Top 10 Cultural and Creative Events of 2021

Time is accelerating, and so is time slowing down. Some people are trapped in time, and some people are rushing out of the constraints of time. As we bid farewell to 2021, looking back at the surface of this year's long river, there will always be some dazzling "spots" that jump into view. They either let the frozen time flow a little faster, or they catch the tail of some beautiful things that disappear quickly. Don't forget something interesting, in order to resist mediocrity. And finding meaning in the midst of interesting things is a gain in itself.

1. Calligraphy exhibition in the wet market

On May 1, artist Qiu Zhijie's writing project, "People Take Food as Heaven", was "launched" at the Sanyuanli Vegetable Market in Chaoyang District, Beijing. Nearly 100 calligraphy works with ancient poems, buzzwords, signs or recipes are hung in every passage and corner of the market.

This daily display of calligraphy, performance art, city life, and fireworks in the world has completely subverted the public's perception of "calligraphy exhibition". Let calligraphy to a large extent out of the narrow, exquisite, suffocating small circle, has a vigorous vitality, but also refreshed the public's mind of calligraphy, art and artists of the inherent cognition, so that culture from the heights fell into the dust, and fell to the ground, flourishing, the market calligraphy exhibition provides a practical and effective path.

So far, those calligraphies are still intact in the wet market, and the vendors have turned a blind eye to it, but the admirers who come to punch the clock are "deeply touched" after seeing it, and the cultural spirit carried by the calligraphy is scattered on the usual vegetables without trace, and enters the buyer's family.

2. Writers talk about talk shows

On April 23, "World Book Day", some writers and editors such as Da Xian, Zhi Chen, Huang Ping and so on took to the talk show stage, next to Li Jingze, Liang Hong and other guest judges; on April 25, the commentator Mao Jian made a keynote speech in "Song Fangjin and His Friends".

Writers have come to the forefront of talk shows. The outlet was large, but it didn't mess with their clothes and hair. After "rubbing" the hot spots of talk shows, they have returned to their original positions, and no one has become a professional talk show player. Between telling passages and engaging in creation, the habits and traditions of behind-the-scenes work are so powerful that they are like a whirlpool, once again drawing them into silence.

But the writers' community still has the iconic meaning of picking up the talk show microphone, which means that the writer's expression is being dragged out of the paper by the times, and although they still want to glue tightly to the print, there is always an invisible hand pulling them into the strange land. Their excitement and nervousness when they talk about talk shows did not hide the sharpness of thought hidden in the voice amplified by the microphone. Mo Yan has brought goods live, don't let the stage of the writer's talk show be empty, the 2022 talk show stage, the writers need to make a comeback.

3. Underwater Roselle Dance Brush Screen

On the evening of June 13, "Roselle Water Endowment" (formerly known as "Prayer") was the opening program of Henan Satellite TV's "Dragon Boat Wonderful Tour", which won the love of netizens at home and abroad.

"Roselle Water Endowment" is interwoven with a variety of elements such as freshness, mystery, and familiarity, which not only arouses the audience's curiosity, but also gives the audience a sense of satisfaction and interest in further exploration - this is also a common human emotion, it has never been exhausted, and it is easily stimulated.

Like "Tang Palace Night Banquet", "Roselle Water Endowment" is also "small to see the big", "with points to lead the face", in the premise of not giving them too heavy cultural responsibility, but played a strong role in dissemination and output effect, beauty is connected, beauty can be empathetic.

Visual wonders will bring about a revolution in the mind, and the shocking images captured by the eyes will stimulate the mind's extended imagination of beauty and the unknown, and in addition to admiring the "miracle", people will also sincerely thank the beauty.

Courtesy of Visual China

4. The county magistrate responded to the popularity of Cao County

Because of the earthy taste of an anchor in Cao County, Shandong Province, Shandong Heze Cao County became popular overnight, giving birth to "Cao County Terrier" such as "North Guang cao", "I'd rather have a bed in Cao County than a suite in Shanghai", "Cao County in the center of the universe".

