In 2023, the spring of domestic suspense dramas.
"Ligong: Old Things in the Northeast", Shang Quanliang, a "detective" who studies alien civilizations and practices qigong, sends TA to the murderer group in the west when he sees people, and fights against each other in the air, you come and go.
The strange temperament of the waves and clouds is really rare in Chinese dramas.
"Thirteen Years in the Dust", two male protagonists, old with new, mutual redemption between master and apprentice is not new.
But spanning thirteen years, the group portrait of the criminal police from spirited to old sideburns is moving enough.
"Long Season", 680,000 people scored a high score of 9.4, basically locking in the best reputation of 2023 national dramas.
This is not so much a suspense drama as it drives the "wheel of the times" to run over our general life and snap its fingers with a resonance.
The Taiwanese drama "Imitator" tells us that what is more terrifying than the perverted murderer is the sick society.
Combining complex cases and media chaos, it not only stimulates the eyeballs, but also tries to shock people.
These stories take place in different cities: humid and hot Chongqing, cold and slaughtering Northeast, exquisite and bourgeois Taipei...
Sin has different roots: unconscious malice, a sense of existence with nowhere to rest, a torn soul shooting at the world...
The protagonists have different identities: employees of bottle warmers, criminal police, taxi drivers, prosecutors...
But without exception, it's all men's plays.
Not surprisingly, suspense dramas have always been the home of male characters.
In fact, in addition to Fan Wei, Yu Nan was originally worth looking forward to in "Ligong: Old Events in the Northeast".
As we all know, she is an actress who shines brightly and glamorously at that stop.
But He Xueqin, the owner of the dumpling shop in the play, has basically 0 correlation with the main plot line.
The whole process did her duty as a hostess, occasionally receiving the male protagonist who came to eat Quan Liang, becoming a sexy background board covered by coarse linen.
Are female characters really not important in suspense dramas?
On the contrary, they are often the most indispensable players.
Such as the victim.
The main line of many suspense dramas is serial murders against women.
It is really inappropriate to arbitrarily judge it as "for the sake of gimmicks". After all, it has a realistic basis - five of the world's top ten perverted killers specifically target women.
There is also a broader space for discussion:
In "Imitator", the murderer longs for not only the pleasure of killing women, but also the degradation and disorder of the whole society.
A grandfather wants the murderer to return his granddaughter's body so that her can rest in peace.
For this reason, he decided to go on the show to talk to the murderer. But he never thought that the "victim guilt theory" of the online audience was one step ahead of the murderer, allowing grandpa to suffer another heavy injury.
It is a pity that this drama loses its sense of proportion while trying to raise its intention.
The footage that slowly sweeps over the victim's body, the torture process that is infinitely lengthened, the close-up that has no effect on the plot... Again and again.
More physical discomfort than stimulation – is it really necessary?
Another example is the virtuous wives of the criminal police.
"Thirteen Years in the Dust", a serial murder case, trapped Wei Zhengrong and Lu Xingzhi for most of their lives, and also trapped their wives.
Lu Xingzhi's wife, Yang Man, has a wealthy family and outstanding knowledge, and is her husband's strongest backing.
Her parents were not satisfied with Lu Xingzhi, and she replied unceremoniously on behalf of her husband.
Without saying hello, the husband took the little girl who appeared at the crime scene home for adoption.
Yang Man did not hesitate in the slightest, and raised the girl as his own daughter for more than ten years.
Didn't let Lu Xingzhi worry a little.
Compared with the obedient Yang Man, Wei Zhengrong's wife Hu Haixia has a backbone, but not much.
Because Wei Zhengrong is divorced at home, but when they meet, they will throw a new pair of shoes to their husbands, which is known as "the leftover pair"...
I didn't know that my husband had rekindled his old relationship with his first love, and even neglected his father's own son during the New Year, and accompanied his first love and his first love child to set off fireworks.
They all possess good qualities – loyalty, generosity, and understanding, but they are often used to set off the dedication, integrity and bravery of the police husband.
Compared to ordinary people with flesh and blood, they are more like perfect tool people.
Another example is the little junior sister in the police station who is angry and troublemaker, and the female boss who is stubborn and dragging his feet.
Without thinking about it, multiple faces appeared in his head——
Zhou Shutong in "White Night Chasing" is a dragging relationship.
Su Ying in "The Gate of Rebirth" made people's blood pressure soar 108,000 miles in minutes.
Fang Yitong in "Babel" acted impulsively and IQ offline, almost killing his teammates.
Obviously, their presence at least makes the plot progress meandering and dangerous tenfold.
A male-dominated suspense theater with a full degree of female character tools.
What's more pity is that in "She Suspense", those heroines who are highly anticipated will inevitably enter the cliché ending.
Li Xiaonan in "Jiang Zhao Dawn".
Once, she was a smart property sales champion by day and a neat fried noodle stall lady by night.
On the surface, he lives a peaceful life with his gentle and considerate husband Su Rui, and he is wise and brave behind his back, and I don't know how many times he has escaped the murder of the other party.
After tearing her face with her husband, in order to divorce, she can overcome the "fear of water" and make a desperate bet to let her husband "kill" herself.
She is smart and resilient and dares to fight violence.
However, when her husband really left, she suddenly let go of her strength and began to reconcile with the world.
