◎ Zeng Yuli
"Fairy Sword IV" and "Pray for the Present Dynasty" (also known as "Fairy Sword Six") have been broadcast one after another, making the "Fairy Sword" IP widely enter the public eye. From the launch of the stand-alone game "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" in 1995 to the 7th part of the "Sword and Fairy" game series in 2021, it shows the inexhaustible vitality of this game, especially the 2005 "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" (hereinafter referred to as "Sword and Fairy I") adapted from the game, and the 2009 "The Legend of Sword and Fairy III" (hereinafter referred to as "Sword and Fairy III") have successively become classics of domestic dramas, and also make "Sword and Fairy" a top IP in the domestic film and television drama track.
"Sword and Fairy IV" and "Praying for the Present Dynasty" did not replicate the results of "Sword and Fairy I" and "Sword and Fairy III", and some viewers originally expected a healthy competition between the two strong, but the result was that rookies pecked each other. The production seems to be more gorgeous, but there is a "downgrade" in terms of theme expression, lens language and actor presentation, especially in the expression of the theme, "Sword and Fairy IV" and "Pray for the Present Dynasty" are more shallow. If "Sword and Fairy One" and "Sword and Fairy III" teach us to extend outward, love others and all beings, "Sword and Fairy IV" and "Pray for the Present" follow the characteristics of Xianxia dramas over the years, shrinking inward, others are hell, extreme love, and intolerance. Behind the changes in the IP of "Fairy Sword" is not only a manifestation of the downgrading of film and television creation, but also the narrowing of the era's understanding of "love".
From games to TV series: more complete and fuller
The game "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" (hereinafter referred to as "Sword and Fairy") is a game developed and published by Daewoo Information in Taiwan, China in 1995. It is a single-player game that players can play without going to the Internet, and it is also a role-playing game: players take on the role of a specific character in a virtual world, control the behavior and actions of the character, and experience the decision-making and growth of the character.
The success of the game "Sword and Fairy" lies first of all in its very original novelty. "Xianjian I" is set in ancient Chinese myths and legends, and its world view is centered on Nuwa, Shennong, and Fuxi, and the narrative unfolds in the six worlds of gods, demons, immortals, demons, humans, and ghosts, building a Xianxia world full of oriental charm. Secondly, the game has a fascinating plot and three-dimensional and plump group portraits, allowing players to get a beautiful immersive experience. In addition, under the technical conditions at that time, the game design of "Sword and Fairy I" was smooth, the painting style was beautiful, and the music was beautiful.
Although there was no IP concept at that time, the success of "Sword and Fairy" gave the game company the confidence to develop a new version. In 2003, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy II" was launched, but the game was not reasonable in terms of plot, character building, difficulty design and other content, and there were many negative reviews. Released in 2003, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy III" pulled back a game and was a great success. In 2004, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" was released. In 2007, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy IV" was released, which is the pinnacle of the "Sword and Fairy" game, with a fascinating plot, three-dimensional character building, optimized combat system, profound cultural connotation, upgraded technical details, and good game experience, which has received rave reviews.
The 2011 release of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy V" has the upper hand of negative reviews, and the 2013 release of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy V Prequel" has regained its reputation with excellent texture, but the influence of the "Sword and Fairy" game has declined significantly. This is mainly due to the changes in the background of games: with the rapid development of the Internet, massively multiplayer online role-playing games and competitive games have become more popular, the market share of single-player games has been impacted, and single-player games have been plagued by piracy, and their one-time payment business model has weakened the willingness of some players to pay......
In 2015, in the context of internal and external troubles in stand-alone games, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy VI" was released. The game has limited investment and poor game experience, which has been criticized by veteran players. However, its unique plot design is also loved by some players. Launched in 2021, "Legend of Sword and Fairy VII" has undergone qualitative changes in game technology, such as adopting a third-person real-time combat mode, but its influence is limited in the context of the turbulent and spectacular mobile game.
