This is a young man’s play,
This is a drama of young people’s martial arts dreams.
Martial arts dramas don’t follow the "local spirit", but they go straight to the soul.
Young people’s youth, love, fantasy, liveliness, rhythm and bright thinking can all be derived from a drama. In 2020, the new version of CCTV’s "Two Prides" is a smart and beautiful martial arts world for young audiences.
This Spring Festival is a bit special, and finally young people who are not easy to stay at home for so long, let’s chase a drama together. Since its launch, "Double Pride" has been outstanding, and has won many praises from both inside and outside the industry. So, what is the reason that makes it so popular? What’s the secret of its popularity?
First, the martial arts narrative: Young people in every era have a little fish and Hua Wuque in their hearts.
In 1966, the novel "A Double Pride", which was first published in Taiwan, China, became a wonderful book among martial arts novels, enjoying a good reputation in the Chinese world. Every time it is adapted into a film and television work, it becomes a film and television feast that people can see at a glance.
In fact, every era will contribute the best actor resources to create the "Double Pride" and its characters belonging to that era. Among them, the most attractive one is Hua Wuque.
In 1988, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, as a "wireless five tiger general", played the role of Little Fish in the TV series "Two Prides in a Family" produced by Hong Kong, China TV Broadcasting Co., Ltd., which was his early success. Wu Dairong, a newcomer, plays the role of Hua Wuque, which has captured the hearts of many audiences with the elegant temperament of a gentleman in white and a well-proportioned tree. So far, there are still many "flower fans" who think: "After Wu Dairong, there will be no more playboys."
In the 1992 film version of "Two Prides in a Family", Andy Lau starred in Little Fish, while Brigitte Lin disguised herself as a man and played Hua Wuque, giving people a different movie-watching experience. I’m afraid Jimmy Lin and Alec Su starred in "Two Prides in a Family" in 1999 and Dicky Cheung and Nicholas Tse starred in "Little Fish and Hua Wuque" in 2005, which made the mainland’s post-70s and post-80s generations remember deeply.
Jimmy Lin’s baby face makes the tricky and clever little fish come alive. Even the scar on the little fish’s face is alive and smart under Jimmy Lin’s interpretation. Alec Su, who once appeared in the hit drama Princess Huanzhu, made a huge typhoon switch with Hua Wuque in "Two Prides of the Family" with his high popularity, which made the audience exclaim that the well-informed and versatile May was so handsome!
Some people are obsessed with the little fish in Dicky Cheung. Dicky Cheung’s bald image makes the little fish more quaint and comic. Nicholas Tse, his partner, makes the handsome Hua Wuque a little aloof and a little cold.
CCTV’s eight sets of "Double Pride" broadcast in the Spring Festival of 2020 may also become a life memory point after 90 or even 00. Fish and Hua Wuque are both newcomers who have just made their debut in recent years. Their appearance is obviously in line with the popular saying of "small fresh meat".
Chen Zheyuan, who took part in a talent show of Iqiyi in 2015, started to make her debut. The little fish starring in it may be the same as the previous versions of the little fish, but different from the versions of the little fish, it adds a little sweetness, which may just pinch the audience’s viewing acupuncture points after 00.
Hu Yi Tian, the actor of Hua Wuque, was originally a model, with a figure of 1.88 meters and a white dress, which made Hua Wuque’s lonely and lofty image of the flower-shifting palace look more elegant and refined.
Second, the theme deduction: There is a kind of love that always attracts young hearts, and that is pure love.
The target audience of martial arts drama is mainly young people. Obviously, the embodiment of the theme can never be separated from the young people’s life interest and aesthetic implication. Double Pride is a drama of two men, which presents us with an emotional world belonging to young people. The two young men who first came out of the Jianghu, when they were in seed of love, encountered an exciting love.
Tiexinlan appeared as a man in this way. She connected the lines of the two men and became an active button and an organ in the triangle relationship. The fiery and passionate love of Tiexinlan made the little fish unbearable, but it seemed that they couldn’t give up, and the two of them continued in this way until the appearance of Hua Wuque.
