Editor's note: Almost every month, some online articles are adapted into TV series and movies, and there have always been many disputes over online article adaptations. In this monthly online article adaptation observation, we will extract some common problems in the online article adaptations of that month, and help everyone see the essence through the phenomenon.
The web novel adaptation that is in focus in February is "Hard to Woo". Let's talk about how the adaptation of current idol web novels can achieve the best of both worlds in terms of "technology" (sense of atmosphere) and "content" (core expression).
Stills from Hard to Please
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a hit idol drama in the drama market. Although “Hard to Wake Up” has not reached the phenomenal level of “Love O2O”, “Why Sheng Xiaomo” and “Go Go Squid!”, it is still a big hit.
"Hard to Coax" is adapted from a phenomenal IP with over 1.8 million collections and over 20 billion points on Jinjiang Literature City. The original author Zhu Yi is famous for her delicate emotional portrayal and life-like narrative style. Her previous works such as "Can't Hide Secretly" and "She Is Seriously Ill" ("When I Run Towards You") have been adapted into film and television.
This time, "Hard to Woo" is a combination of big traffic + big IP + big director + big production. Bai Jingting and Zhang Ruonan are the male and female protagonists. Director Qu Youning has established a good reputation with idol dramas such as "It Started with a Kiss" and "I May Not Love You". The OST lineup brings together top Chinese music stars such as Mayday, Mao Buyi, and Li Yuchun. The platform spares no effort in promoting the drama... It shows the determination to create a hit idol drama.
The story of "Hard to Woo" is not complicated. It tells the emotional story of Wen Yifan and Sang Yan from their secret crush in high school to their reunion and living together as adults. In high school, Sang Yan and Wen Yifan were considered a couple by their classmates, and they agreed to take the entrance exam to Nanwu University together. However, Wen Yifan changed his application to Yihe University due to an unknown family trauma. Sang Yan mistakenly thought that he was being used as a spare tire, and the two missed each other.
Sang Yan (Bai Jingting) and Wen Yifan (Zhang Ruonan) in high school
Nine years later, by chance, they started living together. As they got along, their old knots in their hearts gradually untied. They got closer to each other, redeemed each other, and their buried love surged in their hearts again, and they finally got together.
Such a seemingly "ordinary" story is a top-level modern romance work on Jinjiang Literature City. Admittedly, whether it is the emotional tug-of-war between the two in "two-way crush", or the complex mood of reunion after a long separation in "broken mirror reunited", or the firm choice after twists and turns, they are all full of drama and emotional tension, but there are countless online novels with this kind of setting. Why is "Hard to Woo" so popular?
To put it simply, on the one hand, although this type of novel is not surprising, Zhu Yi's novels are highly complete, just like a "box-office hit" genre film, with two-way crush, contrasting cute characters, high-sugar interactions, etc., which are highly in line with the industrialized production laws of genre novels.
On the other hand, in a fast-paced life, many readers tend to choose relaxing texts with "low cognitive load". Zhu Yi's novels achieve the function of "emotional massage" through high-frequency sweetness and moderate rhythm control; the narrative style is straightforward and the plot is bright, which also meets the reading needs of netizens in scenes such as subway commuting and before bedtime leisure.
This is the reality of cultural consumption stratification: some readers pursue the spiritual depth of serious literature, while others need "emotional massage" to relieve the pressure of reality. This market demand itself is not high or low, but an inevitable product of the diversification of the cultural industry.
The drama version of "Nanwo" is much more controversial than the novel. From the audio-visual level, "Nanwo" is better than most of the current idol dramas in the domestic entertainment industry. The film and television adaptation of current idol dramas requires a director like Qu Youning to restore the atmosphere; but from the story level, "Nanwo" is really "old".
This is not the main responsibility of the novel. The "oldness" criticized by the audience in the TV version of "Hard to Woo" is mostly the changes or original creations of the screenwriter. The TV version combines the advantages and disadvantages of the adaptation of modern idol web novels, with both positive and typical aspects in form and negative and typical aspects in content.