Network stems have always been a double-edged sword, because behind the "stem" is always hidden netizens rich, complex, fine emotions, this emotion is often composed of ridicule, ridicule, contempt, envy, yearning, etc. If you can't truly distinguish the essence of the "stem", it is likely to play a good card.

Shandong CaoXian County Governor Liang Huimin's response to the popularity of Cao County successfully resolved the inherent risk hidden by the "Cao County Terrier", her objective cognition and accurate judgment of network emotions, and a sentence of "welcome to cao county to play", eliminating the rigidity and boredom of the official response, allowing netizens to discover the "strength of Cao County", but also interested in the customs and cuisine of Cao County. This is a local image and brand promotion whose value cannot be measured by money.

5. The back story is red with "Mohe Ballroom"

Singer Liu Shuang's "Mohe Ballroom" was released last year, but it was not until October this year that it became popular from short video websites to various online platforms. The most direct reason is that after the story of the protagonist of the song Zhang Dequan often going to the dance hall to dance solo because of the loss of his lover was spread, netizens were touched by his deep affection. The deeper reason is that on May 6, 1987, a fire broke out in the primeval forest of Mohe County, Daxing'anling, Heilongjiang Province, and with this song, it once again appeared in people's memories.

Liu Shuang's lyrics are written poetically and implicitly, and from the surface of the lyrics alone, it is easier to accept that it is a sad love song, and after Zhang Dequan and the realistic elements of the fire are integrated, "Mohe Ballroom" opens its social tentacles and provides more acceptance for more listeners. As a result, it has changed from a niche piece of music to a popular song that everyone can get resonance from.

Like other Internet celebrity songs, "Mohe Ballroom" has triggered some imitations and adaptations on social media, including celebrities, but the essence of the song cannot be integrated with the entertainment created by imitation adaptations, so the popularity of "Mohe Ballroom" soon entered a more embarrassing situation, in the face of heavy disasters, emotions can play a solace role, but sensationalism and entertainment will destroy this comfort. Either way, "Mohe Ballroom" is the most memorable song of 2021.

6. The bookstore opens to the slow train

On April 23, on the 7053 slow train from Jinan to Tai'an, there was one more bookstore, "Yanmo Bookstore", which was the first bookstore in the country to open on the train, you can buy books, read books and chat books on the slow green train, so that this already famous slow train attracted the attention of more young people.

I want to waste time with you, if it could be better on a slow train. The public emotion carried by the green-skinned train has long been overflowing and needs more receptors. In recent years, in the tide of memories of slow trains, people have expressed their resistance to fast-paced life and a sense of retention for the gradual disappearance of beautiful things. Although I know that I can't resist it, it seems that as long as I still have attachment in my heart, I can confirm that I have not been completely assimilated by the times.

As an industry that is also struggling to survive, when it is connected with the slow train that has long been eliminated, a "chemical reaction" is generated, which gives people a precise blow to the inner world. Climbing the slow train and sitting in the train bookstore flipping through books and drinking coffee, this temporary poetic life will be a long-term goal for many people.

7. Tsinghua alumni with an average age of 74 sing "Teenagers"

On February 5, CCTV News Douyin uploaded "Teenager" sung by the Shanghai Alumni Association Choir of Tsinghua University at the Spring Festival Gala of CCTV Network, which received more than 13 million likes in one day, "cool, handsome, hardcore, tearful", becoming the most used keyword for netizens to evaluate this video.

"Forever young, always full of tears", the Tsinghua Alumni Choir, an average of 74 years old, perfectly interpreted this popular phrase with a song. In the video of their chorus of "Teenagers", there is no twilight in sight, there is no dullness, there is no restraint, this short few minutes of video, like a sharp sword, pierced the narrative tone of the elderly group that has long been used for square dance, buying gold and other behaviors to satirize and ridicule the elderly group, showing another face of the elderly group.