As the only male who grew up in a flower-shifting palace with beautiful women in groups, Hua Wuque is lonely and noble, and seems to be out of touch with the world, but he is infatuated with Tiexinlan. At first, Tiexinlan still fell in love with the little fish, but the little fish who was afraid that "women are too troublesome" could not get on the road, so the emotional balance of the female host Tiexinlan began to tilt towards Hua Wuque side bit by bit. And when I knew the affection between Xiaoyu and Su Ying, Tiexinlan finally determined her love.
Su Ying’s love for Xiaoyuer is obviously wishful thinking except love at first sight. However, this girl, who doesn’t make any dust, is intelligent, pure and distressing, and spares no effort to help strangers who come to the door to find trouble with their adoptive father, save their lives and cure their injuries. When I learned that the little fish was assassinated and pushed into a deep pit to die, I even jumped into the pit to double suicide. The firmness of his feelings and the depth of his love make people cry.
There is also a branch line of love, that is, the black bat takes care of and protects Murong Jiu, who has amnesia, and falls in love with her. With a strong sense of inferiority, he chose to retreat after Murong Jiu regained his memory. After many ups and downs, all’s well that ends well.
As the general origin of the whole narrative framework, it is not the secret of martial arts, the rivalry between sects, nor the treasure hunt, but an emotional doomed love with a fast knot. Qi Duan invited the moon to save Jiang Feng, who is known as "the most beautiful man in the world", and fell in love with him hopelessly, but he didn’t want Jiang Feng to make a life-long engagement with his handmaid Huayue slave and leave the palace, so he killed the lovers because of love and hate, and directed the human tragedy that made their twin brothers kill each other eighteen years later.
In this play, the master of the Flower-moving Palace, Inviting the Moon, is a big villain, and finally ends up jumping off a cliff and committing suicide, but after all, people can’t hate it with their teeth clenched. In addition to the youthful appearance, unparalleled beauty and the tragic result of brother’s vendetta, it is trapped by love, because the pure love of love and hate is ultimately not enough, but it is imaginative.
Revenge and vindication are also the proper themes of the drama, but it finally falls on the word "love", which may be the difference between "Two Prides in a Family" and other martial arts dramas.
Third, body narration: a young and handsome body image system.
Wuxia drama has a completely different body narrative mechanism from realistic drama and even general costume drama. The body narrative of "Two Prides in a Family" brings strong visual stimulation to the audience, and the use of body shape, face, clothing and other elements is quite considered.
The most powerful body narrative of the whole drama is that the protagonists and important characters generally appear with young and handsome faces. The two men are played by a pair of "small fresh meat", and their physical appearance is attractive to young audiences. If the little fish is "moving like a rabbit" and secular and lively, then Hua Wuque is "quiet as a virgin" and free from vulgarity and dust. The body images of the two are very different, and the body image system of the whole drama is constructed.
Tie Xinlan, the heroine, dressed as a man in the early stage, is in harmony with the smart body mechanism of the little fish. After restoring the girl’s face, Tiexinlan’s mind has some convergence. Su Ying is beautiful and intelligent. Their body narration is an important attraction of the play.
According to the plot, the two palace lords of the Flower Transfer Palace should be around 50 years old, but they are still unusually dignified and beautiful. In order to reflect the rationality of this kind of body narration, "Two Prides in a Family" is paved with the level of practicing, inviting the master of the Moon Palace to practice at the highest level of Mingyu Kung Fu, and the master of the Compassionate Star Palace to practice at the eighth level, so that they can remain young and never lose their looks, so their youthful bodies have the legitimacy of narration. Including Hua Wuque, the male host, the body image of the whole Flower Transplant Palace shows the narrative characteristics of being refined, clean and cold, which leaves a deep impression on the audience.
Fantasy world: surreal landscape presentation and suspense structure
The characters in the martial arts dramas act in a wild way, and their story backgrounds are mostly placed in extreme environments. These backgrounds include not only natural scenery such as famous mountains and rivers, desert Gobi, isolated islands on the sea, caves and underground rivers, but also mysterious cultural environments such as ancient towns, big houses and deep courtyards, underground secret passages and ancient road inns. The 2020 edition of "A Double Pride" mainly constructs several impressive strange landscapes.
The embroidered jade valley, which is full of flowers, has become the background of the Flower Palace. The beauty of the Flower Transfer Palace highlights the master’s refined and cold character, thus paving the way for the origin of Hua Wuque’s character. The messy valley of villains, where the wicked live, is naturally full of evil desires, and the little fish is born in Sri Lanka, which is naturally naughty and stubborn. But thanks to the influence of the miraculous doctor, after all, the conscience has not disappeared, and only then did the little fish help the Jianghu justice.
