Editor's note
The title of "City in the City" has two meanings, one is that the plot is about the real estate and financial industry that built the city, and more importantly, the human nature of the besieged city is trapped in the besieged city.
This is an industry drama that uses a narrative of ups and downs and smooth audio-visual to dismantle and understand the financial industry, and it is also a scarce product that cuts into the subtle and complex society and people's hearts.
Under the attack of all kinds of open knives and hidden arrows and sugar-coated shells, some people unfortunately fell off their horses, and some people became more and more courageous. As the saying goes: only through the grayscale of human nature can you see the true colors of heroes. The following is a detailed reading.
After Mr. Ouyang, played by "Commander" Chen Jin, commented on the middle-aged F4 in "City in the City" one by one, the audience who followed the drama began to wait for Zhao Hui (played by Yu Hewei), vice president of the branch of Shenmao Bank, to turn black.
So, when Zhao Hui took the initiative to contact Xie Zhiyuan (played by Tu Songyan), president of Yuanzhou Trust, at the end of the tenth episode, netizens brushed in the barrage: The feature film begins!
However, Zhao Hui was not completely blackened.
In the subsequent plot, he is still deeply trapped in the "five dangers", and he is still the beacon of the bank's newcomer Tao Wuji (played by Bai Yufan).
"Blackening" does not seem to accurately summarize the state of his character, and it seems more appropriate to say that he has begun to "gray".
Directed by Teng Huatao, "A City in the City" is based on the novel of the same name by Lu Xun Literature Award winner Teng Xiaolan, which tells the story of two generations of financiers who face financial turmoil and constantly choose between professional bottom line and monetary interests.
The drama premiered on CCTV Comprehensive Channel on April 9 and was broadcast simultaneously on iQiyi, and since it was broadcast simultaneously, the ratings and webcast popularity have reached new highs.
According to the statistics of China Audiovisual Big Data (CVB), the average ratings of episodes 1-8 of the show have broken 3, and the viewership share is as high as 12.154%. The popularity of iQiyi station has also exceeded 8700, ranking firmly in the top 1 of the hit list and soaring list.
The reason why "City within a City" is so popular is precisely because there is no so-called black and white character in the play. As a drama full of financial elements, it depicts the human game between different groups in the industry.
There is no condescending judgment and no single character creation, "City in the City" allows the audience to see that behind their choices is the grayscale of all levels in the game of human nature, which is profound and thought-provoking.
Level 1 Grayscale: The icing on the cake and the charcoal in the snow
The first level of grayscale of the human nature game depicted in "City within a City" is what way people choose to achieve their performance in the workplace.
This level of grayscale does not involve so much family, love, and friendship, but is more related to personal character and professional ideals.
Through the role of Tao Wuji, this drama allows the audience to see the growth trajectory of a typical bank newcomer. Whether he works at the counter at the beginning of the plot or enters the corporate business department in the middle of the plot, there will always be two ways to complete the performance in front of him.
When working at the counter, Tao Wuji's work performance evaluation standard is a simple and crude amount of deposit. This is quite difficult for him to come to Shanghai to work alone. Through the complaints and complaints of colleagues in the play, it can also be seen that this performance appraisal is not an easy thing for everyone.
At this time, the supervisor Zhu Qiang (played by Qu Gaowei) introduced a "good method" to Tao Wuji: first find a rich "friend" to deposit 20 million to 30 million at a time, and then take it away within three days after the time assessment.
It's just that Tao Wuji wants to provide one-and-a-half points of interest as a "thank you".
This method is not illegal, does not violate the law, and saves time, effort and worry. Especially when the assessment deadline is approaching, it will become a lifesaver for many people.
A netizen with work experience in a bank spoke in the barrage: "Everyone who has worked in a bank knows it."
This is the choice Tao Wuji faced when he worked at the counter in the method of completing the deposit performance: a kind of "laziness" and a kind of "diligence".
When he came to the corporate business department, Tao Wuji's working method also faced two choices: one was only to give others the icing on the cake, and the other was to give others charcoal.
