May 4, 2023 | Issue 3225
From Pan Yan (played by Guo Qilin) joining Rongke Law Firm to the newcomer "Three Musketeers" showing his edge, the urban workplace light comedy "Ordinary Road" broadcast on CCTV-8 and Tencent Video last night has seen six episodes.
Although a lawyer is a profession that can read all the things in the world, it seems that there is no too raw plot in the progress bar on the first day of this drama.
However, relying on the writing of one ordinary day after another, relying on the psychological description of Pan Yan, Zuo Na (played by Jin Chen), Shu Yinan (played by Yan Zidong), three newcomers in the workplace, and the dot painting of the law firm and the client's life, "Ordinary Road" jumped out of the creative track of workplace dramas and jumped into the category of pan-workplace dramas - there is no entry threshold, and workers from all walks of life can see familiar traces of life and work here.
The appearance of Guo Qilin, Niu Li and others almost indicates that the style of this drama is light. Its tone is calm, its character is restrained, the process is high-burning, and the look and feel is pleasant. In a word, it is an ethereal workplace drama, a solid life drama.
In the era of self-media, too many workplace and life common sense have been misinterpreted by people with intentions, too many terms have been abused, too many groups have been labeled, and the value of ordinary people's own life and personal struggle needs to be reconfirmed more and more. When watching "Ordinary Road", there will always be a sense of life identity, as well as a momentary epiphany of worldly life.
From this point of view, its broadcast is just timely.
On the first day of broadcasting, the real-time attention of "Ordinary Road" in Kuyun reached 1.4953%, ranking first among all channel TV series in the same period. On Tencent Video's site popularity value also easily exceeded 22,000.
Four relationships paint a picture of life
How can workplace dramas with strong personalities be closely connected with ordinary audiences?
The strategy of "Ordinary Road" is about three points. First, the legal knowledge related to the case should be popularized, but the "industry black talk" that is too professional should be avoided, which is simply to speak human language. Second, although the professions are very different, the behavior and mentality of newcomers are always similar, as long as you write this thoroughly, you can arouse the resonance of the audience. Third, dig into life from the workplace and cases to find emotional commonalities.
Specifically, in the first six episodes of "Ordinary Road", four relationships such as men and women, family, superiors and subordinates, and interests are presented, which not only shape the realistic texture of the work, but also play a clever role in the dramatic structure.
Male-female relationship. It is said that many workplace dramas fall in love under the coat of the workplace, and this drama really "replicates" the love routine of workers, but it is the kind that resonates with ordinary audiences.
From introducing Pan Yan to the law firm where his eldest cousin is located, to taking him to meet his parents, to his grandmother's serious illness, it should be said that Pan Yan's girlfriend has a strong sense of presence in the first few episodes, but the number of times she has appeared is actually counted. Most of the time, she only exists in Pan Yan's mobile phone screen, and the two always have time to say a word through WeChat between work, during meal times or even walking. Even such a big thing as seeing your parents is done in a hurry at night after overtime.
Not only do they have to endure distance, but they also have to face more real-world problems.
Family relationships. Pan Yan and his mother support each other, and they have to take on more family responsibilities while striving for their careers; Zona's family tends to disintegrate, and she has to learn to deal with herself in her parents' broken marriage; Shu Yinan and the family pull each other... Can't escape, tear constantly, love is always there, pain is often there, the story written in "Ordinary Road" is the epitome of every ordinary family.
Superior-subordinate relationships. Young people's efforts to reorganize their workplaces have always been a hot topic on social media, and this time they are finally being presented on the screen in a joyful and humorous way.
"When we were young, we had to listen to our predecessors, and we finally became our predecessors, and now we have to listen to our juniors?"
"Yes, you are disobedient, and people will not work for you."
This conversation between Du Feiyu (played by Zhang Zixian) and personnel really poked my laughter.
