young people have strong judgment and opinions in content selection.
Traffic is not a panacea: pay more attention to the professionalism and charisma of actors
The three factors that young people value most when evaluating actors are acting skills (88.8%), emotional intelligence (83.6%) and social reputation (81.6%).
If an actor wants to be loved by the audience for a long time, he should start from these points and work hard for a long time.
Among them, social reputation is not the same as popularity, and the so-called appearance (74.8%) and previous character halo (64.8%) are not a guarantee of success.
The creation of new mainstream images is inseparable from the participation of young actors, but the selection criteria should take into account both strength and charm.
Entertainment is not the only viewing motive: film and television should meet diverse and in-depth viewing needs
According to the survey, "resonating with others, more identifying with their own life philosophy" (78.6%), "enhancing cognition and understanding society more comprehensively" (75.8%), and "getting topics to communicate with others (67.2%)" are the top priorities of young people. viewing purpose.
When we simplify the extremely complex viewing satisfaction mechanisms such as sensory pleasure, emotional experience, and knowledge seeking into user viewing behavior data, it is easy to misinterpret user needs and amplify the role of shallow entertainment, resulting in a large number of "feeding" style creation, ignoring guided creation.
New mainstream video creation cannot ignore the needs of young audiences, but also cannot drive creation with pure demand thinking. The difficulty of creation lies in how to find a balance between a sense of ease and a sense of value.
External recommendations are not easy to affect personal choices: tend to form the focus of ratings and topics through the community
The survey shows that among the many factors that affect the choice of youth viewing, the first is the discussion of hot topics in the community (78.2%).
Although the media or platform recommendation, friend or colleague recommendation factor ranks second and third, but the impact value is only about 60%.
However, popular IP adaptations and online scores are the least recognized by young audiences and have a low impact value.
It can be seen from this that young audiences are not easily "rhythmized" by the elements of film and television marketing.
The hype of IP value, the "scoring" of the water army, or the hot push of the broadcast channel are not worth the importance of word of mouth.
In particular, the new mainstream film and television works should have a dissemination curve different from those general works that satisfy the interests of small groups and pursue short-term popularity.
Through the setting of the agenda before and after the broadcast, it can drive the hot comments of the youth's "circle of friends" and trigger a ripple effect.
Thinking: Improve the whole chain and strengthen the "Youth Influence" of new mainstream images
The "new" of the new mainstream image is to express the theme from the perspective of the new era. Whether the content is past, modern or future, its value orientation must be positive and in line with the requirements of the times; the second is to meet the needs of the new generation. The audience's viewing interest, although there are real differences between different generations, there are always some topics that can break the circle and form resonance on a larger scale; the third is to complete the creative expression in an innovative form.
Whether it is the application of new technologies or the interaction of new media, the ultimate goal is to enhance the positive communication power of society.
Therefore, it is necessary to guide the creation of film and television literature and art to absorb youth cultural elements, expand the topicality and influence of new mainstream images among youth groups, and form a lasting and powerful impetus for the majority of young people to identify value coordinates, integrate into the mainstream of society, and devote themselves to hot practice.
Creation orientation: refuse to "float up" and truly "sink"
The scale expansion of film and television education and the diversified opening of production mechanisms have enabled a large number of young practitioners to flex their muscles and even be able to take charge of themselves.
They can capture social focus with a keen perspective, express artistic imagination with innovative techniques, and create public opinion hot spots with creative marketing. Youth has become one of the important characteristics of the film and television and online audio-visual industry.
What needs to be vigilant is that if the relationship between social, commercial and artistic value is unbalanced, the creative practice will easily be overwhelmed by capital logic, herd mentality, and awareness of fame and fortune, resulting in problems such as loss of original intention.
In order to launch new mainstream video works with depth, popularity and power, young creators must always have a string in their minds, be alert to the state of "floating", and really be able to "sink".
Only by combining foot power, eyesight, pen power and brain power into magnificent creativity, can we use images to express the new era and use light and shadow to meet people's needs for a better life.
Topic spread: say goodbye to "flow pool" and gather "energy field"
The proliferation of fragmented information has turned people's attention into a "business", and it has also led to some phenomena in the film and television field that use "traffic" as a criterion for judging the quality of a work.
Some film and television works are excellent in themselves, but most of the related hot searches are "gossip" tidbits. It is difficult for the audience to deeply understand the content and value of the works.
Therefore, in film and television communication, relevant discussions cannot be reduced to a simple "traffic pool".
In order to effectively integrate the new mainstream video into the "topic circle" of the youth group, the production of the new mainstream video should be combined with the delivery of various media content, so that more young people can create and express their works.
After Henan Satellite TV's "Wonderful Night" series "out of the circle", young audiences paid attention to the main creative team's in-depth interpretation of the cultural connotation and creative details; after "Awakening Age" became a hot spot in the ratings, the most popular searches on social platforms were actors' thoughts on acting as revolutionary great men. History, and interpretation of "why perform like this" in important episodes; when "Together" was on the air, the audience paid attention to the respect and emotion of the actors on the front line of the fight against the epidemic through the simultaneous release of the behind-the-scenes documentary.
Therefore, the audience's information needs for the new mainstream images are diverse. Spread innovative content with youthful vigor, and actively establish value and aesthetic communication with audiences and netizens, which will help to form new mainstream images on a larger scale. "Energy Field".
Art Review: Get rid of "following the trend" and work together to "raise the spirit"
Taking culture as the root and life as the source, the literary and artistic creations in the new era, especially the audio-visual video creations, have shown a dynamic and diverse trend.
Elaborating the ideas and values of the new mainstream video works, and promoting video creation to "feel the changes in the country's fortunes, set the trend of the times, and make the pioneers of the times" is the specialty of literary criticism.
However, compared with the fiery practice of film and television creation, the younger generation of critics has not been able to "stand shoulder to shoulder" very well.
Whether it is in the seminars of excellent masterpieces or in mainstream media reports, young critics are not active enough, and the in-depth interpretation of film and television works from the perspective of young people still lacks guidance, influence and professionalism.
Although there are some wonderful works in the youth commentary category, many of them have not been able to get rid of the stereotype of "following the flow" and "gaming eyeballs".
The high-quality comments of some young authors are scattered on We-media official accounts and websites with social attributes, and they fail to “resonate at the same frequency” well.
Contemporary young people have their own uniqueness in terms of discourse and creative forms, and a group of young critics with both vigor and vigor should be cultivated.
Discover the beauty of the new mainstream video with their eyes, and write a new chapter of the new mainstream video with their words, and then drive more young artists to improve their creative level and jointly build a clean and upright new mainstream video ecosystem.
(Authors: Yang Yueming and Li Li, professors and lecturers of the Institute of Cultural Innovation and Communication, Beijing Normal University, respectively)