Although the "Sword of Fairy" game series is mixed, they are set in the Six Realms, which greatly expands the real space and unleashes the imagination, allowing for profound debates on various metaphysical issues. Different versions try to convey certain expressions, such as the theme of "Sword and Fairy I" is "fate", the theme of "Sword and Fairy II" is "forgiveness", the theme of "Sword and Fairy III" is "reincarnation", and the theme of "Sword and Fairy IV" is "Seeking Immortals...... They share a common exploration: the protagonist's dilemma between the individual and the world, the self and others, desire and responsibility. After the "Fairy Sword" game became popular, the road to film and television was immediately opened. In 2005, the TV series "Fairy Sword I" and the 2009 TV series "Fairy Sword III" were broadcast one after another, and they received a double harvest of ratings and word-of-mouth. The main creative teams of the two TV series have perfectly realized the media transformation of "Fairy Sword" from a game to a TV series, further improving the character image, enriching the relationship between the characters, and three-dimensional contradictions and conflicts.
For example, the space left for the supporting characters in the game is very limited, but when the TV series portrays the main characters, it also creates wonderful group portraits of the supporting characters. Another example is that the relationship between the characters in the game is quite simple, and the TV series establishes intricate relationships between the characters, and successfully constructs a variety of dramatic conflicts: the triangular relationship between Li Xiaoyao, Zhao Linger and Lin Yueru, the mirror relationship between Jiujian Xian and Yin Ruoclumsy, the father-daughter relationship between Jiujian Xian and Anu, the love relationship between Anu and Tang Yu, and so on.
In short, from games to TV series, "Sword and Fairy I" and "Sword and Fairy III" are more complete, more complex, fuller, and more far-reaching.
"Fairy Sword One" and "Fairy Sword Three": Love the world and love specific people
Many viewers have watched "Sword and Fairy" and "Sword and Fairy III" after many years, not only as ordinary TV series, but also as an important sample to observe the changes in popular culture, especially the evolution of Xianxia dramas, and they are more and more aware of the rarity in the theme expression of "Sword and Fairy" and "Sword and Fairy III". The Douban scores of these two dramas have shown an upward trend over time, for example, "Sword and Fairy I" has risen from 8.6 points on Douban in 2018 to 9.1 points now, and "Sword and Fairy III" has risen from 7.8 points to 9 points.
As many viewers have repeatedly talked about, today's Xianxia dramas are closer to "fairy dramas", the chivalrous factor has disappeared, and the three lives and three lives are only for love. Some people also argue that the love narratives in "Fairy Sword One" and "Fairy Sword Three" also occupy a lot of space, why do they just blame the creation of Xianxia dramas in recent years?
This is the crux of the matter: the understanding of "love" in "Fairy Sword I" and "Fairy Sword III" is very different from the understanding of "love" in Xianxia dramas in recent years.
"Fairy Sword I" and "Fairy Sword III" both depict the love of the protagonist in rich colors, but it is worth noting that "loving the world" has always preceded the personal love of the protagonist. "Love the world" not only refers to the deep love for the other half in love, but even broader and broader than the chivalrous "for the country and the people" - it also loves heaven and earth, loves plants and trees, and loves all living beings, and is not blinded by hatred, grievances, jealousy, etc.
For example, Zhao Ling'er in "Fairy Sword One", as a descendant of Nuwa, is burdened with the heavy responsibility of protecting the world from demons. Zhao Linger never forgets her responsibilities, does not indulge in her own selfishness, stands up at every critical moment, and finally sacrifices herself for the common people in the world. Zixuan in "Sword and Fairy III" was in stark contrast to Zhao Ling'er at the beginning: she is also a descendant of Nuwa, she does not want to bear heavy responsibilities, she just wants to pursue a free and easy life, and she does not hesitate to experience the tribulations and tests of three lives and three lives with her lover Xu Changqing (Lin Linping, Gu Liufang). But in the end, she also sublimated from the personal love of "loving herself" and "loving her lover" to the great love of "loving the world", and took the initiative to shoulder the mission of maintaining peace in the world and protecting the stability of the Six Realms, giving up her desire to stay with Xu Changqing for a long time.