The Sakura Creek where Su Ying lives has beautiful scenery, which reflects the beautiful image of Su Ying. His residence is also complicated, reflecting Su Ying’s brilliant personality. Wei’s toothless underground palace has many organs. Not only did the little fish almost die here, but even a group of people who invited the moon palace to the extreme martial arts were trapped. Organ design is often an important narrative means of martial arts dramas, and it is also a fascinating alternative scenery. Wei Wuya used organs to block opponents’ entry, and used organs to lure enemies into traps. Organ is not only a landscape, but also an intelligent narrative. The little fish cracked the organ through wisdom, killed Wei Wuya, who was fierce and cunning, and saved the palace master and others who invited the moon.
The 2020 edition of "Double Pride" tells the scene of an alchemist’s room and an ice room through the fish’s mistake in the secret room of Murong Mountain Villa, forming another scenic wonder. The underground palace without teeth of Wei, the secret room of Murong Mountain Villa, the forbidden area of Emei Mountain Sect, Xiao Mimi’s underground palace and the cave where Mr. Tong (the master of inviting the moon palace) left the palace, etc., constitute the narrative spectacle of a special type of darkroom organ in the drama "Two Prides at a Time", which has strong audio-visual stimulation and sensory entertainment.
The main function of martial arts drama landscape is to serve as the environmental background and foreshadowing of suspense narration of martial arts drama. Generally speaking, the suspense narrative of martial arts dramas often adopts the method of revealing the mysterious behind-the-scenes characters, forming a so-called revealing suspense structure.
This is the way to portray Jiang Biehe, a "hero in the south of the Yangtze River" in "Two Prides in a Family". First, several major Jianghu cases occurred, then the two protagonists were suspicious of the Jiangnan Heroes, and then they searched for evidence to investigate the truth, and the other side countered the investigation, finally letting Jiang Biehe show his true colors. This suspense structure is tight, interlocking, thrilling, and has a strong narrative appreciation.
The biggest suspense in "A Double Pride" is whether the revenge plan of the owner of the Flower-moving Palace inviting the moon is successful, that is, whether Jiang Feng’s twins, Jiang Xiaoyu and Hua Wuque, kill each other and lead to the final human tragedy. Naturally, the exploration of this result is the driving force for the audience to continue to pursue the drama. This biggest suspense narrative forms the main line structure of the whole play. The sub-line structure of the play is that Yan Nantian seeks revenge for the book boy Jiang Qin who betrayed his righteous brother Jiang Feng.
As Xiaoyu and Hua Wuque went into the Jianghu respectively, they used the narrative technique of changing scenery to tell some strange things that happened to each person, which also made them realize the dangers of the Jianghu. Every step and thing we have experienced here, every time we are fooled, most of them use suspense narrative methods that are revealed later.
At first, the method of changing scenery was obviously a bit loose for the narrative goal of the whole play. However, after the two agreed to fight for three months, they used the narrative method of time limitation to advance, which strengthened the suspense structure in the macro sense and enhanced the tension of the audience. Then, after joining the two male masters to play against the heroes in the south of the Yangtze River and Wei Wuya, they also joined the sub-line of Yan Nantian’s comeback. At this point, several clues go hand in hand, which makes the narrative suspense density increase and the rhythm accelerate until the final climax.
Martial arts dramas target young people, so the design of leading role, actor selection, theme performance and narrative skills should all take into account the audience’s viewing demands. According to the statistics since its launch (January 16th, 2020-February 2nd, 2020), its audience structure has attracted more male and young people under the age of 24 to watch the drama, compared with the audience structure of 9:30-21:30 in the whole year of 2019, which has formed the spread trend of young audience returning.
Optimize the audience structure to attract more young people to watch this channel’s programs. This may be the starting point for CCTV TV channel to choose this martial arts drama. Perhaps because of this starting point, during this special Spring Festival, people once again met Xiaoyuer and Hua Wuque.
(Commentator: Chen Liqiang)
Producer | Shen Jijun
Editor | Yang Chunguo
Editor | Yang Jun, Chang Yang
