Because I like Pu Shu's song "Ordinary Road", the TV series "Ordinary Road" uses this song as the theme song, coupled with the trust in director Liu Jin, so after the broadcast of "Ordinary Road", I "judged" as soon as possible, and after watching 8 episodes, I followed the trend into the pit, and this drama is still worth "starting".
"Ordinary Road" poster
As an urban workplace drama, "Ordinary Road" focuses on the lawyer industry. Some people may say that my profession has nothing to do with lawyers, so this drama has nothing to do with me. In fact, what kind of profession represents only different narrative entry points, no matter which industry an excellent workplace drama focuses on, some of the workplace experiences and understandings involved in them are common. "Ordinary Road" can make people enter the pit because it accurately grasps and restores this "commonality". Whether you are a newcomer or an elite in the workplace, you can see yourself more or less in "Ordinary Road" - we are all on this "ordinary road".
The play starts with the entry of two newcomers in the workplace, namely Pan Yan played by Guo Qilin and Shu Yinan played by Yan Zidong. To some extent, they represent two different types of career newcomers.
Pan Yan is the most ordinary and inconspicuous "rookie" in the workplace. He comes from a very ordinary family - working hard in big cities with his mother, renting a house, and his mother is a ride-hailing driver, and his family is very ordinary; His own education is also very average - graduated from a very ordinary undergraduate college majoring in law, and after two hundred resumes were in the sea, he "picked up leaks" and entered the Rongke Law Firm in the midst of storms.
"Not being favored" is the general impression of Pan Yan after dealing with this society.
Pan Yan (played by Guo Qilin) graduated from a very ordinary school, and others reflexively think that it is a famous foreign school
His girlfriend's father was not optimistic about him, and on the grounds that he did not want his daughter to suffer, he beat Pan Yan in and out of words. After that, his girlfriend broke up with Pan Yan because of family changes and different life choices.
Du Feiyu (played by Zhang Zixian), a senior partner at Rongke Law Firm, is also not optimistic about him. Although Pan Yan was interviewed by him, it was because almost all the main cadres of the law firm were poached by other law firms, and if Rongke Law Firm lacked major generals, someone came to apply, so they were "reluctantly" recruited.
Du Feiyu (played by Zhang Zixian) reluctantly admitted Pan Yan
But after being recruited, the chain of contempt in his heart still played a faint role, so Du Feiyu always felt a little unpleasant when he looked at Pan Yan. Picking on his dress is too informal; There was little patience to listen to Pan Yan's speech, and he interrupted at every turn; Even if Pan Yan stayed up all night with trainee lawyer Zuo Na (played by Jin Chen) to make materials for the law firm to keep a big client, Pan Yan could not get a word of praise from Du Feiyu.
Even, when Shu Yinan, a high-achieving student in a prestigious school, wanted to enter Rongke, Du Feiyu had to "sacrifice" Pan Yan without thinking about it, leaving the hired place to Shu Yinan.
As soon as Pan Yan joined, Du Feiyu wanted to "open" him
Pan Yan's experience is the experience of many migrant workers in the workplace. When we first enter the workplace, we are not as scrappy and hardworking as Pan Yan. However, until we fully prove our strength in the workplace, the workplace will not take care of our self-esteem, and various blows may follow.
Compared with Pan Yan, Shu Yinan is the "proud son of heaven". He received his bachelor's degree from Peking University Law School and his master's degree from Oxford Law School. Shu Yinan is obviously also full of confidence in his experience at a prestigious university, and every time he introduces himself, he does not forget to mention that he graduated from a prestigious university, and from time to time he speaks a few words of English.
Shu Yinan (played by Yan Zidong), who graduated from a prestigious school;
His words and deeds also show the character of a "gentleman" all the time, such as noticing the details of his suit many times in the play - every time he gets up, he fastens the buttons of his suit, every time he sits down, he unbuttons his suit, such gentleman etiquette is engraved into his muscle memory.