In the current "fairy drama", although concepts such as "common people" and "the world" also appear repeatedly, they are almost all reduced to embellishments after the protagonist completes the sadomasochism. is like "Later they lived a happy life" in the fairy tale, and "Fairy Drama" is "Later they guarded the common people together", and then ended hastily. In essence, "fairy dramas" do not believe in, nor are they willing to invest in the narrative of "loving the world". They circumvent the presentation of content related to "loving the world", and will not let the protagonist really face the test and choice of personal love and the love of the world, and the main body of the plot repeatedly renders, turns and pulls around personal love. "Loving the world" is sometimes stigmatized in public opinion as "collective harm to the individual" and "disease of the Virgin". This is a great misunderstanding. In fact, behind the "love of the world" lies a precious community imagination. In modern society, the pace of life is accelerating and the way of interpersonal communication is changing, and people are prone to fall into a state of self-isolation and emotional alienation, which is like an island. "Love the World" breaks the ice by encouraging people to perceive the emotions and needs of others, and to understand and accept the uniqueness of different individuals. In the process, find resonance and connection points, build a deep interaction model, and form an interdependent relationship between you and me, so that every pain can be diluted and all happiness can be shared.
"Love for the world" tends to appear empty, and in practice, it is expressed as "love for every specific person". As the well-known anthropologist Xiang Biao said in a recent interview with People, "In the face of a very unstable and not very good world, you must be determined and brave to build your own neighborhood, and do not sacrifice your daily ...... If you don't have that neighborhood, you can't trust the world, and your trust in the world comes from your faith in your neighborhood
Ren, it has to be so. Individuals should establish their own "neighborhood", develop "daily life", dare to trust the people around them, and love specific people. Replaced in the context of Xianxia drama, that is, in addition to having love, whether the protagonist has a partner - not just sticking to his lover, whether he is "nearby" - to build a rich group relationship, whether he has "daily" - beyond the love narrative, and even how he treats "love enemies" - out of the relationship cycle of "others are hell".
Both Sword and Fairy III retain the expansive worldview that the game creates, and love is only one part of the protagonist's adventure. In "Fairy Sword One", the relationship between Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Linger was quickly established, they have their own career lines, friendship lines, rich "nearby" and "daily", rich group portraits and branch lines, rather than "love is bigger than the sky". Although there is a triangular relationship, there is no "female competition" factor between Zhao Linger and Lin Yueru, and the two Li Xiaoyao before and after the amnesia have feelings for them, and in the end, Lin Yueru sacrificed herself in order to fulfill them...... All this is the embodiment of "loving concrete people", loving the supporting characters in life, loving the intruder in a love.
In recent years, in the "fairy drama", love has become more and more pure and extreme. In addition to falling in love, the protagonist has almost no other branch extensions, no friendship, no career, and no group portrait, as if it is not extreme enough to reflect deep love. The intruders in love often appear as "vicious supporting characters", such as Su Jin in "Three Lives and Thirty Miles of Peach Blossoms", Princess Suihe in "Fragrant Honey Sinks Like Frost", Zhixi and fluorescent lanterns in "Agarwood Like Crumbs", and Wuhuan in "Eternal Juechen" - they are extremely vicious and unscrupulous, exaggerating "others are hell".
After rewatching "Sword and Fairy One" and "Sword and Fairy Three" many years later, the audience suddenly found that their understanding of "love" is broader, more calm, and broader. This is precisely the quality that is becoming more and more scarce and scarce in current film and television works.
"Sword and Fairy IV" and "Pray for the Present Dynasty": Love is extreme, love is incompetent
"Fairy Sword IV" and "Pray for the Present Dynasty" are certainly the continuation of the "Fairy Sword" IP, but they inherit the mantle of "fairy drama", which once again verifies the lack of "love".
"Sword and Fairy IV" has a certain file, but it is the starring "tearing fan" that is on the hot search. Ju Jingyi's studio took the lead in issuing an article, saying that the contract signed by the artist stipulates that the signature method is "a single subtitle and ranks first among all actors". The brokerage company to which the actor Chen Zheyuan belongs also issued a document stating that the order of the male and female No. 1 characters in the contract is alternately ranked first, and it is noted that "the ranking is in no particular order" for character signature. Although in 2021, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television mentioned in the draft of the "TV Drama Master Production Specifications" that it would "avoid the occurrence of signature disputes such as ranking disputes", but the actors of "Sword and Fairy IV" and their fans still tore apart.