Interests. The adult world is often not so pure, Shu Yinan graduated and entered a large firm, which has little to do with his own excellence, just because his entry can bring a big client to the law firm. When the customer flies away, the offer automatically expires. I believe that this detail makes many young people who are looking for a job feel concerned, thinking that the other party is looking at themselves, but they did not expect that they were just a potential customer.
Through the writing of four relationships, this drama makes the internal ecology of the workplace and the life state of the characters detailed and accurate. It resonates with the fragments and similar lives of the audience, and interprets the daily life of migrant workers.
The choice, persistence and ambition of the "Three Musketeers of Rongke"
What kind of person to join Rongke Law Firm is actually a difficult matter.
Rongke does not have the temperament of a big law firm, does not have a tall office environment, the core backbone has just been dug up to the point of not saving one, fixed customers also have other thoughts, partners are anxious, his assistants are fishing for a long time, and if they do not catch a few "catfish" to come in, the law firm may face an existential crisis.
Pan Yan, Zuo Na, Shu Yinan, "Rongke Three Musketeers" appeared.
They are said to be swordsmen because most of them have the lofty ideals of legal people to uphold fairness and justice, and have the courage and boldness to "show the king today, who has grievances", but in their bones they are not good and far-reaching people, and they have the courage of "sharpening a sword in ten years". The former speaks of wild hope, the latter of their choice and persistence.
Pan Yan has a heavy "funny poverty" attribute, and anything can be turned into humorous jokes when it comes to his mouth. He is not the chosen son of God, only an ordinary bachelor's degree; There is no adventure of fish jumping over the dragon gate, only two hundred resumes sinking into the sea. It is not so much that he chose Rongke, but that Rongke chose him when no one was available.
But he has never been a mediocre person with little knowledge, but a person with a heart who dares to run hard for victory. The law firm wanted to turn him away when there was a better choice, and he dared to argue on the spot; His girlfriend's parents couldn't look at him, so he turned his head and turned his grief and anger into motivation, facing reality with a broken cauldron. He has a willpower that transcends willpower, hobbies, and talents, and because of this willpower, he greets others with a smile and is harsh on himself.
"Mom, I'll go back to the unit to work overtime, you can tell all our relatives that your son works in a law firm, if there is anything to use me, just tell me, I will help them solve it." This voice that does not leave a way back for itself is louder than the words of struggle that pile up rhetoric, and only when people are forced into a corner can the story become beautiful and the meaning become profound.
In the fifth episode, he said the heaviest sentence to Lawyer Du: "Fairness and justice, order and beauty, you don't have a word in these four words." "It's his indictment of the injustices he has suffered, and it's his rare declaration of ideals."
Shu Yinan is different. He did not have Pan Yan's bitter hatred, and he walked all the way to the smooth road paved by his parents. He disdains to participate in the profit game of the adult world, and cannot even say flattery to the interviewer, like an uncompromising arrogant branch, growing bravely.
Hitting a wall is inevitable, and there is always a shadow between ideal and reality, between motivation and behavior. Shu Yinan's proud background and professional knowledge of prestigious schools have been reduced to a background board in the entanglement of adults' interests; The act of opening your mouth to hang Oxford Law School on your lips is also incompatible with the surroundings, and the design of the lines that first move the school out to overwhelm people is a stroke of genius, which instantly injects rich blood into the characters.
On the road of "WTO accession", his first consideration is not to fight monsters and promotions and raise salaries, but to deal with the complicated interpersonal relationships and layers of tests in the workplace, and to complete the reconfirmation of self-worth in the gap between ideals and reality.
The reason why Rongke gave up looking for a new firm and joined Rongke closer was due to his consistent uncompromising. "I want you to know that not hiring me is your loss, not mine." I believe that in a more tolerant and humane environment like Rongke, he can grow up quickly and achieve his mission of upholding fairness and justice.
