Who dares to bet on Xianxia drama in the summer?

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Author丨Li Lili Editor丨Moon See

Source: New Entropy

For Yang Zi, “Agarwood is like crumbs” can’t be regarded as a “good cake” for his career.

After Yang Zi was confirmed to play the role of the heroine Yan Dan, Zhihu opened a question thread: Why did “Agarwood such as crumbs” become a mess? First Yang Zi refused to act, then Jing Tian stopped acting. In desperation, Yang Zi, who was about to terminate the contract with his old club Huan Rui, still took over this “mess”. In “Liu Li”, he vomited blood 77 times and became an ancient puppet full of “broken feeling”.

Although Youku’s promotion meeting in the first half of the year has always carried the sedan chair for “Agarwood is like crumbs” in the name of “drama king”, but on the day of the airborne, the entry that rushed to the top of the hot search was #ugly#.

The opening scene of Yang Zi jumping off the bridge in white clothes makes people dream back to “Three Lives, Three Worlds and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms” five years ago; the second male lead in the original book became the male protagonist, and the male protagonist became a tool man with iron bangs on his head; the villain female third Female competition, the heroine’s sister also engages in female competition, and it has been tried and tested for the plot of love blackening… It is reasonable to suspect that the “Bright Stars” of the next goose factory can drive low and walk high, and there are factors that set off its peers.

Xianxia dramas have always been the standard in the summer season. Yang Zi has gone from “national girl” to “top-notch little flower”, and “Fragrant Honey Embers as Frost” has contributed a lot. After 1985, Xiaohua is a masterpiece of Xianxia drama, and she has been away for half her life. When she returns, she is still a golden signboard for attracting investment and advertising. The front foot “Fox Fairy Little Matchmaker” officially announced Yang Mi and Gong Jun. In the back foot “Feng Xing”, Zhao Liying and Lin updated the second, and Yang Zi also seamlessly joined the “Sauvignon Blanc” crew.

I thought that the platform shouted cost reduction and efficiency improvement, and the drama market should be replaced with a new look. I didn’t expect that the old wine in old bottles, and the exhausted Xianxia dramas can still die without being stiff. Although Xianxia has become a fairy puppet, the protagonists fall in love first and then save the people, but the scorching summer season, with the fairy-like love story in heaven, is still broadcast lively.

A “Agarwood is like crumbs”, after watching all the routines of Xianxia

At a time when modern dramas are becoming less and less grounded, domestic Xianxia dramas have taken on a realistic style.

In the first few episodes of “Agarwood is like crumbs”, watermelon, chicken legs, and egg fried rice take turns in battle. Ying Yuan (played by Cheng Yi), the male protagonist of the four emperors of the heavenly court, avoids guests with the excuse of “wind evil entering the body”, that is, a cold. The heroine’s great dream is to write a storybook, which is more diligent and motivated than the real 996 workers.

The contradiction between the three realms in the Xianxia drama has nothing to do with the mortal world. It is often a problem left over from ancient times. The common solution is to let the male and female protagonists go down to the mortal world, and they will be able to turn the tide after the dungeon is finished.

The ideal business battle, with both offense and defense, strategizing, in the real business battle, the official seal hanging on the crotch and the friend who ripped the cushion. In the ideal fairy tale drama, the gods do not eat the fireworks of the world, and mortals pray for the blessing of God; and in “Agarwood is like crumbs”, the heroine Yan Dan (played by Yang Zi) who lives in the heavens, “God has the virtue of good life”. In his mouth, during the battle between the immortals and demons, he wanted to rely on “praying” to tide over the difficulties, and the words to enlighten the male protagonist were “the talk of ghosts and gods is just nonsense”…

In addition to the lines that cannot be distinguished between heaven and earth, the plot of “Agarwood is like crumbs” is also full of routines. Twenty years ago, the protagonist of the martial arts drama achieved a turning point by jumping off a cliff. Twenty years later, the heroine of the fairy tale drama has achieved the sublimation of the theme by leaping forward. Twenty years ago, the Heavenly Court Jade Emperor could still be busy with the business of suppressing the monkeys, while the Heavenly Court Immortals 20 years later only had one thought of falling in love.

