"The Green Snake Robbery": I cling to therefore I am

Author: Wang Wenjue

When watching the domestic cartoon "Green Snake Robbery", it is easy to think of many female artistic images, You Sanjie, the battle angel Lolita... They and the Green Snake are basically a faction, with a similar growth pattern: anger makes people rebel, resistance makes people grow, and they fight until the end of the world.

If you comb through the vast sea of Chinese mythological images, almost all of the most suitable for modern adaptation have such characteristics. Nezha, Wukong, Yang Jian, White Snake and Green Snake, resisting the shackles of cold and hard iron plates, pursuing freedom and independence, chasing light animation in recent years have transformed such characters full of storytelling and emotional sense. Compared with "White Snake: Origins", the image of the green snake is bound to be more anti-bone, lonely and courageous, and in many literary secondary creations, the green snake is more rebellious because she is closer to the demon and obliquely looks at the image of the world, rebellious more thoroughly, and more flexible and distinct. In Xu Ke's film creation, the title of the film was simply changed to "Green Snake", rather than the "Legend of the White Snake" that people are warmly familiar with.

In this adaptation of this version of domestic animation, the green snake is basically born from Xu Ke's movie: contempt for Xu Xian, incomprehension of the love of the white snake in the world, and fierceness for injustice and tit-for-tat. The film also created its own independent story system - Shuluo City, all the people and demons who refused to reincarnate, did not live and did not die because of "obsession" were beaten into this city, and the weak and the strong tortured each other until some people could not see the future, completely abandoned the dead heart and beat into the "no pool", completely forgetting the original obsession of eroding the bones into the soul. It is a process of torturing desire with pain and giving up desire.

The Green Snake scoffed at the logic of Shuluo City, and she was bound to rely on the breath in her cavity to fight out this bloodthirsty world, overturn the Leifeng Tower, and rescue the white snake who was dependent on each other. Her obsession is to take revenge and kill Fahai to save her sister. In this strange and strange battle city full of wasteland punk and motorcycle armor, the green snake fought for 120 minutes, the motor roared and the guns shook the sky, and tears and blood flew together.

"What you love will eventually dissipate" is a view of life, and "I cling to it, therefore I am" is another outlook on life. The Green Snake was beaten into Shuluo City, and all he wanted was to let her go, but just like in the traditional story, the Green Snake held the sword to save his sister, and what the Green Snake wanted to prove was the latter, the deep attachment that we could not let go if I did not let go. And the more stubborn, she encountered more betrayals, strangulations, and robberies, and the film has been constantly increasing the concentration of emotions, the more condensed and stronger, the battle belonging to the green snake constantly refreshes people's experience of emotional limits. The victory that ultimately belonged to her seemed to give a proof that the most determined and pure emotions in the world existed, and obsession could produce miracles.

No growth no story. How can such a lonely soul as the Green Snake grow? In the past, The Green Snake's original incomprehension of his sister's mortal love gradually evolved into understanding. Her original logic was, what is the use of wanting a man who is inferior to herself? I will only love a strong one who can protect me. After encountering the seemingly powerful Sima Shengsheng's momentary betrayal, the green snake changed from "I can rely on him" to "I had to rely on myself". And getting acquainted with Xiao Bai, the familiar warmth that accompanies him, and the dependence of several times of sacrifice at critical junctures, let Xiao Qing gradually understand that what is important is not strong or not, but the "I love" of the soul, and the bravery and sacrifice that arise from it. The fierceness of Shuluo City did not do it, but the vastness and gentleness of love did, and the green snake regrouped the understanding of love.

Some people say that the green snake is the modern heroine, and the label is "enemy man". The conclusion is too rigid. The Green Snake has long evolved into a perverse and fiercely rebellious style in word of mouth and text development. And thinking that "men are unreliable" cannot fully represent the growth of Qing Snake - her growth is more powerful in self-awareness: if I am strong enough, my sister will not be crushed under the tower, if I am strong enough, the whole Shuluo City cannot trap me at all, if I am strong enough, how old is the Minotaur Horse Noodle? Such self-questioning has gone beyond the concept of men and women, and the obsession of saving the sister has more ways to achieve it - to be strong, all failures are because they are not strong enough.

The growth and evolution of the last moment, the almost exhaustion of love and hate, the lone courage of the green snake, constantly pushing the emotional climax to sweep in again and again. The production of light-chasing animation is also constantly improving, in addition to the familiar wasteland painting style, mechanical punk, Xiaoqing's battle has been switching violently between complex and obedient line colors and light and economical ink - the switch is very good. The fiercest battle of life and death with Fahai presents the beautiful scattering of ink, between the heavens and the earth, and the killing of the soul is given a spiritual meaning that the realist animation does not have. Who can draw a wisp of soul? Chinese ink painting is OK. The light-chasing animation captures this point very accurately, showing the technical ability of the art.

The disadvantage is that the previous "Nezha Reborn". The story of the light-chasing animation relies too much on a high spirit, which can smoothly and quickly promote the story and vent emotions, and it is easy to make the characters' motivation too one-way, lack of interpretation and analysis, and the artistic image is too simple and rude. The ancient big IP, the so-called "Fengshen Universe" is slowly showing dew, but if all the works in the future are still relying on excitement to rush to the end, then this series can be renamed the "I don't I don't" series. (Wang Wenjue)

Source: Volkswagen Daily