No matter how terrible the legend, no matter how terrible the monster, it is difficult to escape becoming the "wrapper" under the hands of the capitalists, and in the commercial society, the full "entertainment IP", the legend of the man in black is not the first, nor will it be the last, but it is the most successful one at present - the inscription
In the commercial society, many things with communication and commercial value may be "entertained" by capital, and urban legends are no exception, and the most typical case is today's protagonist - the urban legend of the man in black.
Before opening, I apologize to all the followers of the column, the column has been a pigeon for a long time, and now it is back to update. Personally also refer to some comments, think that the column content is some horror + low interest, and then will slightly adjust the style of the column, today we come to talk about the topic of joy, that is, the entertainment of urban legends, horror legends become entertainment products.
Let's go to the topic:
Strictly speaking, the urban legend of the Man in Black is not a completely independent urban legend, but one of the products of the "alien boom". The content of urban legends is roughly as follows:
Cosmic researchers/scientists/military researchers, after discovering the secrets of aliens (including but not limited to government cooperation with aliens, alien core technology, evidence of alien existence, and alien manipulation politics, etc.), encounter some strange-looking, serious-looking "uninvited guests", reminding/hinting that they abandon their current research...
The content of the various versions of urban legends varies, as do the descriptions of these people, and in some versions, the Men in Black also exhibit some "superpowers" to imply that they may not be Earthlings...
In the 1950s and 1970s, with the Roswell Event and the major breakthroughs of mankind in the field of spaceflight, human beings began to show great curiosity and interest in the universe, especially for the possibility of the existence of other civilizations in space, and there was a heated discussion.
Among them, all kinds of "aliens" and "UFO" legends emerge in an endless stream, and related upsurges have risen in society, in addition to urban legends, related novels, movies and other content continue to come out, and soon developed into a social pop culture symbol, becoming one of the hot social topics in the context of the Cold War.
The legend of the "Men in Black" was neither the first nor the most famous in the context of the "alien boom", but it still incorporates many special elements, such as the Americans' consistent distrust of the government (believing that the government has a connection with aliens) and the department that specializes in managing extraterrestrial affairs.
This legend also has the general rules of other urban legends, such as the continuous changes in the spread, combined with the various details produced by the local culture, and in different legends, the real identity of the man in black will be set up in various ways, etc., how to look at it is a very traditional urban legend.
In folklore and communication, it has almost all the attributes of general contemporary legends/urban legends and folktales:
Anonymity (no clear author and source, only the earliest written stories can be found)
Continuous word of mouth (constantly "adding oil and vinegar" in the spread, becoming "spreading false rumors")
Mass creation (non-fixed story, constantly "revised" by the public in the process of dissemination)
There are different texts everywhere (in order to increase credibility there are different details everywhere, such as "my friend's friend" said)
From this research point of view, there is no essential difference between the urban legend of the Man in Black and other urban legends, but there is a difference - that is, the Man in Black has achieved great success in the field of "commercial entertainment", resulting in some subtle changes in the subsequent image.
Of all the urban legends, even those associated with "aliens", the Man in Black is not the most famous, nor is it the earliest, but it is one of the most successful "entertainment", and its earliest entertainment derivative is manga:
American cartoonist Lowell Cunningham, born in the late 50s, grew up in the "alien boom", heard a strong interest, according to the content of this urban legend, created this comic, the basic setting is a double protagonist a black and a white person, emphasizing that aliens actually live in the earth, the United States has a special management / research institutions (men in black) and so on...
However, the comic experience is more bumpy, the popularity is not ideal, and limited by the size of the publisher and commercial response, the content is not much, ended early, and does not get enough attention and popularity. However, after several mergers and acquisitions, the copyright of this comic book has also been tossed and turned into a live-action movie:
The film made "Men in Black" famous, and when it was released in 1997, it cut $587 million at the box office, and the film eventually went to the world as a trilogy + sequel. While the film continues the (partially adapted) comic story, it also inherits the style of heavy taste + funny + American humor, and it is not at all obvious that it is a story adapted from "horror/hunting legend".
In fact, in addition to comics and movies, "Men in Black" also came out of animation, and caught up with the "golden period" of Chinese animation introduction, becoming one of the few American animations with complete Chinese dubbing, and the name was translated as "Black Detective" when it was introduced, and I was chasing the entire 52 episodes of animation (standard annual) in the "Little Dragon Club" program:
Don't hide from everyone, I first watched the animation of "Detective in Black" on TV, and then I heard about the original legend of the Man in Black from a book of "The Unsolved Mysteries of the World", and because the impression of the animation was too deep, I didn't think there was anything terrible at all, but I thought it was funny and funny (always remembering the protagonist's various behaviors)...