There are seven names written in the screenwriter column, as if changing a trick to remind the audience: the rhythm is thin and the plot is outrageous.

The wind of domestic film and television dramas relying on crying dramas to judge acting skills has also blown into Xianxia dramas. Yang Zi cried from “Legend of the White Snake” to “Xiangmi” and then to Wuqiao in “Agarwood is like crumbs”; Cheng Yi’s red eye frame + close-up + vomiting blood in one step in “Liu Li”, to “Agarwood as crumbs” One-click copy and one-click paste, marketing is still broken. There is no delay in changing, but it does not prevent traffic from taking the old path.

After saying goodbye to the Korean-style Dapingmei, the ancient puppets greeted the funeral with all their white clothes fluttering on the screen. Under the CCTV camera, Yang Zi frowned and smiled like a beauty in the Tang Palace. Over the years, the costumes have changed from pink to pink, and it is difficult to have new ideas. So much so that the wedding scene of “Agarwood is like crumbs”, no matter how you look at it, I want to pack it back from the “Xiangmi” crew to reuse the makeup.

Each film claims to have invested millions of special effects pictures, and it is becoming more and more like a photo studio setting for a lifetime free of charge. Five years ago, the picture of “Agarwood is like crumbs” might still be a little sparkling, but after the bombardment of more than a dozen Xianxia dramas in a year, it is difficult for ordinary audiences to fluctuate.

More bridges, such as the male protagonist’s facial paralysis and high cold + the female protagonist’s quirky personality, the entanglement of grievances and grievances from N to N generations, mysterious and bizarre life secrets… Everything that Xianxia drama has ever had, “Agarwood is like crumbs” One is not bad. As for the turmoil of changing roles before the filming started, producer Gao Xinjie’s cheating scandal after the filming started, and the actor Xu Kai, who played the third villain, cut off Hu’s original cast, there were many rumors, which made the drama “Agarwood Like Crumbs”. Controversy outside the play is full of topics.

Why do Xianxia dramas last forever?

The term “Xianxia drama” originated from “The Legend of Sword and Fairy” broadcast in 2005. This drama series adapted from the game IP inherits some of the cultural genes of Chinese classical mythology, integrating martial arts, romance, self-cultivation and fantasy. Waiting for the setting, with the main line of growth of the protagonist group fighting monsters and upgrading, it has become a unique existence in domestic costume dramas.

Tangren Film and Television also relied on “Xianjian 1” and “Xianjian 3” to quickly gain a firm foothold in the Xianxia drama market, but the situation in the film and television industry has changed.

Until 2014, “Gu Jian Qi Tan”, which Huanrui assembled a large number of stars to shoot, brought the summer Xianxia craze again; Got a good score of 2 in the ratings.

“Qingyunzhi”, “Celebration of the Sky”, “Scented Honey”, “Eternal Jue Chen”… Xianxia dramas are like crayfish in the summer night food stalls, and they have become the standard of summer stalls every year. These Xianxia dramas have adopted the “big IP + large traffic” model without exception, and the simplicity and efficiency of production has also become an important reason for Xianxia dramas to maintain mass production.

From the production point of view, in the ancient puppet track, the Xianxia drama is the most standardized product. Going through the script to find the foothold of the real dynasty is a great test for the screenwriter’s ability. The costume drama of the dynasty is set, and the requirements for serving Taoism are getting higher and higher. “I Am Liu Jinfeng” was hurriedly taken off the shelves because of the turmoil of replacing China with Japanese, and the launch of “Bright Stars” was controversial because of the clothing system with “kimono knot”.

More than half of the scenes in the Xianxia drama rely on special effects in the later stage, and the bun costumes should be aesthetically first, not reality. Although the studio style is getting stronger and stronger, group ridicule is better than criticism.

As long as there is a crew who can go further in the funeral style, they will immediately gain goodwill. “Long Night Ember” is because of the gorgeous and beautiful makeup photos rushed to the hot search. Thirty years ago, in “The Legend of Shushan” directed by Tsui Hark, Brigitte Lin and Cecilia Cheung have performed a Dunhuang Flying Sky. Thirty years later, the ancient water has no waves. The Xianxia market still relies on the aesthetic power of the ancestors to turn the tide.