As soon as the drama is finalized, the actors tear up the fan and make it so ugly, which will obviously affect the audience's investment in the plot - if the drama is so ugly outside the play, can it still be swallowed in the play? The play talks about big words such as love and responsibility, but outside the play it is exquisite and self-interested, how can it be convincing? On the other hand, "Fairy Sword I" and "Fairy Sword III" form intertextuality inside and outside the play, Yang Mi, Tang Yan, Liu Shishi, Liu Yifei, Hu Ge, Huo Jianhua, Peng Yuyan and other actors maintain a good friendship, and form a beautiful talk that "internal entertainment is a huge fairy sword".
It is true that abiding by the contract is the embodiment of the spirit of the contract, but the battle for the position of internal entertainment is essentially a tearing apart by fans disguised as a contract. Fans regard the fan position as an actual achievement, and regard the partner as an "opponent", as if the fan position is lower than the other party, it is to be bullied and trampled, which breeds the "fan position cancer" disease that is becoming more and more serious in internal entertainment.
The "tearing" outside the play is precisely the embodiment of the symptoms of the times when love has become narrow and extreme - not to mention loving the world, not even loving partners, and even hostility and hatred, treating others as hell. Although there is no scandal of the battle for positions in "Praying for the Present Dynasty", some actors outside the play, one man and one woman, are fans of the two men and two women, because the CPs of the two men and the two women are very out of the circle, and they are also working hard outside the play, and they are accused by the actor fans of the men and women of "stealing the limelight" and "being too greasy". Fan love loses inclusiveness, is full of jealousy and exclusivity.
Back to the interior of the plot, "Sword and Fairy IV" and "Praying for the Present Dynasty" have two common problems. First, make efforts to add drama to the hero and heroine, increase interaction, create industrial saccharin, infinitely shrink the exploration of Xianxia's outward extension, and dilute the protagonist's interaction with other characters. Second, the portrayal of group portraits is superficial - because the supporting role can only set off the protagonist, and any possible "third party" can only be a foil, not allowed to dominate, and cannot interfere with the double arrow love of the hero and heroine;
For example, in the game "Sword and Fairy IV", the villain Xuan Xiao is a very classic character: he is a careerist, with arrogance, persistence and benevolence, as well as intolerance and extreme pursuit. But this extreme is out of the struggle against the injustice of fate, "the sky abandons me, I would rather become a demon" is deafening. As long as the screenwriter follows the original book, Xuan Xiao may be a classic villain comparable to the drama version of the Lunatic Master. However, in the play, he was seriously weakened, and his emotional line was changed by magic, which also made Shu Yao become a "love brain".
"Praying for the Present Dynasty" also weakens the group image, such as the great reduction of Luo Ming's role, and important roles such as Bian Luoheng have been changed by magic. In the game, the friendship between Bian Luoheng and the heroine Yue Qi is a master-apprentice relationship, not the master-apprentice love that is rampant in the "fairy drama"; "Love the world" and "love for specific people" are never limited to "love", but also can only be empathy, kindness and forgiveness between people. In the play, the value of Bian Luoheng can only be reflected through the love of Yue Qi;
"Sword and Fairy IV" and "Praying for the Present Dynasty" are more contaminated with the atmosphere of today's "fairy dramas". "Love is greater than the sky" reflects the deep affection and purity of love. In fact, taking love as "heaven", and only love in life, inevitably leads to the narrowness of life space and spiritual world, as if there is nothing else but love, and because of the allin of love, the high sunk cost leads to the extreme of the individual's attitude towards love - it must be 100% pure, highly exclusive, too aggressive, mean and intolerant to others outside love.
Behind the IP of "Fairy Sword", our understanding of "love" is becoming more and more narrow. This is the result of the "conspiracy" between the creator and the recipient, and it also reflects the symptoms of the times: the highly developed mobile Internet era has exacerbated the atomized state of the individual, the "involution" of society leads to the tension of interpersonal relationships, and the "impotence of love" has made our requirements for love more demanding and more singular. Many viewers have already realized the harm of this atmosphere, we miss "Fairy Sword One" and "Fairy Sword Three", and express dissatisfaction with the "fairy drama" represented by "Fairy Sword Four" and "Pray for the Present Dynasty".
This also calls for the creators of current film and television dramas: to reconstruct the audience's cognition and imagination of "great love", to reconnect us with the "neighborhood", to rebuild the trust and tolerance between people, and to learn to love specific people and the world.