Dear users, hello! First of all, let us eagerly welcome the first quarter of 2024 that has just passed, at this moment, I believe that for the majority of viewers and friends, the casting of TV series has become a topic of widespread concern from all walks of life.
Originally, we were full of expectations that after this period of discussion and attention, this topic would prompt the film and television industry to pay great attention to it and conduct in-depth reflection, however, unexpectedly, just when the family sitcom "South to North" caused strong dissatisfaction among the audience due to the "plastic face" of the male and female protagonists, and the word of mouth plummeted, the costume drama "Xuanwumen" released in early March also encountered the same dilemma.
The filming of the TV series was successfully completed as early as 2017, but it took a long wait of seven years before it was finally able to meet a wide audience. Before the broadcast, the production team went all out and used various means to promote it, which successfully attracted the attention and expectations of many audiences.
However, as soon as the new drama was broadcast, it was immediately attacked by the majority of netizens, and the comment area was full of complaints, questioning whether the director regarded the audience as "fools".
In this drama, not only did many senior actors and powerful actors join, but there were also serious mistakes in the choice of actors' shapes. A 37-year-old actress Tong Lei was asked to play a "heartthrob" girl, and the wrinkles on her face made her image extremely inconsistent with the role, which made people laugh.
Next, let's review the past and present life of this TV series "Xuanwumen". It was originally a high-profile costume drama that vividly portrayed the war-torn and turbulent backdrop of the early Qing Dynasty.
As a historical and legendary drama, the filming was successfully completed as early as 2017, but after a long wait of seven years, it was finally able to meet the audience.
Before the official release of the show, the production team invested a lot of money in publicity and promotion, using a variety of marketing strategies. From the pre-warm-up activities to the intensive press conference to the release of highlights, the audience's expectations continue to rise.
Finally, on March 5, this much-anticipated drama arrived as scheduled, but who would have expected that its premiere would bring such huge disappointment and disgust to the audience.
In this drama, the most unacceptable thing is the problem of character modeling. In order to highlight the beauty and charm of the heroine "Huang Hexiang", the crew portrayed her as a "beautiful and moving person, who was given the title of 'Concubine Saixiang', and can be called a peerless beauty who captivates the country and the city".
However, when Tong Lei, the actor, actually appeared in front of the camera, the audience instantly fell into shock.
Her face, with her messy, disorganized wig and two thick and long ponytails, is really difficult to associate with a young girl, let alone reach the level of a "heartthrob".
Every time she smiles or tears fall, she will reveal deep wrinkles on her face, which is undoubtedly the biggest violation!
Preface: The image of the "heartthrob" in "Xuanwumen" is indeed hilarious, but in the entertainment industry, it is not uncommon to see a phenomenon similar to "pretending to be young against age"!
Many veteran female stars seem to have a dedication to challenging the role of girls, even if the years are ruthless, they still insist on themselves and show themselves with a childish attitude.
The most typical example is the leader of the "Girl Sect" - Ms. Liu Xiaoqing. She is a master at dressing up tender, and her skills are unmatched. For many post-90s and post-00s, their first impression of Liu Xiaoqing is from the costume masterpiece "Wu Zetian" in the 90s of the last century.
In this classic, Liu Xiaoqing successfully created an innocent, delicate and lovely girl, whether it is eyes, expressions or a smile between gestures, all of which are vividly displayed without any sense of pretentiousness.
However, it wasn't until many years later that people suddenly realized that when she starred in "Wu Zetian", Liu Xiaoqing was already a 43-year-old mature woman! Her superb acting skills make it impossible for all viewers to perceive her actual age.
Perhaps because of this, Liu Xiaoqing has developed a strong interest in the role of a girl since then.
Since then, no matter what role she plays, she can always use her superb acting skills to "turn her face into a child". It wasn't until he was 53 years old that when he participated in the TV series "Yongle Hero", the audience found a trace of disobedience for the first time.
And when she entered her old age, combing braids and wearing a pink dress jumping happily in front of the camera, the appearance of a "girl" caused laughter and controversy from countless people, which was really unacceptable.
is also caught in the dilemma of "pretending to be young against age", as well as today's popular actress Ms. Liu Tao. Since she emerged in hit dramas such as "Mazu" and "Ode to Joy", her performance in the martial arts drama "Langya Bang" has reached the peak level.
