Among various types of TV dramas, period dramas are popular with audiences of all ages by interpreting ups and downs in the historical span, showing the tortuous history of fate and spiritual history of characters.

As the most representative type that can carry TV dramas to write life epics, if there is not one or several era dramas that can achieve innovative expressions and boost the industry level in a period, it is difficult to describe the healthy development of TV dramas. Although it is difficult to clearly define chronological dramas, if you define chronological dramas as the name implies, you will find that, compared with dramas that intercept a cross-section of life, chronological dramas express cross-year life in the form of a vertical life flow. It usually has a historical length ranging from ten to twenty years, thirty to forty years, fifty or sixty years, and a matching historical thickness and density, and it must be able to let history inspire the present.

Period dramas can also be subdivided into historical and realistic themes, grand narratives and daily narratives. In recent years, "The Age of Awakening" and "Diplomacy" belong to grand narratives, while "Shan Hai Qing" is more inclined to thematic creation. In contrast, the highest proportion of period dramas is the daily narrative that is closer to the lives of ordinary people and has a more pyrotechnic flavor.

This article tries to take some popular civilian life dramas with contemporary realistic themes such as "The World", "Chicken Feather Flying to the Sky", "Love Full Courtyard", "The Most Beautiful Youth" and "Parents Love" as examples to discuss several dimensions of the innovative expression of period dramas. Namely thickness, depth, density, temperature.

Stills of "Chicken Feather Flying to the Sky"

Thickness: Grasp historical nodes to achieve "cross-generation" writing

People's understanding of history is not static. What we usually call memory today is mostly a return to a traditional historical meaning that has passed away, or a reconstruction of a phenomenon that has gone away. History has never been as flat as the Neva Avenue, but the backflow of the great river, and the vicissitudes of life when singing forward. The contemporary reality-themed period drama reflects the history of more than 70 years after the founding of New China. In the past 70 years, there are not only the hot era in the early days of the People's Republic of China, where the domestic wastes are waiting to be rebuilt, land reform, private ownership reform, national defense modernization, etc. have continued to promote social renewal, and there have been anti-rightist expansion, anti-rightist expansion and even the "cultural revolution". Such twists and turns are also accompanied by the rapid development after the reform and opening up and the new contradictions and new problems that have arisen.

"The World" stills

Many viewers said: "The World is the most reluctant drama to watch in recent years." This is because the drama upholds realism and reconstructs the life history of the urban bottom civilians for more than 50 years. In the narrative of "Light Character Film", which takes the Zhou family as the main line, the father Zhou Zhigang participated in the construction of the third line in the southwest, the eldest son Zhou Bingyi responded to the national call to become the first batch of educated youths to go to the countryside, the eldest daughter Zhou Rong followed the poet husband to the countryside of Guizhou, Zhou Only the younger brother Zhou Bingkun is left with his mother to depend on each other. The series selects key historical nodes such as supporting the third-tier frontier, going to the countryside during the "Cultural Revolution", and reform and opening up. In the past 50 years, the fate of the Zhou family and the changes of the times intersect. Zhou Bingyi went into politics after graduating from university, and experienced ups and downs in his career in the drastic reform; Zhou Rong stayed at the school to teach after obtaining a doctorate, but his love life was bumpy; Zhou Bingkun and the unfortunate Zheng Juan went through the pain of being laid off and the challenge of going to sea.

"Human World" is a moving picture depicting the various states of the world, in which the love-hate entanglement and the ups and downs of fate make the audience empathize. Through the experiences and stories of three generations of the Zhou family, the series helps the audience to retrace the path China has traveled in the past half century, understand the changes and achievements therein, and thus understand the internal driving force of social change. This is what the show deserves to be praised for because of its history.

"Chicken Feather Flying to the Sky" has developed from Yiwu's foresight of commodity awareness for chicken feathers for sugar, to making socks and selling buttons, and later establishing a factory and setting up a group to sell its products abroad. The hero and heroine Chen Jianghe and Luo Yuzhu have gone from being "speculative elements" to becoming winners in life. Such a passionate entrepreneurial drama with the background of reform and opening up allows people to feel the real historical biography in the context of the magnificent era. The protagonist has never been discouraged from being imprisoned to starting a business and then suffering from an incurable disease. "Walking to the water and watching the wind rise", this entrepreneurial style is exactly what the audience looks back on the road of reform and opening up from the period drama. where I was deeply moved.

