As the first drama in China focusing on plastic surgery and medical cosmetology, the choice of subject matter has attracted a lot of attention from the beginning and has attracted enough attention. When such a drama appears in the public eye, it not only presents an emerging industry, but also a multi-faceted interpretation of women's growth, self-awareness and beauty. Jiang Xia and Qin Mengqian, the two screenwriters of "In the Name of Beauty", revealed to us the story behind the creation of this drama.
Poster of "In the Name of Beauty"
Talking about the original intention of the creation, screenwriter Jiang Xia revealed that the idea originally came from producer Zhang Ying. At the beginning of the project, the medical beauty industry had quietly occupied an important position in people's daily lives, and its influence was growing day by day. "We all felt that this industry was very new and closely related to everyone's life. There were many interesting stories hidden in it, involving many topics of public concern, so we quickly decided to join the creation." Jiang Xia said. The medical beauty industry is not only about the shaping of external beauty, but also closely connected with people's psychology, social concepts and other aspects. These rich elements provide sufficient creative soil for the series.
In order to present the medical beauty industry in a realistic and comprehensive manner, the two screenwriters did a lot of preparatory work in the early stages. "Before we made an outline and conceived the story, Sister Ying took us to interview many public and private doctors and learned about their impressive cases. We even started from the face-to-face consultation of the patients and followed them all the way to the operating room, accumulating a lot of deep impressions and materials," Jiang Xia recalled.
After establishing the story framework, creating vivid characters became the biggest challenge. Fortunately, during the interview process, the female doctors left a deep impression on the screenwriters and provided them with rich character prototypes.
The setting of two female protagonists in "In the Name of Beauty" adds a lot of highlights to the series. Qin Mengqian said that she was initially inspired by some foreign series with two female themes. "At that time, we found that the relationship between two women can be very exciting, but there are relatively few works of this kind. We think this is a direction with great potential, so we decided to create a story about two female doctors."
Stills from "In the Name of Beauty"
During the creative process, the characters of Qiao Yang and Zhou Jingwen were constantly enriched and improved, and the relationship between them was full of tension. Netizens defined them as "enemies", which happened to be in line with the screenwriters' ideas.
"They are in a competitive relationship, but also have secret shared painful memories. This symbiotic relationship makes their story more complex and profound." Qin Mengqian analyzed, "They are like two sides of a twin, another side of each other in the world. When they don't see each other, they will be curious about each other's lives. This subtle emotion is the focus of our story writing."
The participation of actors Yao Chen and Jia Jingwen has added a lot of color to "In the Name of Beauty". Qin Mengqian also revealed that it was Yao Chen who proposed to invite Jia Jingwen to play Zhou Jingwen. At that time, Yao Chen watched "The World Between Us" and was moved by Jia Jingwen's wonderful performance, so she recommended her to the screenwriter team.
Many viewers believe that "In the Name of Beauty" is a true "female-centered" drama. The two screenwriters have their own understanding of this evaluation. Qin Mengqian said that they did not deliberately write a female-centered drama when they were creating it, but because the story revolves around two female protagonists, they naturally adopted a female perspective. "Female themes are not a limitation. Women can be the protagonists of any type of theme. Many excellent foreign works have proved this. When we wrote this drama, we wanted to show the stories of women and their growth, so that the audience can see the power of women."
Jiang Xia believes that this may be because they did not attach the value of female characters to men during the creative process, which may be the key factor in making the audience feel that women are the center of attention. "We pay more attention to women's own pursuits, dreams and inner world, and hope that through this drama, everyone can see women's independence and confidence."
Screenwriter Jiang Xia
Screenwriter: Qin Mengqian
【dialogue】
Talking about the two female protagonists: They are each other in the world
The Paper : What are the similarities and characteristics between "In the Name of Beauty" and conventional medical dramas?
Jiang Xia : When we were writing these stories, we did refer to a lot of medical dramas. We felt that the biggest difficulty was that many cases in other medical dramas could easily reach the topic of life and death, with strong plots and exciting stories. The field of "medical beauty" generally does not have a particularly big topic of life and death. But when we get to know this industry more deeply, we will learn about some shocking and difficult cases. In fact, the "medical beauty" industry also has the attribute of saving lives and healing the wounded. Of course, it is different from traditional medical care. In the "medical beauty" industry, more and more exciting stories are between doctors and patients, or the relationship between these characters.
The Paper : Qiao Yang and Zhou Jingwen, the setting of two female protagonists is very interesting. Where did you get the inspiration for these two characters? Did you draw on some interesting female doctors in real life?
Qin Mengqian : When I first wanted to write a story about two female protagonists, there weren't many dramas about two female protagonists on the market. At that time, there might be American dramas like "Enemy" and "The Morning Show", as well as "Killing Eve", which I really liked after watching it. At that time, I felt that the relationship between two women could be very exciting, but there were few people writing about it. I thought this might be a direction where we could develop in a larger space, so I went in this direction: to make a story about two female doctors.
Maybe at the beginning, their characters were slightly different from what they are now, but they gradually became more diverse during the field research. When we were writing the character Qiao Yang, the image we had in mind was indeed Teacher Yao Chen. At the beginning, that image was aimed at her, so maybe now everyone thinks that some of Qiao Yang's personality or character images are very consistent with her. Other things, such as the state of doctors facing beauty seekers, including their daily speaking style, are also borrowed from doctors we have interviewed in reality, such as some experts and female doctors from Badachu and Union Hospital.