Of course, the keyword "Tsinghua" has a great role in the popularity of the elderly version of "Teenager", it makes people feel the role of the power of knowledge in the state of existence, it can also make people feel a kind of optimism in enjoying the present, like "I am still the teenager before, there is no slightest change" such as lyrics containing youthful enthusiasm, but also expelled some of the condescending elements contained in elitism. More critically, the choir and "Youth" also give a solution for middle-aged and young people who have a sense of distress about old age.

8. Writer Yu Hua incarnates as a duanzi hand

On September 19, Jia Zhangke's "Swim Until the Sea Turns Blue" was released nationwide. As one of the characters targeted by the lens of this documentary, writer Yu Hua contributed golden sentences that made many viewers laugh in the film. As a satin player, he unexpectedly contributed a commercially attractive laugh to this documentary with strong literary and artistic colors, and made great contributions to the promotion of the film.

Yu Hua's passages in the film have actually been told many times in interviews or writings over the years, but the reason why these old passages can still be screened on social media again is that the online platform and traditional media have been completely differentiated, and the overlap between the audiences at both ends has become extremely low; the other is to show that in this talk show era, if a work cannot make the audience laugh, it means that it has lost the biggest focus. "Swim until the sea turns blue" in the middle and late stages of the release, the focus of publicity shifted to Yu Hua, this compromise is also a helpless move.

Yu Hua's novels look heavy, but Yu Hua in life seems very light, and he has found a down-to-earth foothold in writing and reality, and the wisdom of this is far more valuable than the passages he tells.

9. New Internet celebrity Zhang classmate

Near the end of the year, Zhang Classmate, who lives in a village in Yingkou, Liaoning Province, has more than 14 million fans on a short video platform, and he presents the real rural life in Northeast China by editing the fast-paced rural sitcom, which is easy to make people feel nostalgic, moved, and sighed.

In the context of Tieshan being blocked by the platform, Li Ziqi and the brokerage company have disputes, and the Internet red industry has been questioned, Zhang can still stand out and let people see the huge energy behind the short video industry. Classmate Zhang is not Li Ziqi's "replacement", nor does he rely on sensationalism to get out of position, the reason for his popularity is probably the huge number of netizens on the Internet who pay attention to the countryside, as well as the feelings of rural life that flow around, and need people like Classmate Zhang to tell and express.

With the sharp increase of influence, the criticism of Mr. Zhang has also begun to increase, just like some other popular Internet celebrities, Mr. Zhang has also been pushed into a slightly dangerous situation, which requires him to have a sensitive consciousness and calm concentration in self-positioning and cognition, creation and presentation. What kind of influencers does the Internet need? This problem will inevitably carry out another round of experiments on Zhang.

10. Sorry Wenfeng Company

On December 10, Jiangsu Wenfeng Group published an article on the public account "Sorry, We Are Not Related by Blood", publicly responding to the public opinion incident caused by Chen Mou, president of Shanghai Wenfeng Beauty salon Company ("Shanghai Haoge"), and the serious response attitude mirrored the absurd side of "Shanghai Haoge". This is perhaps the lowest cost marketing ad in 2021.

The "rainbow fart" of internal employees, the "pyramid scheme wind" of enterprise meetings, so that the corporate culture dominated by "Shanghai Haoge" has been ridiculed by netizens in a large area, although later there are many voices that believe that such ridicule is somewhat excessive, but in fact, the public opinion damage has been formed, for Shanghai Wenfeng, this will make its brand attractiveness significantly decline.

The statement issued by Jiangsu Wenfeng was issued to avoid the mistaken injury of public opinion, in addition to the title with a ridiculous taste, its internal text is basically serious and serious, and it does not "fall into the well", and loses no time in promoting several of its other brands.

For the thorough understanding of public opinion, as well as a good grasp of the timing and tone of the promotion, testing the judgment of the operator, this time embarrassed "Jiangsu Wenfeng", deeply from a negative incident, a good profit.

Source: China Youth Daily client