The IP sources of Xianxia dramas are also much richer than other types of dramas. The “Xianjian” series is adapted from the game, and “Fox Fairy Little Red Year” is from Guoman. The online article has left a rich IP legacy for Xianxia dramas. It is exaggerated to say that the youth of a generation is condensed in it. Nine Lu Feixiang’s “Canglan Jue” has been set on iQIYI, and many fantasy romance works by well-known female online writers such as Shu Ke and Shishilang have started shooting. There is also a backlog of repertoires from Jinjiang Pure Love District, “Blessings from Heavenly Officials” and “Haoyi Xing” (the original work “Er Ha and His White Cat Shizun”).

Looking at it this way, it is easy to understand why every Xianxia drama project can attract attention, and the physique that has its own traffic before it is broadcast is an insurance that is scarce in the cold winter of film and television.

Unstoppable Xianxia Dependence

Among the S-level projects released by Aiyou Tengmang every year, Xianxia dramas must have a place. Even if realism becomes the mainstream, suspense themes are gradually occupying the high ground, and Xianxia dramas are still a two-way rush between platforms and artists. In the past few years when the traffic Xiaosheng Xiaohua was the most lush, most of them inevitably went to Xianxia dramas to survive the disaster.

One of the most direct factors is the high cost performance of Xianxia dramas. After becoming the most standardized product on the industrial assembly line, Xianxia drama still has not lost its first-class skill in holding artificial stars.

Dilireba, who signed a contract with Jiaxing Media, participated in the Xianxia drama from the little sister in “Gu Jian Qi Tan”, to Feng Jiu in “Three Lives, Three Worlds and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms”, and then to “The Story of Yu Shark”. Ji Yunhe is very likely to take his boss Yang Mi’s road to fame again.

Chen Yuqi, who is under Tang Yan’s banner, has a similar path to accumulating popularity. The more well-known character is the demon princess Liu Ying in “Xiangmi”. Although the “Mirror Twin Cities” co-starred with Li Yifeng has been popular, the popularity has risen from three times to one.

Artists who have turned from idols to actors also need the bonus of Xianxia dramas. Xiao Zhan was selected for “Yugu Yaoyao”, Yang Chaoyue was selected for “Heavy Purple”, and Yu Shuxin and Wang Hedi starred in “Canglan Jue” – this is already Wang Hedi’s “Jiang Ye 1”, “Jian Ye 2” and “Yulong” “, the fourth Xianxia drama.

According to media statistics, there are currently more than 13 Xianxia dramas to be broadcast and filming in the market. Including “Jade Bone Remote” starring Xiao Zhan and Ren Min, “Xing Feng Xing” starring Zhao Liying Lin Gengxin, etc. Expanding to the scope of project approval, the number of Xianxia drama projects can reach more than 30.

The Youku that regards “Agarwood as a crumb” as the drama Wang Li pushed, and the to-be-broadcast film list also includes “Stars Falling into Sugar” starring Chen Xingxu and Li Randi, known as the Xianxia version of “The Wrong Wedding Sedan”, and “Long Moon Ember” starring Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu, etc., the makeup clips have all been wrapped in Scissorhands.

And is the blowout fairy drama really still a cultural product that audiences love to see? A large part of the mass base of Xianxia dramas comes from the cultural genes of Chinese classical mythology.

In today’s Xianxia dramas, the little people who used to walk the world with swords are no longer the protagonists, but replaced by the supreme beings who are born extraordinary. Huo Jianhua came to the position of the head of Shushan after saving the common people and cutting off the silk in “Xianjian 3”. In “Flower Thousand Bone”, he started to stay as a fairy, and in “Agarwood is like dust”, the male protagonist has already He is the first god of war in heaven.

With the change of identity setting, love narrative has replaced hero narrative, and the aesthetic interest has tilted towards European and American mythology. What makes the domestic fairy tale even worse is that the new drama has not broken through, and capital has begun to focus on classic remakes. “Xianjian 1” officially announced the cast of the main characters, “Xianjian 4” is said to have been completed, and even “Flower Thousand Bone” has released a movie trailer, and plans to appear on the big screen soon.

Since Xianxia dependence cannot be cured, the creators of Xianxia dramas may wish to spend more time on breaking through their imaginations and find new content growth points for the dying Xianxia genre.


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