With the explosion of the boss short drama, the theme of boss boss has regained its activity in the eyes of netizens. Many netizens found that Mr. Ba always seems to have some strange diseases, such as not being able to contact the opposite sex. In the Korean drama "Why is Secretary Kim like that", the actor Lee Young-jun is extremely capable, and the group's profits have tripled since he took office, but he does not let any women touch him, except Secretary Kim.
Source: Stills from the Korean drama "Why is Secretary Kim like that" The TV series "That Kid Is Not Cute" and "About Love" are also similar plots. For example, in "About Love", the accident at the age of eighteen caused the company's executive Wei Qing to suffer from severe cleanliness and was unable to contact and socialize with the opposite sex. When Wei Qing unexpectedly met Zhou Shi, a nineteen-year-old art student, and found that there was no resistance to her, he signed an agreement with her for the purpose of curing the disease. The two then helped each other and fell in love for a long time.
Source: Stills from "About Love" So, why does the boss in the TV series always have the strange disease of "not being able to contact with the opposite sex"? This strange setting is related to the character creation of film and television dramas, in order to understand this setting, we first have to understand how film and television dramas generally shape characters.
Character-building: multi-layered settings and plot conflicts
In any film and television drama, character building is the core. Think about it, when you think of a film and television drama many years later, you may forget the plot, but you won't forget the characters in it that impress you. A full-bodied character needs to be shaped through multiple dimensions. In "Characters and Perspectives: Elements of Fiction Writing", it is mentioned that character creation includes elements such as motivation, past, reputation, stereotypes, relationship networks, talents and abilities, and personality. Motivation refers to what the character wants to do. Motivation can explain the behavior of the characters and support the subsequent development of the plot. The setting of "can't contact the opposite sex" determines the motivation of the boss to get close to the heroine with a special physique, which makes it reasonable for the boss to pay attention to the heroine's behavior. The past refers to the prehistory of the characters. Nicholas Mirtsov, an associate professor of art at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, once said, "The character's past, its secrets, and the internal dynamics that drive his actions, construct a three-dimensional and complex persona." And Mr. Ba can't contact with the opposite sex, with a sense of mystery that can't be seen through, people will be curious about what happened to Mr. Ba in the past, why he got such a disease, and naturally became interested in the characters. In terms of fame, public opinion will shape the audience's expected stereotypes of characters. The boss is handsome and golden, and suffers from the strange disease of "not being able to contact the opposite sex", which is not only a topic of conversation for many women after tea and dinner in the play, but also makes the audience who watches the drama have a preliminary impression of the boss who is cold or loyal, paving the way for the contrast of meeting the heroine later. In addition, the characters are a collection of their actions, and if you want to create an impressive character, you have to pay attention to the setting of the plot. In Blake Snyder's Save the Cat, a key story element is mentioned: the accident. In many film and television dramas, the setting of "no contact with the opposite sex" rationalizes the accident, creating an opportunity for the busy boss to be attracted to the heroine. At the same time, with the in-depth development of the plot, Mr. Ba experienced the emotional journey of the heroine from curiosity to fascination, to inner struggle, and finally to recognize his heart and fall in love. In this process, the emotional ups and downs of the arrogant and awkward boss and the ambiguous interaction between the protagonists not only captured the hearts of the audience, but also greatly enhanced the dramatic tension of the plot.
