Zhou Xun starred in "Xiao Min Jia" around the emotional life of middle-aged women, the protagonists of the hotly discussed "Love Myth" are also middle-aged men and women, compared to the "Beginning" or "Mirror Twin Cities" protagonists are still a typical young group, these two works and "Big Mama's World" put attention back on the roles and groups that seem to have disappeared in domestic dramas over the years, especially "Big Mama's World" Rarely takes the life of middle-aged and elderly men and women as the main line, In a hilarious and humorous and ironic form, it shows the life and life scenery that we are increasingly neglecting.
Why do the lives of middle-aged and elderly people disappear from popular film and television dramas? Why are we calling for the return of this subject? Through the small incision of the web drama "Big Mama's World", we can also see how an ideal old age life is imagined and shaped.
Why do middle-aged and elderly people "disappear" in film and television dramas?
With the expansion of the domestic consumer market in recent years and the changes in consumer groups and consumption concepts, domestic film and television dramas have also appeared many new adjustments and developments, and one of the important features is that the trend of "rejuvenation" has become the mainstream. On the one hand, this is related to the change in the medium of traditional viewing of film and television dramas. The shift from traditional television to computers and smart phones has led to changes in the mainstream audience group of watching dramas, and the middle-aged audiences who once took the family as a unit have become the young groups that currently occupy the mainstream of Internet use and consumption.
In addition, we also found that with the simplification of the current drama media and the gradual emergence of young people as the main consumer subjects, all kinds of film and television dramas must also begin to consider their aesthetics, preferences and consumption and drama psychology, resulting in the trend of domestic film and television dramas paying more and more attention to young aesthetics and stories in recent years.
It is precisely for this reason that we have found that various idol dramas, romance dramas or dramas around young people's preferences, psychological and emotional tendencies in domestic film and television dramas have become the production choice of major film and television production companies, while many dramas involving serious themes or family ethics in the first decade of the 21st century have shrunk under the new trend. This has led to many film and television images, characters and living groups tend to disappear and go to the edges of film and television dramas as popular culture, and some have become some kind of typical or stereotypical characters, acting as backgrounds or scraps in some dramas.
Stills from "Love Myth".
In the "Love Myth" that caused heated discussion at the end of last year, an important aspect is that people realize that the male and female protagonists of such love or romance life dramas before are mostly young men and women who are flourishing, and rarely pay attention to the love and life of middle-aged men and women like Lao Bai, Gloria or Miss Li. If the story hadn't taken place in Shanghai or if they weren't from Shanghai, the discussion it might have sparked might have been greatly diminished. Many middle-aged actresses are also aware of the age-specific restrictions and neglects in the industry they work in, which is why actresses have called on the industry to pay more attention to the news of their work.
To a large extent, popular and popular culture itself has a tendency to be younger, because it is precisely the latest, trendy, or widely disseminated things that attract attention. Although the consumption level or ability of many young people cannot be compared with some successful middle-aged people with a certain amount of capital accumulation, it is precisely the largeness of their base and the vitality and frequency of consumption that are different from the traditional ones that make the market and capital clearly aware of their consumption potential, which will further promote the formation and reproduction of related themes, story types and emotional tendencies. A typical example of this is the use of popular students to shoot idols and romance dramas, because they are closely related to the prosperity of the current fan circle culture, or the use of the huge readership and hobby group of The Beauty Culture to profit from the drama.
Stills from "Little Min's House".
It is precisely the popular culture models and ideologies formed under the interaction and mutual stirring of the market and capital, young consumer groups and their consumption concepts that affect what kind of film and television dramas we can see at present. The reason why "Xiao Minjia" and "Love Myth" can attract attention, in addition to their own story content and the flow of related actors, there is also a wave of disgust and even disgust behind the increasingly rigid and routine "young" film and television dramas. The reason why "Big Mama's World" can get a good reputation is first of all because the protagonists it pays attention to have almost disappeared in the current film and television dramas, this topic makes many people choose to open this drama, and its short, relaxed and highly topical content is the main reason for leaving young audiences and getting their praise.
How did "big mama" become a derogatory term?
In our daily life and colloquialism, "big mother" is more or less teasing or derogatory.