This time, the two choices are more explicit, and he made it very clear to Su Jianren (played by Feng Jiayi), the "boss" of the corporate business department, that he likes the icing on the cake.
In the face of the "laziness" of the leader, can you continue to choose "diligence"?
The icing on the cake is small risk, and the risk is high. Whether it is for the bank or for the individual's career development, risk must be the primary consideration. The icing on the cake and the charcoal in the snow, there are bankers to do it, and there are also those who have done it beautifully and made achievements.
It is difficult for us to say who chooses right and who chooses wrong, but we can only say that when faced with a choice, a person's career ideals will inevitably undergo a huge test.
Zhao Hui, Miao Che (played by Wang Xiao), Su Jianren, and Xie Zhiyuan, a group of middle-aged F4s, are the generation that has made choices, and Tao Wuji, Cheng Jiayuan (played by Yao Yiqi), Hu Yue (played by Liu Siyuan) and others are the generation that is about to make a choice.
Level 2 grayscale: family affection is not as big as the company
The second-level grayscale of the human nature game depicted in "City within a City" is the choice of family affection and company/career in the heart.
Chinese attach great importance to family affection, but if they use family affection in business competition, it will involve the game of human nature.
Tao Wuji's girlfriend Tian Xiaohui (played by Xia Meng) is another typical Chinese young man's growth path.
In reality, many young people have had a similar experience: at the beginning of their careers, parents often ask others to find a better-than-average job opportunity for their children through relatives, classmates, and friends.
However, people like cousin Shen Jing (played by Yang Zishan) often uphold the concept of "family affection is not as big as the company". She introduced Tian Xiaohui to her husband Xie Zhiyuan's Yuanzhou Trust with personal selfishness.
If Tian Xiaohui wants to seize this opportunity, it is inevitable that she will act as Shen Jing's pawn.
After Shen Jing used Tian Xiaohui's means to catch evidence of her husband's cheating, she immediately cooperated with Xie Zhiyuan to dump the "pot" to Tian Xiaohui in the company, so that the fledgling newcomer in the workplace instantly saw the style of the gangsters.
Between the face of relatives and the interests of the company, Shen Jing chose the latter without hesitation. This level of second-level gray in her human nature has been formed for many years, how can it be changed because of a cousin who suddenly visits?
Because of this, when Tian Xiaohui learned that the second job she got in Junlong Real Estate was also promoted by Shen Jing behind the scenes, she had to face her own human nature game:
Not only do they want to get better job opportunities and faster career promotion through their relatives, so as to realize their dream of buying a house as soon as possible, but they are reluctant to become a pawn in the business war of the bigwigs.
Tian Xiaohui, who was simple and white at the beginning of the series, was also slowly "ashed".
She has a very firm dream of buying a house in her heart, and it is this dream that is both realistic and unattainable that has become her weakness that has been grasped by Shen Jing and Xiao Wu (played by Leng Jiyuan).
In the latest plot, Tian Xiaohui changed her passive state and began to try to take the initiative in her own hands.
This marks that she has made a choice between family and career. The gears of her destiny have started a new cycle of operation.
is also deeply trapped in the dilemma of family affection and career, as well as Su Jianren and Cheng Jiayuan, father and son.
As we all know, immediate family members are not allowed to work in the same bank. So the show cleverly designed the peculiarity between the father and son to break the industry norms and create interesting drama.
The most important choice in Cheng Jiayuan's life was made before the series began. Although the subsequent "entanglement" between father and son is not representative of the industry, it is very representative of the game of human nature.
The two seemed to be very different in style and moral conduct at the beginning, but the deeper the plot, the more the audience saw the strength of genetic inheritance.
The family relationship between the two was very weak at the beginning, they just felt that it was a congenital blood relationship, and among the many considerations in life, it could be placed at the very end. Cheng Jiayuan will not use blood to gain benefits, and Su Jianren will not lose his interests for the sake of blood.
