1. Looking back on time, we see many classic beautiful male images in classical dramas, and their unique charm and deep connotation have gradually become eternal memories in people's hearts.
However, with the passage of time, the phenomenon of a new generation of "self-positioning" seems to have quietly changed this situation, and the mediocre male stars are increasingly replacing those who were once beautiful, and this transformation is undoubtedly unbearable, and it also provokes us to think about the definition and pursuit of beauty.
In the past years, the roles of beautiful men in costume film and television dramas were often played by a group of really handsome guys with both appearance and temperament. For example, in the costume drama classic "Chu Liuxiang" in the 80s, Zheng Shaoqiu's upright and elegant, graceful and dignified appearance left an unforgettable impression of elegance and heroism for the audience.
Look at Jiao Enjun's portrayal of Li Xunhuan in the 90s version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", his gestures are full of handsome and personable bookish temperament.
However, when we enter the new millennium, Louis Koo played Yang Guo in 2003's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", his chic and uninhibited, face like a crown of jade, also made countless audiences fall for it.
These real beautiful actors in ancient costumes, they not only have upright facial features, but also have a smooth body and demeanor, just right, their smiles, and every move, all show the elegance of literati.
However, in recent years, we have found that these real beautiful actors in ancient costumes are gradually being replaced by a group of new generation of male stars who are "self-oriented" and have a mediocre appearance. They all boast of titles such as "the first beautiful man in ancient costumes" and "true and peerless sons", but in the end, they can't hide the reality of their mediocre appearance and wilted behavior.
Their posture is low, and they are still swaying when they walk, as if they are just ordinary teenagers in the streets and alleys, which is in stark contrast to the image of beautiful men in the past.
Looking at these superficial "fakes", we can't help but sigh that this is undoubtedly a kind of desecration of the classic image. Their appearance made many audiences who love costume dramas feel crying, laughing, and laughing.
2. The "ugly men dressed up as beautiful boys" affair of male stars Zhang Han, Jin Han and others revealed the absurdity and ridiculousness of their mediocre appearances.
Let's start with the latecomers. In 2021, a costume idol drama called "Jun Jiuling" attracted widespread attention, but the actor of the play, Jin Han, left the audience with a comical impression of barely concave shape.
In the original work, Zhu Zhan, the prince of Chengguo, who was illustrious, full of ruffian but wise, was interpreted by Jin Han, with his unique appearance, narrow eyes, flat nose, and deliberate posture of shrinking his neck and bending over like a big man, which undoubtedly subverted the audience's beautiful imagination of this personable son! Especially those sudden "heroes save beauty" bridges, his falling butt and faltering shape are really hilarious.
The same embarrassing scene was also played out on Zhang Han. This "Taiwanese Xiaosheng", who was once popular all over the Taiwan Strait and three places, played two completely different roles in 2016's "The Legend of the Red Shadow of the Classic of Mountains and Seas" at the same time.
However, with his Chinese face, short thick eyebrows, and shriveled lips, combined with his flamboyant clothes made of cheap fabrics and heavy smoky makeup, he looks like a decayed version of an "oilfield worker".
As an audience, how can you not laugh when you witness the overly exaggerated looks made by these male stars who are not outstanding in appearance in order to meet the high-value requirements of the characters they play? They are obviously forcibly concave and violate the professional ethics that actors should have, and this attempt to reduce aesthetic standards to a minimum is undoubtedly a complete commercial hype.
3. The classic depictions of beautiful men in martial arts novels such as Gu Long and Jin Yong, compared with the anomie of current actors.
Tracing back to the origins, we must explore the classic depiction of the image of a beautiful man from the brushstrokes of martial arts novelists. The depiction of those words is the model and source of all film and television interpretations.
For example, Chu Liuxiang, who is known as "the generalissimo among robbers and the best son among hooligans" praised by people in the rivers and lakes, is a peerless son who is "like a frightening and a dragon".
He not only has a powerful martial arts mastery, but also charms countless confidants with his suave and eclectic temperament, however, in the 2006 version of "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang", the image of the starring Zhu Xiaotian seems to be a hillbilly randomly selected from a kebab stand, with a fat head and big ears, and a gray-and-white striped robe, which is far from the character setting in the novel.
Let's review once again the graceful Dali prince Duan Yu written by Master Jin Yong, who has the noble status of a royal nobleman and the beauty of "gentle as jade, noble and natural", and can be called one of the most eye-catching beautiful men in the book.
However, in the new version of "Dragon Babu", Bai Shu portrayed this gentle and elegant beautiful man into a lewd pervert who is keen on "hitting the breast" girl and "incontinent" when he sees a beautiful woman, this subversive adaptation is undoubtedly a blasphemy and destruction of the classic! .
