8.3 points, "Apocalypse in the Costume" really loaded?

As the saying goes, people floating in the rivers and lakes are inevitably pretending. "Pretend" and "not pretend" are relative, who is not yet for life.

Author|Yuanmengmeng, Editor|Ding Yu

"Do you dare to say that you don't pretend?" In the face of such soul torture, do you dare to answer?

Anyway, Tang Ying (played by Cai Wenjing) did not dare to answer. She took photos of English magazines on the plane and sent them to the circle of friends - can create high-end characters; When I was at home, my social media was located in Palm Springs – in fact, I lived in the old neighborhood opposite; The rich horse always invited her to dinner, and she pretended that she loved tea - in order to do what she liked...

The "posing" circle of friends on Tang Ying's plane

In the TV series "Apocalypse of Pretense", these secrets about "pretending" were suddenly revealed, outrageous and true. No one can deny that under the prevalence of social networks, "pretending" has become a part of modern people's lives.

Whether it is the lifestyle of reading, eating, and visiting exhibitions, or playing ball, running, frisbee and other sports states, or working overtime in the middle of the night when you are too busy at work, once it is displayed, it is difficult to completely remove the traces of clothing. Perhaps the intention was not to "pretend", but in the eyes of anyone else, any photo and text that can be seen is already destined to "create a character".

As the saying goes, people floating in the rivers and lakes are inevitably pretending. "Apocalypse of Pretense" Douban scored 8.3 points, ranking second in the ratings of TV dramas in the same period, which shows how many people have been impressed by the matter of "pretending". In fact, "pretending" and "not pretending" are relative, and ultimately both are to reach the essence of life.

Screenshot of Douban score

In the play, there are people who start again to pursue their dreams, people who give up the past to be themselves, they all find an outlet in "pretending", although life is difficult, but there is always hope sweetness.

Loading, also divided into levels

"Apocalypse" is adapted from the novel of the same name by the 2020 Douban Reading Long Rally Champion, telling the story of the heroine Tang Ying (played by Cai Wenjing) and the male protagonist Xu Zixuan (played by Han Dongjun) who met by chance on the plane, and then gradually fell in love with each other in the ultimate pulling of men and women who enter and retreat, and you retreat and I advance.

Tang Ying (played by Cai Wenjing) and Xu Zixuan (played by Han Dongjun) met by chance on the plane

At the beginning of the play, the urban men and women began to get along with each other in a "mask" way, as if "pretending to be a trick".

Tang Ying still maintains her "style" in economy class, and she sprays fragrance on the seat of the plane to create her own comfortable space. Such a gesture attracted Xu Zixian, a passenger in the same row, who seemed to inadvertently take out a balm and apply it to his hand. Tang Ying immediately picked up the book on the small table and pretended to read it.

At this time, Xu Zi talked to the flight attendant familiarly: "Zoe, why are you in economy class today?" Then the flight attendant enthusiastically said that someone in the first class had a refund and wanted to upgrade Xu Zixuan, and he said casually: "Today is a public assignment, reimbursement is inconvenient, occasionally an economy class is okay." In just a few words, an elite person who usually travels in first class stood up.

Xu Zi familiarly talked to the flight attendant to establish an elite character

But after getting off the plane, they have their own troubles. Tang Ying was anxious because Wang Li couldn't come to business for business and needed to face customers alone; Xu Zixuan's investment bank work seems glamorous but very tricky, and he has to work overnight and release his friends' pigeons.

It is this contrast that verifies Tang Ying's line: "Everyone needs a decent appearance, even if there is a gap with the real self, who cares?" ”

The novel of "Apocalypse in Costume" has written "pretending" and "forcing the frame" into three points. For example, this sentence: "To be a person, ability is one aspect, more importantly, there are requirements for yourself, there are requirements to have style, do something, do something, do something, just like the self-restraint of ancient gentlemen, in modern times, we call this forced qualification." ”

The TV series makes this depiction more concrete.