Currently, the Man in Black series has comics, anime, live-action films, and adaptations of games. As a world-renowned animation film and television IP, there are also their own offline "facilities" - Universal Studios specially designed a "Man in Black" playground, parent-child direction, adults with children sitting in a car, holding electronic weapons, "aliens" popping up everywhere, and then the final system will count their respective "scores"...
"Men in Black" has developed from a "horror/hunting" urban legend to an "all-age" project, which is indeed a bit surprising. My friends and I rushed to Universal Studios on "Man in Black", only to find that all but us were surrounded by mothers playing with small children, which was a very embarrassing feeling...
The success of "Man in Black" as a cross-media project is beyond doubt, but what is more interesting is the change in its dissemination, this urban legend with horror elements, while being disseminated by cultural entertainment products, the image has also been "distorted" to a certain extent:
The success of the cross-media entertainment program has made more and more people know about the "Man in Black", while the serious discussion about its prototype has dropped visibly, and no one will pay attention to the alien legend and the US government, which everyone sees as a simple pop culture entertainment symbol.
With the popularity of the "Man in Black" series, more and more people know about the "black detective", but the people who regard the man in black as an urban legend and believe it to be true are becoming less and less, and everyone's first impression of it has changed from a terrifying image to an entertainment image loved by everyone.
At least the proportion of audiences who no longer believe in the real existence of these things is significantly increasing, and although the prototype of "Men in Black" after "entertainment" is considered to be a horror urban legend, most people prefer to remember the setting of the comic itself, from a terrifying image to a humorous guardian image, even more powerful than the debunking of rumors, it is estimated that everyone is unexpected.
The Man in Black completes the "image transformation" in games and movies, from a terrifying character to a positive character with funny elements. Facts have proved that the "false rumors" in urban legends and the various appendages in the spread are not opponents of capital operation in the cultural industry, and ACGN may be the real "king of communication".
In the current business society, any image, story and cultural product (even a stem) with a certain degree of popularity and popularity can gain commercial value through rapid dissemination, and naturally begin to gain the "favor" of capital, both at home and abroad:
Many urban legends, after becoming popular through the Internet, are also seeking "commercialization", and some have even obtained certain economic benefits for their creators and copyright owners:
Japan's internet urban legend "Ningen", which was later made in the anime;
The American online urban legend "Slender Man" is also making games through "licensing";
China's internet urban legends are also seeking "cinematization" to seek commercial gains;
………………………………
Only for now, there is no "success" in this regard. "Men in Black" has successfully jumped out of the framework of the original horror urban legend and hunting story image, realized "going to the world", and became one of the popular entertainment symbols through Hollywood in the United States.
However, what I want to say here is that from horror to funny commercialization, many times it is not necessarily a bad thing, especially for urban legends:
Without mentioning the benefits of market economy employment, let's talk about folklore itself. A folk tale has its own historical and social background, adapted to the social and psychological needs of the time, and some urban legends will "disappear" after losing the cultural soil. Many times some stories are "revitalized" by combining contemporary entertainment elements:
If nothing else, let's say that China's "Qixi" has also been passed down through "secularization" – now the "Chinese version of Valentine's Day" for young people. If the historical origin of the "Tanabata Festival" is discussed, the original meaning is "begging", the specific process is roughly to catch a spider and see if it is a web, if so, even if the "beggar" is successful...
If I follow the tradition, then every year I need to go out and catch a spider, and then give it to my beloved girl, and then tell her that you have to stare at it all night, and if it is webed, you will succeed in "begging"... Then there is no need to wait for the sister to propose to break up, I myself will go crazy first...
On the contrary, it is that today's young people have turned "Tanabata" into "Valentine's Day", but this traditional festival has new vitality in the modern fast-paced society and spread more and more widely. Every year, "Tanabata", as a day to take time out to buy some romantic gifts and create some mood, makes me remember it. (Definitely ten thousand times better than letting me catch spiders anyway)
In the same way, after the "alien boom" faded, the legend of the Man in Black instead because of these entertainment products, the popularity increased, realized beyond the background of the social era, completed its own "rebirth", in another form, re-existed in social communication:
This phenomenon, in fact, is very interesting, the original taboo general image, through the cultural entertainment industry into thousands of households, reshaping the public image, which in the field of urban legends, may not be the only, but the most successful one. And profit-seeking capital is likely to continue to consume this image, making the future more uncertain.
What's even more interesting is that the spread of this alienation is still happening, and we are all continuing to witness that this urban legend is at least 50 years old, not very "young" strictly speaking (of course, not very historical), but still "ever-changing" at an incredible speed. It's like an old tree blossoming and the variety is still changing.
Under the impact of commercial society, there are indeed some elements that we do not like, but some things are not completely negative. The spread of modern society and the changes in the media are also changing the face of many ancient legends, re-giving new narrative and cultural elements.
If there is something wrong, please spray lightly, and welcome enthusiasts to discuss it together
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