First-class atmosphere creation
In terms of creating a sense of atmosphere, "Hard to Woo" is at the top level of domestic idol dramas. Without mentioning too many, we will pick a few scenes to take a closer look.
Idol dramas prefer to use slow motion to create an atmosphere, allowing the audience to intuitively feel the emotional changes of the characters and strengthen emotional resonance. However, many idol dramas currently use slow motion in a very simple way, always showing it by slowing down the picture at a constant speed, lacking creativity and changes, which instead makes the audience aesthetically fatigued.
The camera changes in "Hard to Woo" are much richer. For example, the scene where the hero and heroine meet again after a long separation is also slow-motion + BGM, but the slow-motion is full of changes and full of emotional tension.
The film first uses a medium shot to show the spatial position of the two people. When their eyes meet, a flash of surprise passes by; secondly, it is a close-up of Sang Yan's face, with a complicated expression, showing disbelief at meeting again and unspeakable emotions; with the help of Wen Yifan adjusting the corner of his clothes, the film switches to medium shots at different angles to show the details of their body language and express their inner turmoil; the camera focuses on Sang Yan's profile again, and his frozen expression can feel the turmoil in his heart; finally, the mirror reflects their positions, adding a sense of layering to the picture, and also implying the close yet distant relationship between the two.
Sang Yan and Wen Yifan meet again on a "narrow road"
In the next set of shots, Wen Yifan first showed a polite smile with a hint of caution; she was the first to say "I just saw you", breaking the awkward silence, and also conveying the message that she still remembered him, testing his reaction; Sang Yan was unmoved, Wen Yifan's smile froze slightly, and her eyes flashed with helplessness; realizing that the atmosphere was not right, she restrained her smile, her posture became stiff, and chose to leave...
This set of shots delicately presents the "awkwardness" of reuniting with first love. The audience can also get that in this first love that ended without a result, Wen Yifan was the one who felt more guilty, while Sang Yan was still reluctant to let go for a long time, and he still couldn't let go even after meeting again many years later.
Another example is the use of transitions.
Transitions ensure the smooth flow of the plot, connecting different scenes and plots to avoid abruptness. Compared with other dramas, idol dramas place more emphasis on the role of transitions, because idol dramas contain a lot of emotional entanglements and dreamy scenes, requiring transitions to be more designed, through the clever connection of light and shadow, color, imagery, etc., to clarify the plot context, accurately convey the emotions of the characters, create a unique atmosphere of fantasy and romance, and enhance the overall viewing experience.
Many of the transitions in "Hard to Woo" are textbook-level. After meeting her first love by chance and returning home, Wen Yifan's eyes met a youthful high school girl on the subway, and the floodgates of memory opened instantly. She wondered if she had not separated from him in high school, would she have lived a different life in a parallel time and space? She seemed to see another self dancing in the subway, a scene that was both sentimental and dreamy.
Wen Yifan imagines his other life in the subway
Then, the scene transitions from the imaginary dance scene to the scene of dancing with Sang Yan in high school. There is no abrupt switch, but the body language of the dance is used as a clue to connect the two different time and space scenes. Such a transition is not only visually beautiful, but also emotionally natural, reflecting Wen Yifan's deep attachment to that pure love.
From the dancing scene to the dancing music box, and then to the youthful appearance of the two in high school, the audience lightly and smoothly enters the vortex of Wen Yifan's memories, comes to that beautiful youth, and witnesses the budding and growth of her love with Sang Yan...
Online articles use words as carriers to build a fascinating virtual world in the minds of readers, triggering emotional resonance and heart-moving experience. In the process of film and television adaptation, the director plays a crucial role as a "language translator". With his professional ability and creativity, he readjusts the narrative rhythm, constructs the scene space, and designs ingenious camera movements, transforming the heart-moving elements contained in the text into visually impactful and emotionally appealing pictures, bringing new visual enjoyment and emotional touch to the audience.