In addition, Ma Ke's characters such as Killing Qianmo in "Flower Thousand Bone" and Yang Youning's Ma Zitang in "Shangyang Fu", the greasy and rough decadent image they created is also very different from the spiritual temperament of the beautiful man depicted in the original work.
The inappropriate appearance of these actors undoubtedly makes it difficult for them to reproduce the beautiful image depicted in the classic text.
Fourth, return to reality, tell the embarrassing experience of Yu Xiaotong, Wang Longhua and others forcibly playing a beautiful man in ancient costume.
When we withdraw from the illusory world of the novel and re-examine the true appearance of film and television dramas, it is not difficult to find that there are many cases of forcibly playing beautiful men in ancient costumes but ultimately failing.
For example, in the TV series "Long Looks" broadcast in 2020, the young actor Yu Xiaotong was known as the actor of "the first beautiful man in the Warring States" Yuan Feibai, however, as soon as he appeared on the stage, his sunken eye sockets, listless squinting eyes and high raised alpaca face immediately surprised the audience Yu Xiaotong tried to hide his shortcomings by half-covering long bangs, but the result was a snake that added to it, but it looked even more funny.
Also suffering embarrassment is Wang Longhua, who is not outstanding in appearance. In 2006's "Dream of Red Mansions", he played the role of the suave Jia Lian. However, his oily face, rustic temperament, and greasy expression when he spoke were far from the grace and luxury of Jia Lian, a noble son in the capital.
What's even more ironic is that Zhu Xiaotian, a member of the once smash hit "F4". The embarrassing experience of the three of them was due to the serious disconnection between their own strength and the role setting, coupled with the pretentiousness of excessive pursuit of modeling effects, which eventually led to the opposite ending.
Fifth, Zhu Xiaotian, Ma Ke and others are out of shape and greasy in shape, revealing their deviation from literary and artistic images.
Zhu Xiaotian, a member of the "F4" group who was once popular all over Asia, starred in the TV series "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" in 2006, and his image has become the focus of public attention. However, his size is beginning to show signs of "fat", and even wearing a loose gray-and-white striped kaftan cannot hide the presence of his beer belly, which is undoubtedly worrying.
In terms of the styling design of the play, the designers tried to improve Zhu Xiaotian's fatter face by adding long bangs on both sides, but this approach seemed too deliberate, which made his original simple and cute appearance more prominent, in stark contrast to Chu Liuxiang's dashing image.
Similarly, in the TV series "Flower Thousand Bone", the character played by Marco is also controversial due to styling issues. In the original book, Kill Qianmo is portrayed as "the first beautiful man in the Six Realms", but Marco's style is heavy makeup, with thick black eyebrows, bright red lips and scattered hair, which makes the whole person look greasy, which is far from the enchanting and feminine image described in the original book.
In addition, the image of Ma Zitang created by Yang Youning in the TV series "Shangyang Fu" is also seriously inconsistent with the original setting. His dark skin, rough facial features, and grinning expression make him look like a migrant worker who has just returned from the farmland, completely out of touch with Ma Zitang's noble status and elegant temperament as a prince.
Whether it is hair, heavy makeup or unkempt clothing, these crude and vulgar expressions are undoubtedly incompatible with the image of beautiful men in literary and artistic works, bringing not only visual impact, but also psychological trauma to the audience.
6. Here, we strongly appeal to the majority of actors to adhere to basic professional ethics and not blindly follow the trend of "appearance first" in the casting process, so as to prevent the recurrence of blunt and contrived "ugly duckling" performances.
For the pursuit of perfect film and television image reproduction, it is the duty and basic demand of every practitioner. However, in practice, we have repeatedly witnessed many blunt and contrived "ugly duckling" appearances, which is undoubtedly a double desecration of the original book and its readers.
For example, in the TV series "When the Gentleman is in Time", Huang Tianqi's image is jaw-dropping; In "The Legend of Heavy Ears", Wang Longhua's appearance is even more surprising.
Not only that, but his clumsy acting skills and modeling design are undoubtedly a serious distortion and misreading of the character image!
What we are looking forward to are the ideal avatars that match the original text as closely as possible and make people's hearts beat faster. However, aren't these "ugly swans" with ordinary faces and low quality offensive to the inherent elegance and dignity of the original image?
Therefore, in the casting and production process, relevant practitioners must not overly conform to the atmosphere of "appearance first", but should pay more attention to the basic moral code and professionalism of the actors.
The blind pursuit of celebrity popularity, even at the expense of lowering the original appearance standards set by the characters, can only lead to vulgar and vulgar visual impact and mental trauma in the end.
In addition, actors also need to be honest with their own image, and never blindly chase classic roles. If you don't look good, don't force yourself to play a handsome man and a beautiful woman, so as not to expose your embarrassing predicament and become the laughing stock of everyone.
Only in this way can we expect to enjoy more amazing and excellent interpretations that match the original book on the screen.