2023 costume online drama： ＂Silly and sweet＂ is in power with low IQ.
In the online drama market in 2023, the realistic drama of the times shone brilliantly. First, The Knockout broke the circle, and then "Moses on the Plain" and "The Long Season" set off hot discussions. Correspondingly, there are few online dramas in ancient costume that have always accounted for more than half of the online drama market, but there are also many small but excellent works, which are manifested in the following types.
Stills of Nine Righteous People
A modern drama in ancient costume.
Ancient costume is a cauldron, and any theme and style can be put into it. Even though time and space are far apart, you can still think realistically.
The explosion of ancient costume in the first half of this year is undoubtedly the case of the silk of Daming under the microscope. The drama pointed directly at the corruption and darkness of the grass-roots government in the Ming Dynasty. Through the stubborn pursuit of the truth by the "nerd" and the silk tax as the excuse, it went through all kinds of ups and downs, and finally made the intertwined grass-roots interests surface, washed away the grass-roots indulgence of disregard for human life, and restored justice and clarity to the people with weak personal strength. In the play, the subtle interests of officialdom and the way of the world are vividly described.
Ruoyun Zhang is the traffic password of ancient costume online drama, and its image has always been chic. This time, he played a mathematical idiot with superior IQ but completely ignorant of the world with his sloppy style of subverting himself. People looked forward to it from beginning to end, and they didn’t see the moment when Ruoyun Zhang was full of clothes and clothes. However, with the progress of the plot, the audience gradually sank their hearts, no longer expecting reversal, no longer expecting cool writing, and honestly accepted that this is a realistic expression of ancient costumes.
Nine Righteousness with the theme of sexual assault is not the revenge drama that people expect. The nine righteous people who tried to seek justice for the victims of sexual assault were ordinary people, and the road to justice for the wrongdoers was full of setbacks and frustrations. It is precisely this kind of hardship with realistic texture that leads the audience to the unspeakable group of victims, and makes the audience perceptibly aware of the depression and secondary harm brought to the victims by inherent concepts, public opinion pressure and being in the environment. In this sense, this drama has done an amazing thing, that is, let people enter the topic of women’s protection less defensively. Although it is an overhead costume drama, it has great practical significance, so I would rather regard the costume of this drama as a hazy coat that shows the current reality.
"Nine Righteousness" adopts a good form of alternating old and new time and space in form. The single episode is the past and the double episode is "now". The advantage of this form lies in intertextuality, while avoiding the tedious feeling of constant flashback. This makes the plot very complete.
The suspense martial arts drama of teamwork
As an adult fairy tale, martial arts drama has always been an important category in costume drama, and there are no shortage of audiences in any era. However, with the development of the times, the audience’s aesthetics have changed a lot, and their tastes have become more and more sharp. The traditional martial arts dramas based on the works of Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng have been difficult to satisfy the aesthetic taste of contemporary audiences, so the traditional martial arts that focus solely on martial arts design are becoming more and more rare, and they have been replaced by brain-burning tactics dramas with martial arts background.
This year’s two films, Yunxiang Biography and Lotus House, which are based on Jianghu grievances, are the new martial arts dramas that conform to today’s aesthetics. The focus of these two plays is not on the fighting scenes, but on suspense setting and plot reversal. The layout of each bridge in Yunxiang Biography brings intellectual pleasure to the audience, and every reversal of Lotus House leads the plot to a greater climax. The suspense story that keeps turning upside down itself makes the audience enjoy it, while the martial arts rivers and lakes are just the background of the story.
Of course, the strategy and ingenious thinking of the new martial arts drama are important points to watch, and the alliance formed in the process of seeking truth and helping justice is the most warm soul of the drama. The rivers and lakes are sinister and full of dangers, but no matter how many storms there are, the protagonist will become particularly emboldened and powerful because of the full support of his teammates. There is a revenge quartet in Yunxiang Biography, while Lotus House simply reduces the love drama to a background line, highlighting the brotherhood of the trio condensed in the battle.
Compared with lonely heroes, teamwork is more in line with the psychological demands of contemporary people, especially young audiences. In other words, in the martial arts world, the charm of friendship and friendship between the rivers and lakes that help each other is enduring, mainly because of its scarcity in reality. "Lotus House" and "Biography of Yunxiang" just grasped this realistic demand, so they made efforts to achieve the evolution of the relationship between characters-from the initial mutual suspicion and calculation to the final appreciation and trust of each other, the emotional relationship was progressive step by step, with solid logic, convincing and intoxicated, giving people warmth. This is also the emotional value provided by martial arts dramas as entertainment products.
In addition, the contrast between the two plays is touching and brings full drama. Yun Xiang, the male master in Yun Xiang Biography, can’t do martial arts at all, while Li Xiangyi, the male master in Lotus House, is stunted and cure a disease is as weak as a willow. Shu Yanan, the heroine in Yun Xiang Biography, is calm and independent, evenly matched with the male protagonist and brings out the best in each other. The original villain in Lotus House turned out to be a simple martial idiot, and later became the strongest help for the male master’s action. It can be seen that the creators of each drama are trying hard to find a breakthrough and seek to surpass the classic martial arts mask.
Ancient puppet dramas that highlight feminism
Costume idol drama has always been a popular style in costume drama, but after several years of aesthetic baptism, people are no longer interested in the sweet and abusive plot of handsome men and beautiful women "Sansheng Sanshi" and the classic design of "stupid white sweet plus bully". Therefore, although the number of ancient puppet shows this year is still considerable, the evaluation and ratings are generally not high. Sauvignon Blanc is an exception that has aroused widespread discussion.
The reason why this play stands out among many ancient puppet shows is firstly because of the plot structure of one woman and four men. Some of the men in the play are extremely rich, some are powerful, and some are masters of the world. Their backgrounds are different, and the characters themselves have their own fatal charms. In the same way, all three men have a rare appearance, and they are all infatuated with the hostess. There is also a supernumerary Gao Fushuai who freely accepts any demands from her.
When the play came out, many people called it the victory of feminism. However, if we look at it calmly, the heroine’s personality and values can’t stand scrutiny. It’s just that several emotional relationships in the play satisfy different women’s longing for romantic love, which has no real connection with feminism pursuing equality and independence in reality.
The well-made "Burning Love" is also a pure ancient doll that caters to the feminist trend. The handsome God of War gives respect and support to the civilian girl who is bent on earning fame, giving her absolute freedom to pursue self-worth while loving her, and even willing to become an "outer room" in order not to affect the court career of the female host. This is clearly the Cinderella fairy tale of China, and it has no great practical significance. However, this setting is highly praised because it meets the psychological expectations of contemporary female audiences.
Although there is still a long way to go from the real mistress, the surging feminist trend of thought in recent years has really influenced the character setting and plot trend of film and television dramas more and more. Although the heroines in this year’s ancient puppet shows are different in temperament, the basic configuration is independence, wisdom and ability.
Comparatively speaking, the personality design and relationship setting of the characters in Yunxiang Biography are more modern. The female host played by Rachel Momo completely broke away from the rigid expectation of "silly and sweet", but was thoughtful and rational, and her feelings for the male host were also full of calm examination and intellectual game. In the end, after they fell, they did not depend on or cling to each other, but stood side by side like two oak trees, appreciating and supporting each other. (Jin Yan, the author is an associate researcher at the Film and Television Research Institute of China Academy of Art)