Carrying a million-dollar usury that does not belong to him, selling a house to pay for his mother-in-law who makes it difficult for him in every possible way...
The freeness of the "mortal woman" suddenly disappeared, and the brilliance of the Virgin Mary blinded my dog's eyes.
The cool text of the murderer's preaching is ultimately just the audience's brain supplement.
The unfolding of "The First Lights" is also confusing.
In a hotel called "Light", a beautiful scheming was staged.
Su Qingyi, one of her mothers, is about to fly to Japan with her Japanese guest, Mr. Nakamura.
Before leaving, she took revenge on all the sisters in the store as if she had lost her mind.
Intervened in the love and career of his best friend Luo Yunong and reported her for drug trafficking; snatching Mr. Nakamura, who originally belonged to Aji; Rubbing salt on Hanako's wounds, implying that she "light" does not need a young lady who has been raped...
After offending everyone, she was murdered without accident, and the story begins with her death.
The plot was originally intended to be a group portrait of a female who brought out "light" from a murder case.
Luo Yunong who lives in the present, the ambitious Aj, the Hanako who climbed up from hell...
A group of drinking girls who have fallen into the dust burst out with amazing vitality.
However, when the child's playful truth is revealed, the story falls into the strange logic of women harming each other.
Is the female image in the suspense drama not a tool, not a female competition, or saved by others?
Yes.
There was Ji Jie a long time ago.
The captain of flowing water, Ji Jie, who is ironclad, has always been the soul of "Six Groups of Serious Cases".
Female identity is not a label drag, but her strength.
There is one case in the play that impressed me:
The university professor was killed, and his wife stayed by her side, neither crying nor calling the police.
Everyone felt that there was something wrong with this old lady, and only Ji Jie could see that the old lady's mourning was greater than her heart dying.
A description of the campus couple reminded the old lady of her bits and pieces with her husband when she was young, and tears fell like rain.
The next day, the old lady finally decided to speak, naming and only talking to Ji Jie, admitting that she had killed her husband.
However, Ji Jie was a little skeptical about the old lady's confession.
Under her hard and soft interrogation, the old lady finally told the absurd and cruel truth-
The husband, greedy for freshness, mixed with a prostitute and was killed.
Da Zeng expressed puzzlement, what is the operation of the little three sins for the husband?
It was Ji Jie who spoke his heart for the old lady again:
She would rather go to jail herself than make her marriage with her husband a joke.
Ji Jie's presence makes people understand the importance of women's perspectives in the justice system.
Ji Jie's vivid three-dimensionality lies in the fact that she is not only a tough and excellent policeman, but also an ordinary person who will also be sad and distressed.
Many people may forget the beginning of "Six Groups of Serious Cases" - Ji Jie hopes to switch from field service to internal service because she is about to marry her fiancé.
Who expected that not long after applying, he found out that his sister was involved with her fiancé.
During the day she was fierce in the police station, and at night she was sad in an empty room.
It is precisely because she understands the taste of loss that she understands the old lady's attachment to this already tainted feeling.
In addition to the police, Ji Jie is also a sensitive and delicate woman who is good at empathy.
In addition to being frank and strong, female characters can also be beautiful and bad.
In the online drama "Detective Chinatown", Zhang Junning played by Zhang Junning has black hair in a red dress and swaying posture, and appears with BGM.
She has a complicated life - she has died three husbands, and each time she has reaped huge fortunes.
Is it really bad luck, or is it a real femme fatale?
The audience was almost the same as the male protagonist Lin Mo, who was toyed with by her.
It wasn't until the last moment that I dared to believe that she was a beautiful but deadly poppy.
As for what she said, is it true or false?
Still can't guess.
IVY proved that domestic horses can also have their own "deadly women".
Of course, most of the character's ingratiation is based on comic-like personalities, not the characters' bones.
I would prefer to see more ordinary women in domestic suspense dramas - even if they are ordinary and imperfect, they also have the complexity of flow.
For example: "Skyscraper" directed by Chen Zhengdao, the characters are plump and the story is catchy.
The most rare thing is that it explores real women's issues from beginning to end, and focuses on the theme of female mutual aid.
Almost all female characters in the play have contrasts and reversals, darkness and highlights, rather than NPCs that simply and rudely push the plot.
Taking a step back, in suspense dramas dominated by male characters, women with little ink can also have a rich heart.
Because of my female identity, I can always feel the pride and pain of these characters.
In "The Long Season", the lines that made me feel the power were not only Wang Xiang's "Go forward, don't look back".
There is also the theory of Meisu's "circle" to comfort Wang Yang at the table.
She transcends the limitations of the individual and the times, and tells the truth of life as an ordinary housewife.
Her wisdom and tenacity finally demanded that she die, and also finish her son's funeral before dying.
There is also Qiao Yun, who goes to a nightclub to accompany drinks, shrinking in a small compartment and choking up to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle" to the child.
It was a soul in the mud struggling to be born into the sun.
Compared with the thin background board and the tools to promote the plot, I believe that many people, like me, are eager to see more plump and vivid, intelligent and capable female characters in suspense dramas.
In the long night, she deserves to shine just as much.
Talk to the dean in the comments -
Which female characters in suspense dramas impressed you?