However, in recent years, Liu Tao's performance style has become more and more "strange"! For example, in the hit urban drama "The Beginning", the female policeman she played, with a dull facial expression and blank eyes, did not see the heroic and resolute police demeanor of the past, but more like a depressed girl.
In the following days, Liu Tao boldly challenged the role of a young girl many times. Judging from her appearance, she began to personally do "sudden makeup" - heavy bangs on her forehead, a double ponytail tied at the back of her head, and a plaid shirt or doll dress on her body.
However, no matter how carefully she dressed, those eyes that had been through vicissitudes could never be hidden. Some netizens directly pointed out: "Her style is too inconsistent, and she should try to play the role of an aunt or mother more, so that she can be more handy."
Fourth, the return
Okay, about those artists in the entertainment industry who "forcibly pretend to be tender", we will not press the table here for the time being. Back to the topic, in addition to Tong Lei's styling problems, "Xuanwumen" is also extremely bad in all other aspects.
The first is the shaping of the role of the actor "Li Tianshun". starred by a powerful actor, which was supposed to be a highlight of the show. However, in this drama, Ren Zhong's performance seems to have fallen into the dilemma of "not adapting to the soil and water".
Whether it is the expression of lines or the presentation of actions, he seems rusty and stiff, which is in stark contrast to the superb acting skills shown in dramas such as "Bright Sword" and "Fox Hunting" in the past.
Let's take a look at the styling of other supporting characters. The role of "Cixi" in the play is played by a foreign actor, whose makeup is thick and her skin is also decorated with strange black mole, which is far from the image of "Yongzheng's biological mother" in the audience's mind.
The images of other small characters are even more varied and hideous, and they don't feel any sense of historical ritual at all.
In addition, the plot arrangement of "Xuanwumen" is also extremely inferior and absurd. One of the most criticized is undoubtedly the various attitudes of male characters towards heroines.
When the male protagonist first meets the female protagonist, he does not hesitate to follow her and protect her as she wanders around. However, they are just strangers to each other. A small officer and soldier actually showed a lustful look to the heroine, stared at her directly on the street, and even "revealed his true feelings" and said "This girl is so beautiful".
This sentence alone is enough to make people disgusted.
What's even more controversial is that the rhythm of the emotional development in the play is too sudden and blunt. After only four episodes were broadcast, there were three male characters around the heroine who fell in love with her and confessed affectionately! .
Such a bloody plot trend is tantamount to a merciless mockery of the IQ of the audience!
Fifth, in-depth analysis of the main line
For "Xuanwumen", a naked bad movie, it is necessary for us to conduct in-depth reflection and find out the root cause behind all this.
First of all, let's analyze from a production perspective, maybe the producer's lack of understanding of the current trend is causing the problem. Today, we are in the era of visual worship of "appearance is justice".
Whether it is TV dramas, variety shows, or even new media forms such as online live broadcasts and short videos, whether the host's appearance is handsome seems to have become one of the key factors to attract the audience's attention.
However, in such a context, the crew of "Xuanwumen" is still self-contained, obsessed with the concept of "acting is king", ignoring the external image of the actors, which is really a bit outdated.
They should have chosen those actors with outstanding looks and extraordinary temperament to create the "heartthrob" image of the heroine, instead of forcibly "pretending to be tender" to a nearly 37-year-old Tong Lei.
Secondly, this also reflects the serious lack of professional ethics of many film and television practitioners. As an actor, if you have a clear understanding of your own conditions, you should not compromise because of the temptation of fame and fortune to play roles that are extremely inconsistent with your actual age.
It is precisely because of some people's blind pursuit of fame and career that they "pretend to be tender" at all costs, but in the end they backfire and become the laughing stock of everyone.
Again, through the low-level mistake of "Xuanwumen", we can also get a glimpse of a common disease in the domestic film and television industry - what industry insiders often call "conformism" and "old-fashioned".
Many production units lack a unique aesthetic vision in the creative process, and the plot setting and character creation are often old and boring, such as the way the hero and heroine "meet", and the stereotype of female characters, etc., all of which seem to be a huge "echo chamber", with nothing innovative at all.