"Parents Love" stills

"Parents' Love" and "The Most Beautiful Youth" all have the reversal of the characters' fate caused by political movements such as the "Cultural Revolution", "Compositionalism", and "Anti-Rightist". In fact, the "bad seed" Xu Damao became the deputy director, and even the older generation's three masters, the second master, the second master, and the third master lost themselves. Only silly Zhu interprets the resilience of life with labor and honesty. In his own way, the chef of a steel mill helped the orphans, widows and several helpless elderly people in the courtyard house during the special period of life difficulties. Only because of the end of the "Cultural Revolution" and the advent of a new era of reform and opening up, what was right and wrong was reversed again. Only by virtue of his superb cooking skills can Shizhu become rich by opening a restaurant. When he became rich, he turned the courtyard into a "Happy Nursing Home" with the help of Dongfeng of the Times. By choosing historical nodes to promote the development of the storyline, the period drama is not only a respect for history, but also the only rule to maintain the sharpness of the realism of the series.

Depth: Position the narrative center on the meaning of life and the value of love

Period dramas are not so much defining narrative time and space as they are defining the spirit of the theme. Most of the high-quality period dramas follow the creative concept of "realistic life, freehand themes". The period drama makes people sigh and sigh not only the story, but also the human nature behind it. In "The Holy Family", Marx and Engels made a scientific definition of what "history" is by criticizing the idealistic view of history of the young Hegelian school: "History is nothing but the activity of people who pursue their own goals." The conscious goal of man The setting and direction should also be the theme direction of the drama Exploring Li Dezhu.

The theme song of "The World" sings affectionately: "Plants and trees will sprout, children will grow up, and the train of time will not stop for anyone. The platform of fate, joys and sorrows are moments, people fly high like snowflakes and melt. The world's It’s bitter, love will be separated, and the rain will fall. The sweetness of the world, remember to go home no matter how far you go.” In the song, Zhou Bingkun’s father and mother joined hands for a lifetime. When her husband who had been away for many years left before her mother, Zhou The mother took her husband's hand and went with him. The love of the older generation is in tears. Zhou Bingkun has been called a stupid child by his parents since he was a child, but he is recognized as an excellent "younger". This drama can let the audience get the enrichment of "knowledge of history" and "comprehension of feelings".

"The Most Beautiful Youth" stills

"The Most Beautiful Youth" reproduces the first generation of Saihanba people in the 1960s who planted trees in Saihanba, which was considered impossible by Soviet experts, and ventured into the sandy wasteland against the wind. The story itself is a great initiative of human beings to transform nature. In the half-century-long time tunnel, Saihanba people overcame unimaginable difficulties and created the miracle of desert turning into an oasis and a wasteland turning into a forest. The hardest and most dangerous is the snow interruption of food. The details of Lao Wei's possession of grain in the play made the audience especially moved. When he was out of food, Lao Wei took out a small bag of food. It turned out that he usually dried and rubbed the food that was wasted by others and saved it, and planned to take it back to his hometown to give to the old mother who was also short of food. Old Wei's small bag of food saved everyone's life, showing the precious friendship of Feng Cheng and his partners to advance and retreat together and share weal and woe. The comrades in arms were considerate and caring for each other in work and life, and the initial comradeship gradually evolved into love. This kind of love is not exaggerated and bloody rendering, but the fragrance floats and refreshes the heart. It vividly interprets the meaning and value of youth and life. Compared with some idol dramas with suspended plots, "The Most Beautiful Youth" is sought after by young audiences and has triggered a rejuvenation of public aesthetics.

"Parents' Love" describes the marriage of An Jie, the daughter of an unsuitable capitalist in a special era, and Jiang Defu, an officer who was born in the "old hat". In the decades of running-in, they walked towards each other, but they passed each other at one point, and they went over their heads, resulting in the inversion of the roles. That is, when Jiang Defu was old in the play, he was more than An Jie. Pay attention to the quality of life. Exploring this passing point is well worth thinking about. This "point" is where parental love lies. Because the precious value of love lies in creation, the so-called creation is to find oneself in the object and regenerate. Since the starting point of the selection of the drama is the simplicity of the father's peasant style and An Jie's traditional Chinese female virtue of "marrying the chicken with the chicken", with such a starting point, class differences, cultural differences, etc. are no longer insurmountable obstacles in the process of their love. , The love of the fathers gave the audience a touch and more insight.

Density: Physical Reduction Strives for Realistic Character Interpretation Always Online

As a realistic creation, period dramas should follow the style pursued by documentary aesthetics, and make the greatest degree of physical restoration of the "age", so as to achieve not only reality but also "solid".

When "The World" is set in the shanty town of "Light Word Film", there are 75,000 meters of wires in the shooting location alone, and dozens of trucks of black soil are laid. The calendars are also in the 80s and 90s of the last century. The original items of the era, furniture, utensils, electric fans, and radios are all items of the time. After the wall covering has been treated, there is a sense of wind and frost, and the newspapers are smoked to make them old. On the northeast kang of the Zhou family, quilts and mats And the way the family is lying down and sleeping makes the audience feel more cordial.