The director is really good at capturing atmosphere.
A director with third-rate skills cannot direct an idol drama with first-rate effects. In the field of idol dramas, Qu Youning's skills are indeed first-rate, and the atmosphere created by "Hard to Woo" is also first-rate.
The portrayal of “weak” women
Unfortunately, "Hard to Wake Up" is a bit "old-fashioned" in terms of story, especially character creation, and the gorgeous audio-visual language seems "only for show".
In idol dramas, the heroine is the core. She is the soul leader of the story. Her personality, experience and emotional ups and downs are the important driving force for the development of the plot and the key to arousing the audience's emotional resonance. Compared with the novel, Wen Yifan in the drama is seriously "weakened" and she behaves quite "weak" in many events.
In the play, Wen Yifan lives in a shared apartment with a poor environment and a train track outside the window. When he was taking a shower, the shower curtain made some noises, so Wen Yifan went to argue with his roommate, Fatty. Fatty denied it, and Wen Yifan just felt annoyed.
Later, she was nearly raped by another roommate and decided to call the police. After comforting the man's wife and daughter, she began to doubt herself, "Is it my fault?"
She did not move away from this dangerous environment immediately. Later, she was retaliated by the man's friends. Fortunately, Sang Yan rescued her in time and she was able to escape.
We are certainly not a "victim blaming" theory, but Wen Yifan's series of responses to sexual harassment do make people feel that she lacks self-protection awareness (not to mention that she has had similar bad experiences before), and she habitually chooses to tolerate and give in.
Wen Yifan in the novel also encountered sexual harassment in a shared house, and she directly showed a "tough" attitude.
When a roommate knocked on her door in the middle of the night while drunk and harassed her, Wen Yifan "got up, took out her camera, adjusted its position, and recorded the scene in the direction of the door. Then, she picked up her phone, called 110, and clearly reported the address and situation." She has a strong sense of self-protection, clear thinking, and accurate responses.
After the police arrived, "she had not thought about reconciliation and planned to move out after this incident." When the man threatened her with his eyes, the novel wrote, "Wen Yifan leaned against the door with her arms folded, looking back at him expressionlessly. Her eyes were cold, without any fear, but rather as if she was staring at something dirty." The result of this incident was that the man was fined several hundred yuan and detained for a few days.
This is the Wen Yifan in the novel: upright and principled, and he will never bow to evil forces.
In the novel, she continues to have the same characteristics as in the opening chapter in the workplace: capable, decisive, calm, and resolute.
But the drama version of Wen Yifan still portrays a "weak" image in the workplace.
She first worked at Yihe Daily. Her married male boss frequently sent her messages at night and deliberately refused to publish her articles to force her to comply. Later, the male boss's wife went to the company to find Wen Yifan and made a scene. The company launched an investigation into the matter, and Wen Yifan resigned. She was even banned by the local newspaper because of rumors that she "seduced her boss."
Wen Yifan was sexually harassed by her boss
Wen Yifan then returned to her hometown Nanwu TV station to work. While reviewing material in the editing room, her colleague Zhang Ge sexually harassed her. Wen Yifan reflexively knocked over her coffee, apologized to Zhang Ge, and ran out. The gossiping colleagues outside the door scattered like birds and beasts.
Wen Yifan was sexually harassed and rumors spread again
This time, she still did not choose to resist or report it, and let the rumor spread. She told her few friends at the TV station: "Whether I admit it or not, they will only believe what they want to believe. Rumors are like wounds. If you ignore them, they will stop hurting after a while."
Wen Yifan did not fight
Sexual harassment is the most shameful thing, and Wen Yifan is a victim. However, she holds the idea of "accepting it" and "ignoring the rumors will make it go away", which seems to be open-minded, but in fact it is a manifestation of not daring to face the problem and lacking the courage to resist. This weakness makes her suffer injustice in the workplace, so that bad behavior does not receive the punishment it deserves, and the audience does not see the tenacity and fighting spirit that a modern working woman should have.
