In December, the commemoration of the 130th anniversary of Comrade Mao Zedong's birth, the key plays of the State Administration of Radio and Television, "Kunpeng Hitting the Waves" and "Asking the Boundless" were launched one after another, setting off another upsurge of revolutionary historical dramas.
In recent years, revolutionary historical dramas such as "The Awakening Age", "Crossing the Yalu River", "Glory and Dreams", "Dawn of the East" and "The Torch of the Avenue" have been emerging, and the creative characteristics of such dramas are turning to "youth" narratives: the narrative angle is more novel, the portrayal of great men is more realistic, and the actor reserve is richer...... Correspondingly, the broadcast environment is also changing, and more young people are taking the initiative to watch the Xi and use the struggle experience of their predecessors to guide their ideal path.
Material "Youth": Fill in the gaps in history
Recently aired works such as "Kunpeng Hitting the Waves" and "Asking the Boundless" are aimed at Mao Zedong's rare youth. Compared with previous dramas that portray Mao Zedong, the latest wave of works has a more advanced narrative time, a shorter span, and tells a lot of little-known details of the party's history.
"Kunpeng Hitting the Waves" focuses on Mao Zedong's growth process from 1918 to 1921, and tells the story of his journey north to seek the truth, organizing young students to go to France for work-study, leading the Hunan Expulsion Movement, founding the Xiangjiang Review, carrying out the student movement and labor movement, and forming the Hunan Communist Group. During this time, he found Marxism and decided to fight for it all his life.
"Asking the Boundless" focuses on Mao Zedong's transformation from an "early walker" to a "pioneer" of the Chinese revolution from 1921 to 1927: Mao Zedong, a young man who returned from participating in the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, practiced his Marxist beliefs with questions about the Chinese revolution and the future and destiny of the country and the nation, from recruiting League members and party members to launching the workers' movement, from the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to resolutely fighting against the Kuomintang rightists, and from discovering that "the peasant question is the central issue of the national revolution" to proposing that "political power is obtained from the barrel of a gun"...... He gradually explored the correct path of the Chinese revolution.
The major revolutionary historical drama "The Flame of the Great Road", which was also broadcast this year, tells the story of the older generation of revolutionaries represented by Mao Zedong from 1931 to 1935, who creatively combined Marxism with the specific reality of the Chinese revolution and explored the road of truth in governing the country in the Central Soviet Region. For the first time, the play comprehensively shows the historical picture of the economic construction and social development of the Chinese Soviets, and fills the gap in the expression of economic construction and financial construction in the drama of major revolutionary historical themes.
The selection of materials in the early stage of party history and the youth stories of great men to unfold the story is a major narrative trend of revolutionary historical dramas in recent years. "The Age of Awakening" depicts the passionate revolutionary youth represented by the young Mao Zedong, Chen Yannian, and Chen Qiaonian, and under the leadership of Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu and other predecessors, the passionate years of pursuing truth and burning ideals. At the end of the play, Chen Yannian, Chen Qiaonian, Zhao Shiyan, He Mengxiong and other new youths stood on the Great Wall and recited "Youth", which moved countless audiences; "Crossing the Yalu River" also presented the ode to youth composed by Yang Gensi, Qiu Shaoyun, Sun Zhanyuan, Huang Jiguang and other 20-year-old enthusiastic soldiers in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. In addition, dramas such as "The Crucible of War" and "Youth in the War" all use young people as the main narrative body to show their revolutionary youth.
Expressing "Youth": Focusing on the perspective of ordinary people
For a long time, revolutionary historical dramas focused on "writing things", with strong character functionality, and great humanities and martial arts, which made the audience look up to the mountains. In recent years, the expression of this type of drama has become more youthful, and the outstanding feature is to portray great people as real ordinary people, telling stories that make the audience empathize.
"Kunpeng Hitting the Waves" shows a more realistic and three-dimensional image of the young Mao Zedong through the head-up perspective outlined by family, friendship and love. Ma Jihong, the chief screenwriter of the play, said: "To create a down-to-earth Mao Zedong, it is necessary to decipher it from the aura of a great man, write about his interests and feelings as an ordinary person, highlight his experiences on the road of growth, as well as joy, anger, sadness, anxiety, helplessness and other emotions, so that people can truly feel the personality and charm of Mao Zedong as an ordinary person, and make the work full of civilian texture and life temperature." Wang Jiequn, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, said: "The plot inspires young audiences to understand the new ideas and vitality cultivated by China's excellent traditional culture through Mao Zedong's mental journey from a young man determined to transform China and the world to a Chinese Communists with firm beliefs." ”
Mao Zedong in "Asking the Boundless" is not shown as a great man who rebukes Fang Xuan. For example, the expression of a large number of details of life such as the young Mao Zedong's love of winter swimming, playing football, and farming makes the characters plump, and also makes the narrative of party history relaxed and flesh and blood. Wang Wei, the director of the play, said: "If there is excessive worship in the process of filming the characters, the content shown may not be objective. Therefore, instead of treating the character as a great man, but treating him as an ordinary person like us, and understanding the growth of a great man from the perspective of ordinary people, I believe it will resonate with the audience. ”
In recent years, the benchmark for the younger expression of characters in revolutionary historical dramas is "The Age of Awakening". The play makes the image of a revolutionary with few strokes in history textbooks fuller: Cai Yuanpei is not only the president of Peking University, but also a humble and courteous gentleman who is willing to pay for his students; Chen Duxiu is not only the enlightener of the Chinese revolution, but also a father who is not smiling on the surface and is proud of his son in his heart; Li Dazhao is not only a martyr who sacrificed for the country, but also a true righteous man who cares about the toiling masses...... The delicate, head-up expression attracted countless young audiences to watch and discuss. The data shows that among the audience of "The Awakening Age", nearly 60% of the audience is under the age of 35, and related topics have appeared on the hot search list of social platforms several times.