Tang Ying is a junior lawyer in the "Red Circle Institute", although she lives in the famous luxury community of Palm Springs, the old community opposite, but she has to pretend to work in the CBD.

She believes that "keeping exquisite is the self-cultivation of CBD women", to maintain exquisite makeup and fashionable clothing at all times, but also to exude the same orange fragrance all around, and strive to "pretend" a "style" in life - to approach her ideal urban white-collar life.

“Fake it till you make it.” ("Pretend to have until you do.") This is Tang Ying's motto.

Senior lawyer Dawang (played by Jiang Shimeng) has crossed the initial stage of Tang Ying. In the system of "pretending" and "style", she aims to pursue the posture of "new middle class in first-tier cities", including but not limited to: practicing calligraphy, cooking (and Western food), and filling her home with philosophy books.

Senior Lawyer Wang (played by Jiang Shimeng)

As a real middle-class person, customer Liu Meiling (played by Ni Hongjie) is a real senior in the way of "pretending" and "style". When she and her noble sisters had afternoon tea, she pretended to complain about her husband spending money indiscriminately, and casually laid out a big-name bag. When she met Tang Ying for the first time, she was praised for her good figure, seemingly embarrassed, but in fact, it was to emphasize that "death is expensive and death is expensive" and "what has not been spent is not".

She has the shrewdness and meanness of a Shanghai woman, and can penetrate the neckline of others to determine whether the dress is cut or not. As for the king who learns calligraphy, she lightly mentions that only beginners learn Wen Zhengming (calligraphy).

Liu Meiling (played by Ni Hongjie) inadvertently shows off

So when the three of them gathered at the king's house to participate in the "Wang Family Banquet", the chemical reaction caused was enough to blow up the room.

Liu Meiling asked Dawang whether the high-grade ingredients were farmed or wild, and Dawang countered that Liu Meiling did not know how to eat pasta; Liu Meiling asked Dawang what he thought of philosophy, and Dawang began to play distressing literary films. The immortals fought, Tang Ying suffered, she had to show her teeth and giggle and say that she didn't understand anything, and found an opportunity to flee quickly.

The TV series well restores the "famous scenes" in these novels, and the emotional scenes of the male and female protagonists provoking each other are particularly heartwarming in the right music.

Liu Meiling asked whether Dawang's high-grade ingredients were farmed or wild

But the shortcomings are not without it, in addition to some shots shaking so that the audience gets motion sickness, the series turns the light "pretense" in the novel into embellishment, and weakens the core of crossing the class brought out after the "pretending". For example, the "pretending" Asura field such as the "Wang Family Banquet" may not even be able to organize the bureau in reality.

And like Tang Ying, who can have a meeting with a top financial freedom listed company boss, and meet the life of an aunt who buys breakfast with her children at the door, you can read all the differences in the world in one day, which will inevitably make people have the illusion that there seems to be an opportunity to be among them and leapfrog upward.

But in reality, the opportunity for such a jump is probably becoming less and less.

Pretend to be your ideal self

In "Apocalypse of Pretense", through the lines of Internet celebrity Michael, the commonality of modern people's "pretending" is pointed out one or two.

"Modern people are most annoyed to see others pretending to be right, but they like to pretend." What is the meaning of the existence of social networking sites, isn't it convenient for others to install it in an upright manner? Michael asked Tang Ying reasonably: "Do you dare to say that you don't pretend?" ”

Tang Ying showed the heart of the beater

Don't say that Tang Ying didn't dare to answer, in fact, this sentence is a matter of death for any modern person. No one dares to say that they have never pretended.

As stated in the novel: "If a person claims that he never pretends to be forced, this act is itself a kind of pretense." ”

Under the prevalence of social networks, "pretending" has become a part of modern people's lives. Social networking sites are like platforms for displaying personal image and personality: posting books you are reading is to highlight taste and knowledge; Eating, drinking and having fun is a symbol of the relaxation of life; Sending work overtime is to show the boss his hard work, to roll with colleagues... You say there is no purpose? But isn't this sent out for others to see?

