On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the film version of "Downton Abbey" was released in the United Kingdom.
From 2010 to 2015, the six seasons of Downton Abbey became a global topic. From the story to the production to the actors, this is a "pure-blood" British drama, but it seems to have become a symbol of British popular culture. In the six years since the series aired, Downton Abbey has received a total of 69 Emmy nominations, 15 of which have been awarded.
In the final episode of season six, Downton Abbey had a frozen finale on Christmas Day 1925. The timeline and character relationships of the film version of "Downton Abbey", which has been released in the United Kingdom, are basically the same as the last season, not so much as a sequel, but rather in the sad and happy clutch of the main part, the small story of "The King's Visit" is drawn separately and filmed into a movie.
The film version of Downton Abbey will currently be released in more than 30 countries and regions, including Taiwan (released on September 20) and Hong Kong (released on October 17). However, whether "Downton Abbey", a work that was once popular in China, can reach the big screen in China is still unknown.
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The movie version of Downton Abbey is officially announced
Although it has been four years since the end of the series, Downton Abbey has been able to be released worldwide in the form of a movie. Why is a family ethics drama so attractive?
Why can a "silly white sweet" historical drama succeed?
In fact, neither the writer nor the producer has ever felt that he is creating a work that will make a name for himself in the history of British television dramas. And the show was able to achieve such a big response outside the UK, which surprised the main creative team.
Essentially, Downton Abbey is a soap opera for people to spend on Sunday nights. Although it is set against the backdrop of changes in the British legal system in the early 20th century and the impact of the First World War on Europe as a whole, in terms of depth, "Downton Abbey" is still a bit "silly and sweet" compared to "The Famous Sister", "The Story of the Handmaiden" and "Louis XIV".
The Crowley family's estate is an elegant wonderland that could not exist in real history. In the play, the class system does not bring substantial oppression and exploitation to people. The ladies and ladies on the top floor are very upright, kind, and believe that all men are created equal, and everyone in the manor, from kitchen maids to second-rate male servants, can control their own destiny.
More importantly, the characters in the play have a special "vision", they can often transcend their own historical background, and look at British society in the early 20th century from a very modern perspective.
It's no wonder the Guardian ended its episode in 2016 as a "ridiculous and successful" tv series. In the last Christmas, between the old lady and the lady of the Crowley family, there are the following two lines.
"We want to go into the future, not go back in time." "If only we had a choice."
Obviously, this is the screenwriter starting from today, with the help of the character's mouth "to give new words to force the worry". This Christmas in history did not change the antagonism between the owner of the manor and the serf, nor did it change the hierarchy. But for audiences who don't care about history, these two lines are enough to form a relatively happy ending.
It has to be said that this setting of "modern consciousness" has lowered its barriers as a "historical drama". For this period of British history that we are not very familiar with, Downton Abbey simplifies it and beautifies it inside the manor, as long as it can play a sufficient role in hindering the protagonist's self-pursuit, it will not dig deeper.
In Downton Abbey, the historical backdrop is like the jewelry costumes and golden mansions in the play. In the 52 episodes, the screenwriter has no intention of excavating the real life situation of a group of "people of the year" from 1912 to 1925, but lets the glamorous and beautiful characters "interpret" a period of absurd farce, touching father-daughter affection, and the realization of self-pursuit.
Today, when it comes to the creation of movies, their attitude seems to be the same. The royals, who have never been featured in the series, become the main conflict in the film. Due to the need to entertain the visiting king, the Crowley family's manor was "occupied" by butlers, cooks, and servants from the palace, while the Crowley family wanted to maintain their "status" as the true owners of the manor.
Judging from the current ratings and box office, the "Downton Abbey" movie continues one of the most attractive points of the episodic period - not to show off history, but to make a spicy review of history from a contemporary perspective.
How does the British "house fight drama" attract Chinese audiences?
It should be said that it is no accident that "Downton Abbey" can break the cultural differences between China and the West. When the historical background and contradictions are simplified, the cultural concepts of "family", "class difference" and "personal growth" are actually common between China and the United Kingdom.
This is especially true in terms of theatrical arrangement, and the love-hate love and hatred between the big children in "Downton Abbey", the chicken flying dog jump and the "house fight" story familiar to Chinese audiences, are very similar to some extent. The love story between the three daughters and their respective boyfriends is not difficult to understand. From the 1990s to the present, a large number of Hong Kong dramas such as "Pearls" and "Storm of Hearts" series, as well as "Famous Gate Dark War", are similar routines.
But the difference from the script to the production is still visible to the naked eye. The superb acting skills of the protagonists in "Downton Abbey" also dwarf the domestic works.
This historical soap opera that unexpectedly "became popular" in China is not only the enlightenment of British drama for many audiences, but also a lot of inspiration for Chinese film and television workers in the matter of "cultural output".
In the context of the grand era, the various characters are concentrated in a specific time and space, in which universal humanity is refined, accompanied by gorgeous costumes. A few years later, the basic operations and routines in "Downton Abbey" have been basically familiar to Chinese creators.
But in addition, the most cultural penetration of "Downton Abbey" is not its vivid reproduction of the country's history, but its inadvertent satisfaction of the deep needs of Chinese audiences and society.
The emergence of "Downton Abbey" fits the imagination of a large number of emerging middle classes in Chinese society for wealth, class, and "nobility". These upstarts desperately need a new cultural way to showcase their wealth and status and establish their "identity."
And the "old-school aristocratic way of life in Britain" seems to have become such a symbol.
In a way, Downton Abbey is the equivalent of a "guide to high society life." There are many viewers who are not concerned with the fate of the Crowley family, but more concerned with how to behave gracefully and decently in a class society.
For example, in a 2014 report in Vanity Fair, a personnel agent in London said that after downton abbey was broadcast in China, Chinese although they did not know what the specific duties of the British housekeeper were, more and more people wanted to hire a British butler.
There is no doubt that historical dramas are shortcuts to cultural export. And "Downton Abbey" may further prove that understanding the deep psychology and needs of audiences in other countries may make the process of cultural output more effective with half the effort.
【Text/One Tree】
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