Source: Picture Worm Creative
Emotional Connection: The Root of Imperfect Personas
The setting of "unable to contact with the opposite sex" not only shapes the core conflict of the characters, but also shortens the distance between the audience and the characters, so that the audience throws emotions such as "distress", "pity" and "love" to the boss, and calls "up" to achieve emotional resonance with the story and characters. The important role of TV dramas is to meet the emotional needs of the audience, and a TV series that is loved by the audience must meet the collective psychological needs of the audience: entertainment appeal, love and trust, belonging, etc. The boss seems to be omnipotent, but in fact he hides his inner insecurity. When the strange disease of not being able to contact with the opposite sex attacked, the always polite boss became embarrassed and rude, making a lot of jokes, making the audience laugh, and this contrast satisfied the audience's entertainment demands. The boss often shows this weakness in the face of the heroine, and the audience will also feel pity for the boss when they bring it in, which is the starting point of emotional resonance. So how do we deepen the emotional resonance between the characters and the audience in the play? The answer is: obstacles and conflicts. When the audience sees that the boss is struggling to move forward on the road to self-transformation, they can't help but have a sense of accomplishment and pride of "my family has just grown up", and naturally has a strong emotional connection. Therefore, this strange disease of the boss is not only an external manifestation of the trauma, fear and rejection of the deep psychological feelings endowed by the character, which increases the thickness of the character, but also an obstacle that triggers the audience's sympathy and concern for the character, deepening the level of the plot and the audience's devotion to the story. Of course, it's not enough to make the audience emotionally resonate with the character. It is only when the audience's "satisfaction" is greater than the "satisfaction of expectations" that it is possible to achieve a high degree of satisfaction, which is why we often call TV dramas "top". And the "ideal love" shown in the boss drama is likely to make people get on top. The expectation of ideal love is a common feature of human beings throughout the ages. Research shows that people's expectations of love usually involve the following aspects: satisfaction of romantic relationships, emotional support, intimacy and interpersonal interactions, mutual respect and trust, emotional stability and security, and more. Among them, romantic relationships and interactions are reflected in the development and conflict of the plot, while emotional support requires efforts on character setting and behavior. As a dramatic element, the "setting of no contact with the opposite sex" first projects the male protagonist as an ideal partner model - loyal and reliable, which is in line with the characteristics of the secure attachment style in the field of psychology, and meets the aforementioned audience's expectations of love and trust, and emotional support. And the unique sense of power of the boss character is in stark contrast to the image of them opening up to only one person. This kind of setting that is different from inside and outside gives the heroine a special status, which is exactly in line with the "uniqueness" theory of love. Uniqueness in love emphasizes the irreplaceability that a person occupies in the eyes of the partner, satisfying the audience's expectation of a sense of belonging.
Tracing the cause: the rationality of the "no contact with the opposite sex" setting
Although the phobia of women may not be common in real life, art comes from life, and this setting may also be based on certain real diseases. To understand the rationality of this character setting, we can analyze it from the perspective of interpersonal relationships and psychology. First of all, such a tyrant may be an avoidant attachment personality. According to psychologist John Bowlby's attachment theory, an individual's early experiences, such as the relationship between parents and children, influence later relationships. Adults with avoidant attachment often distance themselves from intimate relationships, which may stem from childhood neglect or rejection. The image of the boss usually includes a prominent family background, parents are busy with careers, and it is normal to lack the correct companionship and positive attention of their parents, and this childhood experience may lead them to maintain psychological and emotional distance in adult romantic relationships, forming an avoidant attachment personality. This is followed by intimacyphobia, which is a type of intense restlessness and disturbance experienced in intimate relationships. Intimacrinity phobia can stem from negative experiences in the past, such as neglect or betrayal, leading to avoiding falling into deep emotional connections. The height is unbearable, as a bully who was kidnapped, bullied, neglected and other ups and downs at every turn when he was young, the strange disease of "not being able to contact the opposite sex" can be seen as an element that expresses intimacy phobia, through this character setting, the audience can see the challenges and fears of a tyrant who works hard professionally in his private life. Let's talk about perfectionism. Under the pressure of tradition and society, men are required to show sufficient strength and flawless ability, which is especially prominent in the setting of the boss. Because of the need to show that he is stronger than ordinary people, he may personally set emotional boundaries to avoid being seen as potentially vulnerable. Finally, cleanliness, especially mental cleanliness, can lead individuals to set extreme standards and expectations in relationships, psychologically distancing themselves from others. However, if we encounter or suffer from the above psychological problems in real life, we can give ourselves and others more understanding and tolerance, adjust our mentality in time, and receive treatment if necessary. [1] Gao Hua. Contrasting settings in dramatic situations[J].Film Literature,2013(18):17-18.) [2] Robert McGee: "The Story", China Film Publishing House[3][U.S.]Sid Field: "Fundamentals of Film Script Writing", China Film Publishing House, 2002 edition[4][U] Blake Snyder: "Save the Cat", Zhejiang University Press, 2011 edition[5]Wu Weili, Jian Yujia, Fang Li. Journal of Sichuan University(Philosophy and Social Science),2004(03):131-134. [6] Zhihu: Why do some people care so much about Shuangjie when they read novels? https://www.zhihu.com/question/519590527#:~:text[7]Zhihu: What is the meaning of intimacy phobia? https://www.zhihu.com/question/22063288[8] One Reading: Why do the bosses "love stomach problems"? https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/77VKOV5tWczdh3T1P4eIcg[9]Ding Xiaomin,Tian Yanwei. The emotional needs of Chinese audiences from the hit of Korean dramas[J].News Lovers,2009(24):119-120.) [10] Tian Fang. Research on the use and satisfaction of the audience of IP TV dramas with ancient costume themes[D].South-Central University for Nationalities,2019.
Author: Jin Huiying
Editor: Tennessee
Duty Editor: Min Min