"Parents Love" not only reflects the sense of age with the clothes worn by the characters at that time, such as military uniforms, but also makes the scene of the arrival and departure of the island dock in the 1980s the "main scene", allowing the audience to have a first-hand experience of the island life of the troops stationed on the island and their families. .

Stills of "Love Full Courtyard"

"Love Full Siheyuan" did not use a ready-made courtyard in the selection of the scene, but rebuilt it at a 1:1 ratio according to the needs of the plot. In the play, Silly Zhu uses a plastic net pocket that cannot be taken away from his hand to carry the aluminum lunch box, and the second uncle's broken leg glasses are pasted with tape. Many subtleties bring the audience into the background of the times in the play.

In "The Most Beautiful Youth", many scenes were filmed under sandstorms and extremely cold weather, and the nests and tents were built according to their original appearance.

Compared with the realistic physical restoration of the environment where the characters are located, a more important aspect of quality dramas is that the actors' performances are always online.

In "The World", the characters are full and touching, and the successful image creation is inseparable from the actors' online performances. The series brings together more than a dozen national first-class actors. Whether it is the father played by Ding Yongdai, the mother played by Sarina, or the powerful Mesozoic actors Xin Baiqing, Song Jia, Lei Jiayin, Yin Tao, Zhang Kaili, Song Chunli, Ma Shaohua, etc., whether they are starring or supporting roles or guest appearances, they all provide the audience with textbook-level performances. Performance. From the three brothers and sisters of the Zhou family to the parents of the Zhou family, and even the governor, "old lady" and "six little gentlemen", none of them pulled their hips.

Although most of the scenes in "Parents Love" take place in the family and between husband and wife, the way of expressing love under the contrast of dealing with things and language always keeps the plot tense.

The main actors in "Love in Siheyuan" are all born and raised in Beijing, and most of them grew up in the hutongs of Siheyuan. The golden combination of middle-aged and powerful actors He Bing, Hao Lei and three veteran actors makes Manchu brilliance, which is the "soft gold" of unusual quality dramas.

Temperature: Satisfy the audience's expectations with the finale of the heartwarming drama

"Having temperature" is the meaning of realism. The warm expression of pursuit of realism is to embody the creative upholding of literary and artistic creation with the people as the center, keeping pace with the times, leading the fashion with "bright virtue", highlighting the beauty of human nature, and promoting the power of China. The temperature of realism manifests itself in the period drama in its finale design.

At the end of "The World", Hao Dongmei and Zhou Bingyi were sitting on the top of the mountain, looking around at the old farm where there were green fields and flocks of cattle and sheep. Zhou Bingyi wrote a letter to his sister Zhou Rong and his brother Zhou Bingkun respectively, saying that the greatest luck in life is to meet Hao Dongmei, if he is gone one day, I hope my younger brothers and sisters will take care of Hao Dongmei. The elderly Zhou Bingkun walked in the rain with Zheng Juan holding an umbrella. He hoped to have an afterlife, and to be husband and wife with Zheng Juan again. Although Zheng Juan said with a smile, "You want to be beautiful", he snuggled tenderly beside Bingkun. . These mournful but not sad scenes leave the viewers stunned. In "The World", not only did the three brothers and sisters have a relatively happy ending in the end, but also the other couples in "Six Little Gentlemen". It is worth mentioning that Yao Lisong, Bingyi's former comrade-in-arms in the Corps, was not abandoned. This former leader of Bingyi, who once lost himself and committed crimes because of greed, chose to surrender himself to a new life under Bingyi's persuasion.

The ending of "Parents' Love" is that Jiang Defu has passed his 80th birthday and has been bumpy for decades. On his 80th birthday, several children and the whole family are reunited again. Half a century of parental love can be sublimated and purified. The drama does not play the card of bitterness, but moves the audience in line with the prevailing daily life narrative, silently and subtly releasing positive energy that leads people to be good.

After the hardships of "The Most Beautiful Youth", Tan Xuemei reunites with her father who was reborn after the catastrophe. At the end, the first generation of tree planters turned into white-haired old people and returned to Saihanba to see a new look, which was respectful and emotional, and achieved the artistic effect of lingering voices.

"Love Full Siheyuan" can't be said to be "Love Full" until the end: after the difficult period, the "Cultural Revolution" and the hardships of reform and opening up, not only the love between silly Zhu and Qin Huairu in the Siheyuan was completed, but the three uncles aged In order to ensure the protection, he also re-accepted the "bad seed" Xu Damao and the father of Sha Zhu, and finally ended the plot with a family portrait of a courtyard house. Such a heart-warming drama satisfies the audience's aesthetic expectations for a period drama with hard work and good people.

(This article was originally published in the 8th edition of "Literary News" on October 31, 2022)