It is not just a common title for women of a certain age, but also hides a typical impression in it, such as the triviality of big mothers, love of nagging, nosy, love of inquiry and gossip, and a strong confidence and strong attitude towards many of their own ideas and ideas. "Big Mama's World" deliberately exploits this cultural imagination and stereotype to some extent, and their story itself revolves around two big moms, and many of the daily lives involved in it do reflect people's perceptions of "big moms" from another perspective, and at the same time subvert these images. And it is precisely the conflict between the two that causes the most fundamental comedic effect of this drama.
Stills from "Big Mama's World".
In the episode "Sharing Little Li", the creators of "Big Mama's World" clearly hope to use the traditional stereotype of Big Mom – or more accurately, to the middle-aged and elderly group – to create stories and satirize them. The news that the elderly are defrauded by pyramid schemes that appear every three or five minutes in the social news has made the mainstream ideology controlled by young people and middle-aged people begin to imagine and build them into a group of "old fools" - doing nothing in their later years, sitting in a daze, and finally being cheated out of their lifelong savings by pyramid schemes, and regretting it.
"Big Mama's World" shows us a group of elderly people who are very different from these images, who are shrewd and sophisticated, who have a clear understanding of the enthusiasm for MLM, and finally begin to use MLM young people to serve them through perfect performances. We see another kind of elderly group and life in this group of big moms led by Sister Wang (played by Li Lingyu) and Lao Yang (Mu Liyan), especially away from the imagination of their dimwitted and miserable old age in mainstream ideology and social news, and on the contrary, they create a kind of sunny and lively, full of daily shrewdness and small troubles, but can always be handled and solved by sophistication.
When the mainstream media begins to discuss the daily lives of older people or our parents and their later years, there is often a contradictory discussion. On the one hand, it is to sigh or find that the life of parents who have pulled their children up and left home is empty for a while and a half, and on the other hand, many children are full of disdain for the activities and hobbies that parents like or are keen to participate in, and even many criticisms. "Big Mama's World" is largely hoping to show or imagine a new, possible old age life, like Sister Wang and Lao Yang formed a square dance team with other elderly people in their own community, trained at a specific time, fought with young people who played basketball in the community for the venue, and eventually actively participated in the competition; and Sister Wang and Lao Yang also have their own hobbies, interests and lives, not just nestling at home and sighing as we think.
Perhaps, the real-world aunt will be as confident, alive and dashing as Sister Wang or Lao Yang. In fact, we can't take the "big moms" in this drama as real everyday images, but should be understood as they are also expected and imagined states of existence, or the creation of possible big moms images and lives. In terms of all kinds of satire on the stereotype of mainstream big mothers, the creators hope to achieve a comedic effect through such a typical collision, and remind the audience to be vigilant about their own impressions or stereotypes of the kind of elderly images and living worlds.
To a large extent, the "big moms" in "Big Mom's World" are also the product of the current youthful ideological influence. And behind this, there may be a point that deserves our attention, that is, through this conceptual eye constructed and imagined by young people to see the life of the elderly group, what do we hope it is like? Therefore, some commentators also laughed that this drama allowed her to see her future old age life.
Therefore, "Big Mama's World" may also be regarded as the current young people's vision of their old age, and they are also subconsciously aware of the current mainstream impression of the elderly group and the grayness of their lives, so they also hope to carry out a new, more sunny or pluralistic imagination through such film and television dramas. Behind these imaginations is precisely the oblivion, unfriendliness, disdain, and even dissatisfaction with the way we live in our increasingly young world for the elderly.
How do we imagine the ideal old age?
Song Mingwei's monograph, Young China: National Rejuvenation and the Bildungsroman (1900-1959), focuses on how modern China transformed from an "old and dimly old empire" to a "young and promising new China." The decline of the world of the elderly is a problem of modernity, so behind the rejuvenation of the entire consumer culture there is a grander and mainstream historical melody, but with the increasing aging problems of the current countries, the elderly group and their life, psychological and emotional needs have once again attracted people's attention. But even so, popularity and popular culture, which are closely integrated with the market and consumption, have always paid limited attention to this.