Compared with the first two, Zuo Na is a more experienced "senior", who works methodically and handles people with ease. When others followed senior lawyers en masse to join the firm, she chose to stay and hold her ground. Upwards, she is the right-hand man of the firm's partners, and downwards she is a caring mentor for newcomers.
However, although she is effective at work, she still encounters many problems in life? That's right, Zuo Na can't see others showing affection, her parents' marriage has reached the brink of breakdown, and the sudden change in her girlfriend's identity makes her even more at a loss. In addition to continuing to improve at work, she also has to deal with the mess in her life. Fortunately, she has mastered the art of balancing life and career.
In terms of character shaping, the most touching thing in "Ordinary Road" is the sense of proportion, that is, do not use characters as tool people, do not write them as paper people who let the audience either mock or vent their emotions - Pan Yan does not have too much bitter rendering on his body, Shu Yinan does not have the ultimate writing of greenhouse flowers and unfinished vessels, and Zuo Na's strong female identity is not superficial.
In this way, it complements the quality of life in the deep flow of still water.
You are the loneliest, light the lights
You are the loneliest, light the lights.
This is the Slogan of "Ordinary Road", and it seems to be the most topical sentence at present.
Intuitively, this phrase is about personal struggle. In the second episode, Pan Yan and Zuo Na worked overnight to sort out information in order to retain customers who were about to lose; In the sixth episode, Shu Yinan was also busy until late at night to sort out the case. The lights outside the window are shining, and they are alone inside.
Hard work? Of course it's hard, but as the saying goes, an unexamined life is not worth living. The reality is this bank, the ideal is the other bank, separated by a rushing river, and action is a bridge over the river. If you want to cross the river, you can't do it without the ability to build bridges.
Here it is necessary to talk about the practical significance of "Ordinary Road". For some reason, the word "struggle" is deconstructed in the public sphere, even ridiculed, and the value and sense of achievement brought by struggle are intentionally or unconsciously dissolved. The more such a time, the more it is necessary for literary and artistic works to stand up and correct the chaos.
Pan Yan is the best example of "poor children become heads of households", and Zuo Na and Shu Yinan are typical of "people who are better than you work harder than you". When Pan Yan went from having no way to find a job to deeply involved in the case, when Zuo Na defeated a senior lawyer to make the client change his mind, and when Shu Yinan grew in practice, the meaning of struggle was highlighted.
Like two sides of the same coin, it not only writes the value of struggle, but also presents the "pretend culture" that runs rampant in modern society. Fan Xiaotian (played by Wang Ye) goes to work to touch fish, and when doing a job, he always depends on whether the leader is present or not, and after work, he becomes an elite lawyer in the live broadcast room, bragging to the audience about how hard he works. In the trailer, he says, "You have to play the best version of yourself." ”
In fact, he did not do a few things, but in the eyes of the audience, he lived more tired than anything. This is actually a manifestation of internal friction, which is not uncommon in real life.
Since the era of media, our brains have been subjected to fragmented information invasion and lack of attention, and it is easy to fall into the dilemma of chasing hot words today, catching up to pay for knowledge tomorrow, and urgently shaping elite characters the day after tomorrow. "Ordinary Road" from the title to the form to the content, actually tries to nourish the spirit of modern people with the most simple truth.
In terms of the industry, "Ordinary Road" has the same effect, it answers the three creative questions of urban dramas and workplace dramas with three "refusals": rejection of hot search topics, rejection of extreme personalities, and rejection of emotional lines. Let the creation return to common sense, the ordinary is pregnant with the extraordinary, and there is a strong dramatic tension in the depths of the still water.
Therefore, I don't believe that some people will say that it is an idol drama dressed as a workplace drama, nor do I believe that some people say that it is a suspended drama where the screenwriter has not been to work.
There are high-burning newcomers growing up, there are the staggers of the adult world, and there are the joys and sorrows of real life. Of course, at the end of the day, it tells a story of "exuberance" that is both solid and ethereal.
【Text/Xu Xinqiang】