It is worth noting that Wen Yifan has worked at Yihe Daily and Radio and Television, and was harassed by her superiors. This experience in the novel is just a brief retelling of her to Sang Yan; in the drama, these experiences are exaggerated and filmed one by one, and she was chased by her superior's wife to the unit to make a scene, was jointly banned by the newspaper industry, and was sexually harassed and spread rumors at Nanwu TV Station, all of which are original to the drama version.
In short, from the novel to the TV series, "Hard to Woo" further "weakened" the character of Wen Yifan, which led to the controversy of "sexual harassment 6 times in 9 episodes". This included the naked scene of the homeless man that was deleted amid the audience's anger. In the novel, the homeless man attacked Mu Chengyun, and Wen Yifan only interviewed Mu Chengyun afterwards, but the TV series changed it to the homeless man harassing Wen Yifan and Mu Chengyun "heroically saving the beauty".
Some people may argue that the show is trying to highlight the plight of women through the dense sexual harassment plot. But the actual effect is counterproductive.
First, the dilemmas faced by women are diverse and complex, whether in the workplace, in life, or in emotions. Simplifying it to the dimension of sexual harassment is a one-sided interpretation and narrow presentation of the dilemma faced by women. Second, in terms of the actual presentation effect, these scenes neither delve into the root causes of sexual harassment nor show Wen Yifan's active struggle. Instead, they become a tool to promote the emotional line between the male and female protagonists, highlighting the "redemption" role of men, which is a kind of "consumption" of the issue of sexual harassment.
Wen Yifan in the novel can convince readers that she, an "orphan girl", can also gain a foothold in society and become a female reporter who is at the forefront of events, with keen insight and courageous action. She can finally "save herself" and emerge as a butterfly from the dark mud.
But Wen Yifan in the drama version, whether in the workplace, in life, or in her interactions with Sang Yan, is like a sheep that has strayed into a pack of wolves, waiting for someone to care for and save her.
Zhang Ruonan's temperament and performance further make Wen Yifan imbued with a "fragile" temperament from appearance to spirit - her beauty is slender and swaying, like dewdrops on the tips of grass in the early morning, which may be blown away by the breeze at any time.
This leads to a consequence: some important scenes, such as Wen Yifan resolutely saying to her mother, "This is the last time I will come to you", in the novel we can feel her irritability, indifference and decisiveness, and in the drama perhaps all these emotions are present, but more of it is her "brokenness".
Zhang Ruonan is of course very beautiful, and her interpretation of Wen Yifan more reflects the character's "broken feeling"
The play's perception of modern professional women is quite biased, and it also runs counter to the current audience's expectations of modern women - people want to see women's initiative in difficult situations, rather than a "princess in distress" who always needs to be rescued by a prince.
This kind of heroine creation reflects an old and deep-rooted gender logic: weakening the subjectivity of female characters and equating "women being protected" with the core driving force of romantic narratives. When women are placed in a passive object position and rely on men's rescue to complete the emotional cycle, the so-called "sweetness" and "healing" become a denial of women's autonomy.
"Hard to Woo" is not without highlights. The use of aesthetic elements such as soft light filters, exquisite composition, smooth transitions, and OST support has indeed given the series a layer of "high-end feeling", and has also allowed the series to always have a good number of views amid controversy. The stronger the atmosphere, the more regrettable it is that the paleness inside is exposed. At a time when women's consciousness is awakening and the audience's aesthetics are evolving, it is tantamount to carving a boat to find a sword to seek ...
The audience is not "difficult to appease", but the creative ideas that stick to old gender concepts are "difficult to accept". A truly progressive narrative should allow women to maintain their subjectivity in love and pain, rather than trapping them in a "appeased" crystal castle.