Yao Chen as Qiao Yang
Alyssa Chia as Zhou Jingwen
The Paper : There is a lot of tension between these two characters. Can you tell us how you view the relationship between these two characters?
Qin Mengqian : I saw a netizen’s definition of “嗑”, which is that they are enemies. This is also what we imagine in our hearts. Because hatred always lasts longer than love, two people have a competitive relationship, and even a little secret shared painful memory, and they have reached a symbiotic relationship, which becomes more complicated and deeper. If Qiao Hui’s incident hadn’t happened, they would have been a very compatible partner, but the feeling of a deeper bond in their souls would be a little lacking.
When we were writing, we had a strong feeling that they were two sides of the same coin, they were each other in the world. So their relationship was more secretive and deeper than the usual best friends or partners. In the years when they hadn't seen each other, they would always think: What is that person doing now? I don't want to see her, but I'm curious about her life. This subtle feeling is very interesting and is also a focus of our story writing.
The Paper : Did these two actors give you any new inspiration or suggestions, or join in the creation?
Jiang Xia : When we finally decided on these two actors, we really felt that Qiao Yang and Zhou Jingwen were chosen by heaven. We wrote the role of Teacher Yao Chen with her in mind, and Teacher Jia Jingwen, you see, the character is called Zhou Jingwen. Some people think that we may have written this role specifically for Teacher Jia Jingwen, but it’s not true. We called it this name in the script from the beginning. Later, when it was confirmed that Teacher Jia Jingwen came, we really felt that we were destined to be together.
The two of them would discuss the characters with us, and their understanding of the characters we wrote was very deep and accurate. When discussing these characters with us, they added the two actor teachers' own experience and charm to these characters, so we really felt very "profitable".
Qin Mengqian : Alyssa Chia was personally selected by Yao Chen as her partner. It was Yao Chen who first suggested that Alyssa Chia play Zhou Jingwen. At that time, she had just watched The World Between Us, and Alyssa Chia's performance in it was very wonderful, so she suggested to us whether it was possible to invite Alyssa Chia to play the role. In the end, Alyssa Chia really played Director Zhou Jingwen. It was really a choice made by heaven, a coincidence and destiny.
Stills from "In the Name of Beauty"
Talking about women's drama: Be brave to express yourself and be brave to be yourself
The Paper : Many viewers say that "In the Name of Beauty" is truly "female-centered". I'm curious about how you two, as creators, understand this term?
Qin Mengqian : I have also seen these, and I am a little surprised that the audience has become so sensitive, which is a good thing. When we were writing, we did not deliberately write about women, this is a very natural thing. We are writing about two female protagonists, so we must write about their stories. You write around their stories, and it must be from a female perspective. All the stories and relationships must be written about her. The way of writing and the way of thinking are naturally female-centered.
I personally like to watch dramas with women as the main characters. I think women can be the main characters of any genre. Many foreign counterparts have already set a good example. The "Killing Eve" I mentioned earlier is a political thriller, and it is still very good with women as the main characters. There are many other dramas, such as "The Morning Show" and "Sleepless", which have also received very good responses. I think women can be the main characters in any genre, and you can write about any topic. It depends on whether you want to do so.
Jiang Xia : I think it may be because when we were writing, we did not place their value on men. This may be the most obvious point that makes the audience feel that they are female-centered.
Stills from "In the Name of Beauty"
The Paper : What experiences did you gain from the creation of "In the Name of Beauty" that you will use in your next play?
Qin Mengqian : My feeling is that dramas about women are very interesting. The more important female characters there are in a drama, the more different and colorful the drama will be. I will write dramas about women in this way in the future. This is my biggest feeling.
Jiang Xia : My biggest feeling is that I need to be brave and dare to write. I am a person who cares a lot about what others think. This drama has helped me grow a lot. Now I care less about other people's thoughts or comments. I think I need to express myself bravely and be myself.
The Paper : For a story with "beauty" as its main theme, which involves many "medical beauty" cases and shares views on beauty, what do you most want to convey to the audience?
Qin Mengqian : When we were writing, we kept thinking, what do we really want to express in the end? It may be: the pursuit of beauty is the pursuit of a freer life. Because the real beauty is the inner self-consistency, the pursuit of your passion, the love of your choice, this is a value we really want to convey. Like the two women we wrote about, they have always been being themselves, pursuing the passion that I believe in and choose, no matter what others say, including what my relatives say, I just do my best in the things I love and pursue the limits I want to pursue.
Zhou Jingwen is also like this. She has many shackles on her body, but in the face of these shackles, she has always insisted on working hard to fight against them and has been seeking breakthroughs. Through their stories, what we ultimately want to express is how people should live their lives and how to achieve freedom.
Stills from "In the Name of Beauty"
The Paper : Can I understand that the theme of this story about "medical beauty" is actually: What kind of people do these women who pursue beauty want to be?
Qin Mengqian : Yes, we write about these cases and discuss these topics, and ultimately we need to focus on specific people and their specific pains and troubles. My life experience is that many troubles and pains are caused by a lack of determination. When we write, we also have some self-doubts, which is a large part of the source of anxiety and pain. In fact, as long as you are determined about what you want, you can overcome all difficulties and run towards it. This is a very free state.
The Paper : Just as Qiao Yang said, beauty is very important to some people.
Qin Mengqian : Yes, prettiness and beauty are not just about appearance. What we want to write more is: you must live beautifully, live beautifully, and live the life we really want.
