Title: "Asking the Boundless": The Dialectic of the Artistry and Historical Accuracy of Historical Drama
Recently, CCTV's blockbuster TV series "Ask the Boundless" quickly received wide acclaim from the audience after it was broadcast on the whole network. The show has won the hearts of many historical drama lovers with its exquisite production, deep themes, and strong cast. However, amid the praise, there were also some criticisms. These criticisms have not only sparked discussions about the balance between the creation of TV dramas and historical restoration, but also questioned the content of the series.
The first thing to face criticism is the authenticity of Chen Duxiu's character's smoking action in the play. There is a view that Chen Duxiu's gestures when smoking in the play are too exaggerated, and he does not look like an old smoking gun. Although this detail has attracted the attention of some people, more viewers and experts have pointed out that this small action has not affected the overall plot and character building. In addition, due to the lack of sufficient historical data to verify the specific smoking posture of Chen Duxiu's life, it seems unnecessary to over-interpret this.
The second is the controversy over whether there are grammatical errors in the title of the play "Ask the Boundless" itself. Some critics have argued that the phrase "ask the vastness" sounds grammatically ill-grammatical. But the creators said that the title was taken from Mao Zedong's poem "Ask who is the master of the vast earth", which has a rich and profound connotation. It symbolizes the determination and courage of revolutionaries to explore the truth and pass on the flame in difficult times, and it is not purely grammatical.
The third point of contention relates to the plot in the play in which Mao Zedong slaps the table to express dissatisfaction with his superiors, which is accused of distorting historical facts. However, in the eyes of historians, Mao Zedong was indeed a leader who dared to stand up for his views and showed a tough attitude at critical moments. The plot reflects his character traits of unswervingly advancing revolutionary beliefs and operational decisions, and is not entirely nonsense.
In the face of these criticisms, the "Ask the Boundless" team called on the public to accept the TV drama industry's artistic processing and reproduction of historical events and characters with a more open and inclusive attitude. They emphasized that "Ask the Boundless" is not only an entertainment product, but also shoulders multiple social values such as disseminating knowledge of China's modern revolutionary history, stimulating patriotic feelings, and promoting cultural self-confidence.
To sum up, as a TV series built with high standards and striving to restore the historical style, "Ask the Boundless" may inevitably have deviations or cause controversy in the details. However, the level of production and profound cultural heritage of the textbooks it demonstrates should be recognized and respected. On the contrary, we should encourage more works like "Ask the Boundless" to stimulate the public's interest in historical cognition, promote cultural dissemination and exchange, and have far-reaching significance.
Finally, the discussion sparked by "Ask the Boundless" should perhaps turn to a more macro and constructive topic: how to find a balance between faithfully recording history and artistic innovation? How to cultivate audiences to enjoy the pleasure of artistic expression and at the same time rationally analyze the possible deviations? Only through continuous dialogue and exploration can we make the TV drama industry go further and more steadily between documenting the past and enlightening the future.