From the short series "Big Mama's World", we can see that in many social levels, its groups and habits are ignored, especially in a world where the elderly are increasingly old, and the services provided to young people and the urban spaces, living patterns and consumption forms shaped for their convenience are increasingly dominating. In the 19 episodes of "Program Aging", Wang Jie was locked in the supermarket by the smart convenience store, and as a result, she had to carry out a series of complex operations such as electronic scanning code, paying attention to public accounts, forwarding and collecting likes.
With the current expansion of China's intelligence, the AI of many daily life, consumption and entertainment venues has become the biggest obstacle in the lives of many elderly people. And such news is also endless, and finally the relevant departments have to issue relevant regulations to protect the rights and interests of the elderly in such life matters; and in the new crown epidemic period, we can not ignore that for those who do not use or do not have smart phones, they often become ignored in a series of epidemic prevention policies or their habits and living patterns are not paid corresponding attention, resulting in their exclusion in specific urban spaces. Thus invisibly further isolating them from modern society.
In "Big Mama's World", Both Sister Wang and Lao Yang are skilled in the use of smart phones, and they are handy in brushing short videos, chasing dramas and shopping. But this may be an ideal, because most older people are unable to meet this standard due to specific living conditions, knowledge and circumstances. It is precisely because of the increasing intelligence and youthfulness of contemporary society that Ueno Chizuru will provide many practical and appropriate suggestions and help for the "gradually getting old" old age life based on her own personal experience and research data and surveys in many of her books (such as "A Person's Old Queen" and "Getting Old in the Way You Like"). She reminds people who begin to enter old age not to be bound by traditional imaginations and stereotypes about old age, but to always enter old age with a new mentality and continue to create their own lives.
"A Man's Last Journey", by Chizuru Ueno, Translator: Ren Jiayun / Wei Jinmei, Edition: Zhejiang University Press, October 2021
In addition, in "A Man's Last Journey", Chizuru Ueno also pointed out through her social survey that relevant government departments and social institutions should pay attention to, transform and help the lives of the elderly. Because it is precisely these external hardware and facilities that are complete and perfect, in order to provide a comfortable space for people entering the elderly, to create possibilities for their new life in a new stage of life.
"The world is yours and ours". At many political, economic and social core and mainstream levels, young people who have not yet entered it or have just begun to work are vulnerable, but with the growth of economic spending power and the acquisition of voice in culture and ideology, they will inevitably be able to dominate the largely influential mass and popular culture, because it is precisely in this that there are certain ideologies that need to be changed or inherited and reproduced.
In these stories, feelings and life patterns that surround us made up of this part of mass culture, the figures of the elderly and their voices are gradually disappearing. They have become a certain kind of "typical" in various idol dramas, romance dramas, detective reasoning dramas or ethical dramas, or the old lady in Barkin's "Home" represents conservative and conservative, hindering the eventual formation of young people's dependents, or like the modern version of the traditional three sisters and six wives, who love gossip and love to be nosy, or it may be just a background, vague and unclear.
It is precisely in this context that film and television dramas such as "Xiao MinJia", "Love Myth" and "Big Mama's World" will appear eye-catching. As the Frankfurt School's research has found, modern popular and popular culture is itself an important field for shaping and reproducing mainstream ideologies. As the most widely accepted cultural form in everyone's daily life, whether an image, role or group can appear in it, in what way or in what way or in an image, there are more complex powers and ideologies involved. As the American documentary "Celluloid Closet" puts it, it is the film and television drama that shapes our identity, emotions and desires, and affects our perceptions of society, interpersonal interactions, and about normalcy.
Middle-aged and elderly characters or "big mothers" begin to disappear in film and television dramas, and we will unconsciously ignore their existence and needs, and their lives are often reduced to some kind of novel repetition, even if they live next to us, that is, we are familiar or close to people, we may also turn a blind eye to this.
In Big Mama's World, we imagine another possible old age to confront or transform the clichés and dark metaphors of traditional impressions, both for our parents' generation and for our future selves. And it may also herald the birth of a new pattern of family relationships and parent-child relationships, and getting to know our parents is an important emotional education lesson because it determines in some way how we perceive ourselves and how we think about others and the world at large.
Author | Heavy wood
Edit | Go for a walk
Proofreading | Zhao Lin