The two fathers and sons played the cards, but instead spread out the grayscale in the game of human nature. They don't have to go around and guess like Shen Jing and Tian Xiaohui, two cousins.
Cheng Jiayuan's suggestion that his father Su Jianren apply for a fake remarriage certificate to obtain his grandfather's inheritance sounds very joking, but it is actually quite heart-wrenching. Because, the "grayscale" that Su Jianren has accumulated in his life can be seen at a glance in his son.
When there is a contradiction between family affection and company development and career promotion, it is the original intention of the person who is tested. Which way do you want to reach your dreams? Is blood kinship warm or burdensome in your life?
Level 3 Grayscale: The regulations do not say that brothers can't be
The third level of grayscale of the human nature game depicted in "City within a City" is the conflict between industry regulations and human emotions.
Dai Qiye (played by Zhang Shen), the former president of the branch of Shenmao Bank, "nine good and one evil" is a refined summary of this layer of grayscale. Zhao Hui's experience after President Dai's unexpected death is a personal experience of the struggle in this highest gray scale.
Career choices, responsible for oneself, and family choices, most of which can be put on the surface. These two levels of gray were well avoided by Zhao Hui.
This is also the reason why he can become Tao Wuji's idol. It's just that this third level of gray is often wrapped in layers, not only Tao Wuji has never seen it as a newcomer, but even Zhao Hui of the old rivers and lakes feels more and more unguardable.
Cousin Shen Jing said when she persuaded Tian Xiaohui to train her boyfriend Tao Wuji well: "You will know when the time comes, how valuable the president's name is." ”
That's right, although Zhao Hui, the vice president of the branch, does not have enough money to treat his daughter, the word "Zhao Xing" is too valuable. Especially for Wu Xianlong (played by Wang Jinsong), who is a real estate worker, and Xie Zhiyuan, who is a trust, the game between him and Zhao Hui is simply a "life issue".
The friendship between Zhao Hui, Wu Xianlong and Xie Zhiyuan was formed the day after tomorrow. He thinks that this friendship is there, and if he doesn't admit it, this friendship is not there.
Because of this, when the clever and cunning two play the friendship card, they will always wrap it into a dark arrow.
Wu Xianlong grasped the economic predicament that Zhao Hui could not overcome on his own, as well as the resulting debt to his daughter's family, and tried to "help" him solve his daughter's high surgery costs in various ways.
Xie Zhiyuan seized the gap in Zhao Hui's personal emotions and used Zhou Lin (played by Long Ni), who looked very similar to his deceased wife, to perform a "beauty trick".
Both of them played extremely clever in terms of means, and really did "think about what Zhao Hui thinks and is anxious about what Zhao Hui is anxious about".
All the tricks are tailor-made for Zhao Hui.
President Dai reminded Zhao Hui that "there will be five dangers", which is exactly where Zhao Hui's life lies, and President Dai's own practice of "nine good and one evil" is also a lesson for Zhao Hui.
The ultimate grayscale in the game of human nature is always based on weakness. When the weakness is pinched, it gradually loses the initiative to choose.
The plot has developed to this stage, and I really want to shout to Zhao Hui in the play: "Zhao Xing, hold on!"
epilogue
Miao Che is a character who is not very conspicuous in the current updated plot.
The audience vaguely knew that he had irreconcilable contradictions with his wife in order to return to China for development, and also knew that as an auditor, he was nicknamed "Miao Daxia".
After we have seen the human nature of many characters in the face of choices, it is imperative for Miao Daxia to appear.
The particularity of the financial industry can amplify the human game behind the choices of the characters. "A City in a City" grasps this characteristic, and constantly throws difficult choices for each character in the writing of the plot, so as to carry out in-depth thematic exploration.
This drama opens up a new creative idea for industry dramas, and with the help of the restoration of the real industry ecology, the choices faced by bankers in reality are placed in front of the audience, which greatly increases the audience's sense of substitution.
When Zhao Hui began to "ash", Miao Daxia officially debuted, and the good show of "City in the City" had just been staged.
[Text/Full Hoard]