In addition to the narrative expression of the characters, the lens language of revolutionary historical dramas in recent years has also become younger. There is a classic montage scene in "The Age of Awakening" - his father Chen Duxiu bids farewell to his sons Chen Yannian and Chen Qiaonian who went to France for work-study at the dock, and the scene of his son's generous death intersects, and the novel dialogue of time and space makes people teary-eyed. The opening chapter of "Glory and Dreams" also makes use of montage: the bricklayer discovers Yang Kaihui's manuscript, Mao Zedong in his later years holds up a photo of Yang Kaihui and his children and sheds tears, and the young Mao Zedong and Yang Kaihui hold hands, and the three shots realize the narrative transformation of three time and space. Director Zhang Yongxin said: "The creative process of "Awakening Age" absorbs the aesthetic perspective of young people, and the filming process also always thinks about 'what young audiences will see', which directly affects the costume, photography and other aspects. ”
Lineup "Youth": Loved by young people
In recent years, the cast of revolutionary historical dramas has changed, bringing freshness and appeal to this type of drama.
There is an increase in the number of dramas showing the youth of great men in the market, and it is very common for young actors to play great men. Taking the role of Mao Zedong as an example, in the past, the first special actors that the audience thought of were predecessors such as Tang Guoqiang and Gu Yue. Nowadays, a wave of young actors have come into battle, and in "Ask the Boundless", it is Wang Renjun who plays Mao Zedong. He played Mao Zedong in "Gutian Army" and "1921", Mao Zedong was played by 27-year-old Liu Chenglin in "Kunpeng Hitting the Waves", and Hou Jingjian played Mao Zedong in "The Great Avenue". He has played Mao Zedong in works such as "Mao Zedong", "Autumn Harvest Uprising", "The Great Turning", "The Awakening Age", "Glory and Dreams" and so on.
In addition, well-known actors with ratings appeal have starred in revolutionary historical dramas. In the cast list of the latest batch of revolutionary historical dramas, there are more star actors: in "Ask the Boundless", there are not only well-known and powerful actors such as Ning Li, Tang Zeng, Ma Shaohua, Zhang Xiaolong, Huang Xiaolei, Dong Xuan, Tan Kai, Song Jia, etc., but also Niu Junfeng, Wei Daxun, Zheng Yecheng, Jiao Junyan, Wu Haochen and other young actors with a certain degree of popularity to join; Liu Jiang's "Glory and Dreams" has assembled an all-star lineup, including: Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Tong, Wu Gang, Wang Likun, Li Xiaoran, Wang Jinsong, Gao Yuanyuan, Nie Yuan, etc.; "Dawn of the East" also attracted well-known actors such as Zhang Jiayi, Liu Tao, Li Zefeng, Qiao Zhenyu, Feng Shaofeng, Tong Lei, Yinger, Zuo Xiaoqing and so on.
Interestingly, a wave of potential new stars starred in revolutionary historical dramas. Zhang Wanyi, who played Chen Yannian, and Ma Qiyue, who played Chen Qiaonian, quickly became popular because of their excellent performances in "The Awakening Age". The broadcast of "Kunpeng Hitting the Waves" made many viewers know Liu Chenglin who played Mao Zedong and Mi Zhuoqing who played Yang Kaihui. "Youth in the War" gathered a group of youth forces in the film and television industry, Wang Hedi, Zhou Ye, Hu Lianxin, Xia Meng and others, which made the show blow a storm of youth.
It is worth mentioning that there are also many revolutionary historical dramas that have not been broadcast due to the joining of well-known actors, attracting a wave of young audiences, such as: "When the Stars Shine" starring Li Xian and Ren Min; "Scout Heroes" starring Luo Jin and Ma Sichun; "Harbin 1944" starring Qin Hao and Yang Mi; "Bloody Glory" starring Wang Renjun, Zhang Huiwen, Zhang Yishan, Wang Zhifei, Chen Long, Hou Yong, Dong Yong, Hu Bing, etc. After the broadcast of these works with their own traffic, the production and broadcasting trend of revolutionary historical dramas may change again.
Text | Gong Weifeng
Figure | Still