After years of development, social networking sites have gradually formed their own routines, and different platforms have different roles, and the personalities shown are also different. For example, the default rule is that Weibo is used for gossip, promotion, and quarrel; Little Red Book is used to show off wealth, sell advertisements, and eat, drink and have fun; Moments are used to group and be visible only to colleagues, bosses, and silence for three days.

However, people who read philosophy, don't read novel web articles at all? People who eat Michelin don't eat spicy hot? People who play happily, don't they collapse under pressure? It's just that online articles, roadside stalls and crashes are very rare on social networking sites, and there are so many faceted people, but on social networking sites, they only want to show the best side.

Or in other words, it is to show the side of people who want to be the most and ideal of themselves.

When I was a child, I fantasized about the future, and most of the sources were TV series. The generation that watches TVB industry dramas will naturally fantasize that they will grow up like them: living in a modern city, dressing fashionably, walking with the wind, and doing things quickly. After work, I went to the bar to have fun and met one love after another. Back home, you can also watch the neon bulb bath outside the window and drink red wine, soothing your spirit to welcome a new day.

But when they grow up, from the emerald flowers and bright reds in the village and town to Amy, Wendy and Chole in the office building, they find that they are not the heroines of Hong Kong operas and cannot live such a life. The reality of life is that the salary of moonshine, the free partition house with a monthly rent of 3,000 yuan, the big-name clothing and handbags that cannot be bought, the only thing that never leaves is the computer that never leaves and overtime all the time.

In the play, descriptions of such contrasts abound. Tang Ying's place of work is the flashy world, and everywhere you see white-collar workers in suits and leather shoes coming and going in high-rise buildings, everyone walks with their heads held high, as if the world is under control; The old community has the name of "XX Beili" or "XX Factory Community", the street lights are not necessarily on, but there must be electric vehicles parked under the poles.

The community where Tang Ying lives

There are also occasional moments of that luxury. But the brand-name bag that I bought ruthlessly, I was reluctant to go through the security check when I took the subway, and when I didn't bring an umbrella when it rained, I couldn't wrap it in the safe world with my flesh.

For example, some people can single shoes, stockings, and suit pants even in the autumn and winter of Beijing, because everywhere they go, they only go down from air-conditioned luxury cars to heated underground garages, and then from the elevator into high-rise buildings with constant temperature and humidity, and they will never be affected by a cold wind.

Dressing up is a secret difference, and Tang Ying, who has not stepped into this level of life, did not wear autumn pants, so he had to shivere in the cold wind. People who really regard carrying brand-name bags as everyday people will definitely not encounter such an embarrassing situation as subway security checks.

Some people ask, since it is so hard, why pretend?

Because it is not a luxury that has not yet completed the installment, but a bridge linking childhood fantasies about the future, just like Cinderella wearing crystal shoes, all dreams can happen.

The "ideal side of yourself" displayed on social media is one pass after another to the world of that ideal life. It is said to others, but also to oneself, all this will develop from a moment of truth to an eternal truth, ideals will be realized little by little, and you will eventually become such a person.

In addition to the upright clothes of social networking sites, there are countless moments to pretend in life.

Colleagues formed a group to start the latest Copenhagen diet method, although you are thinking about milk tea hot pot, in order to be gregarious, you have to go in and out together, and work hard together as rabbits and only eat vegetable leaves. Friends like a certain star, even if you actually think that he is ugly, his acting skills are poor, his singing is ugly, and he is unpleasant, you can only pretend to say "Oh, I also think he is good".

The clothes on social media are the ideal side of themselves, and the clothes in life are more about integrating into a circle. But if you install too much, one day you will finally find that this high-rise building that is stacked on top of each other is actually crumbling, maybe just a light feather falls, and the tower will collapse with a bang, and it can no longer be installed.

Capture the essence of life

In the story of "Apocalypse", Liu Meiling finally burst the false bubble of a happy marriage, lawyer Dawang also gave up her law firm job to chase her dream of becoming a food self-media blogger, and Tang Ying will finally give up "pretending" and face her true self. Pretend, in the end, all go to not pretend, everything will return to the essence of life.