Shu Yinan has a gentlemanly character carved into the marrow
Tianzhi Zhizi, who has just entered society, inevitably has a grand desire to change the world, and naively thinks that he is the changer. Shu Yinan has such self-confidence, and he also expects himself too. However, there is a distance between ideas and reality, and if you cannot stand on the land of reality, even the most beautiful ideas will seem volleyy.
Therefore, although Shu Yinan, who has just entered the workplace, is not "not optimistic" like Pan Yan, he feels more "drop impact". For example, when he first entered the top law firm Huanjing Law Firm, he thought that it was by virtue of his own strength, but in fact, Huanjing Law Firm hired him because his mother privately greeted the firm's barrister Liao Songting (played by Li Naiwen); When Du Feiyu took him to visit the customer, he annoyed the customer because he blindly read the legal provisions and did not understand flexibility; In the face of Du Feiyu's "reform plan" to export the law firm, Du Feiyu agreed on the surface, but in fact still felt that Shu Yinan "owed the ground"; When reflecting on individual cases with colleagues, he will inevitably "point fingers" to other colleagues because of his status as a famous school student...
Perhaps some viewers will think that Shu Yinan is "eye master and low hand", I don't think so. Recalling when we first entered the workplace, why wasn't we a little "idealistic" like Shu Yinan? We all have grand ideas and impulses to change the world, to point the finger and dismiss the situation, but when we encounter society, we will gradually understand in frustration that the world is much more complex than we think.
This does not mean that our idealism is wrong, or that having idealism is "high and low", but we have to deal with the relationship between ideals and reality, and if we want to realize our ideals, we must accumulate more experience and skills, and we must have more patience and preparation.
After experiencing various "unfavorable" and "gap impacts", at this time, we will listen to Pu Shu's "Ordinary Road", and we will have a deeper understanding of "I was once lost, disappointed, and lost all directions, until I saw the ordinary is the only answer".
So, what is the "ordinary road" of people in the workplace? Although "Ordinary Road" has not been broadcast for a long time, we can already gradually explore the answer from the choice of characters.
The ordinary road is that although you are "not favored", you still have to work hard with all your might. Hard work is an eternal law, although not every effort has a reward, but for ordinary us, without effort, there is no gain. Pan Yan, who is "not favored", will eventually prove himself in the unyielding struggle; Shu Yinan, who is familiar with theory, will also narrow the distance between ideal and reality in continuous efforts.
Pan Yan, who has been working hard
The ordinary road is that no matter what kind of "gap impact" you experience, you can adjust your emotions in time and grow and mature in setbacks, instead of self-pity and self-defeat. Pan Yan's open-minded optimism and Shu Yinan's good reflection and summary will transform every setback into nutrients for growth.
The ordinary road is also to dare to speak out and fight for injustice in the face of injustice in the workplace. Just like in the face of Du Feiyu's "dismissal", Pan Yan dared to resist; After being rejected by Liao Songting, Shu Yinan also dared to say, "Not hiring me is your loss, not my loss." Cynicism is not so much maturity as cowardice; It is not so much a lack of vision as a bottom line and principle.
Pan Yan argued to keep his job opportunities
The ordinary road is still that no matter what kind of color the society and the workplace become, you can stick to your original intention and have a clear conscience. When asked why he chose to become a lawyer, Pan Yan said in a determined voice and bright eyes: "I want everyone to see that the world is fair, just, orderly, and beautiful." Shu Yinan also believes that lawyers should believe in the law and defend their rights. Keep your original intention, so that you will not lose direction and mess up on the road of life.
Pan Yan's original intention
All in all, if you are a newcomer to the workplace, then "Ordinary Road" or the best "workplace apocalypse" will accompany you through every confused period and bring you the strength and belief to take this "ordinary road"; And if you are a workplace elite who has been crawling in the workplace for many years, "Ordinary Road" is not only a lookback, a rest but also a necessary midway summary, reminding us not to forget the road when we came, not to forget the original belief, calibrate the navigation, and continue to move steadily on the "ordinary road".