"Global Hegemon" Made in China, why does the "Chinese-style" skit fascinate foreigners?

　　China News Service, January 24 (Wei Chenxi) "We are husband and wife during the day, and we don't interfere with each other at night. When I get the investment fund, we will get divorced..." Recently, the "Chinese Style" short drama has caused a stir overseas. These works incorporate plots that are familiar to Chinese audiences and are performed by unfamiliar Western faces, becoming "electronic pickles" for many foreign audiences.

　　"Domineering CEO", "Revenge of a wealthy family", "Marriage first, love later"... This kind of short film uses Chinese "shuangwen" as the script, mixed with "local" lines, high-frequency reversals and bloody plots, and the single episode lasts a few minutes. Why have video series become the favorite among foreigners now?

Foreign netizen: "This is my favorite"

　　In recent years, online short dramas labeled "Made in China" have gradually expanded their global influence.

Among them, "Bo Zong" has become one of the cases of Chinese pop culture export.

　　Overseas remakes of short dramas such as "The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband" and "Goodbye, My CEO" have become popular, and Chinese audiences are familiar with the "overbearing" The drama "The CEO is in love with me" is frequently performed in these works.

　　Some foreign netizens discussed the plot below the video, with some calling it "this is my favorite" and others urging it to be updated.

Image source: Screenshot of comments on global video sharing platform YouTube

　　Take the short drama "My Billionaire Husband's Double Life" as an example. The video starts with a plot clip of "arguing with a salesperson and asking the heroine to kneel down to put on her shoes". It attracts users by quickly creating a sense of excitement.

Source: A clip from the short play "The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband"

　　Subsequently, the work uses the plot of the heroine "selling love tokens" to show her "Cinderella" character who works hard to raise money to treat her mother's illness, and uses this to create a gentle "overlord" character who accompanies the heroine. .

At the same time, the protagonist's dialogue is used to induce "contract marriage" and create suspense to retain users.

　　According to statistics from AppGrowing, a mobile advertising analysis platform, the target audience of this type of "boss" skits in the United States is young and middle-aged women aged 25 to 44.

　　In addition, the personality of the "overlord" is different in each country.

The reason why domestic short dramas quickly became a hit after going overseas and captured the hearts of overseas target users is inseparable from its localized adaptation of "a combination of Chinese and Western" and its differentiated strategy of "adapting measures to local conditions."

　　Another popular overseas online short drama, "Fated To My Forbidden Alpha", uses the werewolf theme loved by European and American audiences as its background, and integrates the "hero saves the beauty", "bidong" and "love at first sight" from Chinese online texts. " and other "overlord" elements, and then hired overseas actors to star in it, giving birth to a successful work with Western faces interpreting Chinese plots.

　　According to AppGrowing analysis, in terms of subject matter, European and American users like werewolves, vampires and other highly dramatic and visually impactful works; Japanese audiences prefer "revenge" and "counterattack" plots; the Southeast Asian market focuses on sweet pets, sadomasochism and family ethics. Waiting for the topic...

　　As a result, on the basis of a wider selection of global short drama content, the Chinese short drama distribution team has created hit short dramas that adapt to different cultural contexts by "adapting measures to local conditions."

“The latest export to conquer Americans”

　　Chinese-style short dramas are now popular overseas, not only becoming the export of Chinese pop culture, but also demonstrating China's business innovation capabilities in the field of mobile Internet on a global scale.

　　Recently, Reelshort, a domestic application software for live-action short dramas targeting overseas users, has topped the U.S. iOS entertainment list.

　　According to reports, the app has "unexpectedly gained traction in the North American market."

Many Chinese short dramas on the platform have received rave reviews and spread rapidly overseas.

Image source: Screenshot from Reelshort social media account

　　The British "Economist" pointed out that ReelShort, as a data company, had nearly 2 million monthly downloads in the second half of 2023, once surpassing TikTok and becoming the most popular application among Americans, and was described as "the latest export to conquer Americans." product".

Image source: Mobile advertising analysis platform AppGrowing

　　Although these overseas short dramas are "original", they have made a name for themselves in the domestic application software track in 2023.

According to AppGrowing statistics, ReelShort has become the top product in the global short drama market, and its parent company’s stock price continues to rise.

　　In addition, according to statistics, in the second half of 2023, the overseas advertising volume of entertainment apps related to short dramas has generally increased significantly.

Suddenly, the foreign short drama successfully entered Europe and the United States.

Chinese culture moves toward the world with a “new attitude”

　　Some people in the industry pointed out that regarding how Chinese culture goes overseas, it has often focused on spreading "high-level" content such as Confucius and Tai Chi, and rarely considered this issue from the perspective of popular culture.

Nowadays, Chinese culture is spreading to all over the world in an unprecedented "new attitude".

　　The analysis said that from the perspective of cultural style, in the new era of all-media communication, the content form of "local flavor" seems to be closer to "low-level taste". This new form of cultural communication may be easier to spread and more in line with the needs of the times.

　　The analysis also said that these short dramas satisfy the audience's "dopamine needs" to a certain extent. Even if the plots may not stand up to scrutiny and the acting skills are not professional, they can still go abroad and "conquer foreigners."

　　In addition, the analysis pointed out that the overseas success of Chinese online micro-short dramas is inseparable from the global user base laid by the long-term "successful overseas expansion" of Chinese online literature.

　　According to statistics from the Chinese Writers Association, as of the end of 2022, Chinese online literature has exported more than 16,000 works overseas.

The audiences of online short dramas and online literature are highly overlapping. Under this circumstance, many popular short dramas are based on online literature.

　　In recent years, Chinese online pop culture has brought happiness to hundreds of millions of overseas viewers. From online articles to popular online dances to now live-action short dramas, Chinese cultural craze is sweeping the world in a new way.

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