The director of the play, Li Mo, continued his previous style and once again showed the life of social animals to the fullest. His previous works "I'm Very Good in Another Country" and "Sanyue Has a New Job" are both word-of-mouth masterpieces, with Douban scores above 8, and the common feature of his works is that they capture the essence of life.

Stills from "I'm fine in another country"

"I'm Good in Another Country" begins with Hu Jingjing's suicide, but the focus is not on the suspense clues of suicide, but on the North Drift story about Hu Jingjing and her three friends. Four foreigners from small cities, in the big city of Beijing, hard work, there are life stories of gains and losses. Li Mo said in the interview that he strives to grasp the most real and accurate side of life, and while hitting the audience's emotions to resonate, he also finds a little hope for the warmth of life.

And "Sanyue Has a New Job" tells the story of the young man Zhao Sanyue who saw life and death in the job of "body makeup artist", and grew up between life and death, from a post-95 "lying down youth" to rediscovering the meaning of life and working hard to live, healing himself and healing the audience.

Stills from "Sanyue Has a New Job"

Two works, one captures the drift of a foreign land, showing the collapse of the North Drift to tearful moments, and the other faces the events of life and death, in which the meaning of life is fully displayed. Both stories depict the daily work of migrant workers in the current social environment to varying degrees, but "Apocalypse" still shows the suffering of this social animal's work to another extreme.

The "red circle firm" where the heroine Tang Ying works simply refers to the top law firm in China. The concept, proposed by the Asian Legal Business Journal in 2014, included eight law firms for the first time, all located near Guomao in Beijing. According to statistics, the starting salary of junior lawyers who have just joined is generally 20,000-30,000 yuan, on the surface, this salary can live well in Beijing, but behind the scenes, it is the life of migrant workers who are squeezed and suffocated by work.

There is a clear time to go to and from work, but 007 is on standby, always carry the computer with you, whether you are watching a movie and a drama, or catching a train to catch a plane, as long as you are called, you must turn on the computer to start working. This scene is shown in the play, Tang Ying and his colleagues eat and sing halfway, the partner summons, immediately sobers up from the drunkenness, insists on walking in a straight line, and returns to the office to work overtime.

Famous scene "Spiritual Hall Meeting"

Another famous scene "Lingtang meeting", Wang Lu went home to attend the funeral of his relatives, Pima Dai Xiao also had to participate in the video conference, was complained by relatives "bright red, pretending to be a successful person", but still can not avoid overtime this scene, absurd but real and credible, after all, everyone has heard in reality, because the star officially announced, the programmer groom turned on the computer overtime news at the wedding scene.

And Wang Lu was hospitalized alone, received a teleconference message on the hospital bed, cried and put on lipstick and took the sick moment, and he was full of bitter blood and tears, and poked the heart of the beater.

Wang Lu was hospitalized alone, crying and putting on lipstick

Domestic dramas have often been criticized for levitation, but the dramas directed by Li Mo have continuously poked the audience's emotions in the performance of real life.

After the conference call, Dawang complained that Party A was heard, and she felt relieved instead. She suffered from diabetes because of her hard work, and she could no longer continue such a high-intensity work, and was persuaded to quit her job, finally giving Dawang the opportunity to leave the hard working environment of the law firm, and after the age of 30, she can still pursue her dream again and become a food self-media blogger.

Liu Meiling found the dentist's husband's second mobile phone and cheated on many people, she can finally take off the wig, give up the rich wife persona, be with her childhood sweetheart, and be free and easy to be herself again.

Tang Ying reaped sweet love while still working hard.

When they can have the opportunity to pursue their dreams again, can be free themselves again, and can harvest both love and career, the audience can also breathe a sigh of relief and get both psychological and emotional comfort.

The meaning of drama is here, facing the difficulties of life, but also showing the sweetness of life, the audience feels the hardship, will also gain the courage to face it, and regain hope in life.