As one of the grandest cultural programs in China, the Spring Festival Gala attracts the attention of hundreds of millions of viewers every year. Each Spring Festival Gala will choose a mascot as an image representative, aiming to convey the happiness and auspiciousness of the festival. These mascots are often designed with cute and interesting images, which arouse the love and resonance of the audience. They have become the iconic existence of the Spring Festival Gala, bringing endless laughter and good memories to people.
As 2024 is about to usher in the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese lunar calendar, the Spring Festival Gala has also begun to prepare and design its own "image representative" to celebrate this important festival. The image of this mascot will carry the expectations of the audience and the wishes for the New Year. Therefore, the design of the mascot is very important, it needs to conform to the traditional values of Chinese culture and be able to resonate with the audience.
In the process of preparation, CCTV announced the mascot of this Spring Festival Gala, which was named "Long Chenchen". The name implies the arrival of the Year of the Dragon and the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival Gala. As a mascot, its image should be able to represent traditional Chinese culture and values, bringing joy and good associations to people.
According to CCTV, Long Chenchen's nose was inspired by a dragon-shaped vessel in an ancient site in Henan. This choice of design inspiration is commendable, as it reflects respect and reference to traditional Chinese culture. However, compared to our concept of the majesty and grandeur of the existence of dragons, the image of Long Chenchen is too cute, and somewhat contradicts the traditional cultural expression of dragons.
In Chinese culture, the dragon is an animal with a special symbolic meaning and is seen as a symbol of auspiciousness, authority, and sacredness. It represents the spirit and wisdom of the Chinese nation and is widely used in art, culture, and folklore. The image of the dragon is usually depicted as a majestic and majestic existence, giving a sense of solemnity and nobility.
CCTV explained that the meaning of Long Chenchen is "the important weapon of the country", which is intended to emphasize the status of the Spring Festival Gala as an important window and communication platform for Chinese culture. This meaning is in line with the symbolism of the dragon, reflecting the mission of the Spring Festival Gala to inherit and promote China's excellent culture. However, from the perspective of image design, there is a large gap between the image of Long Chenchen and the "important weapon of the country", which may cause doubts and doubts from the audience.
Although Long Chenchen's image is cute and interesting, and is loved by some audiences, many netizens have questioned it. The main reason for questioning is not that the image is too cute, but that it is endowed with too many "AI style" elements. In today's era of advanced technology, artificial intelligence has become a hot topic, but combining it with such an important cultural symbol as the mascot of the Spring Festival Gala has made some viewers feel confused and uncomfortable.
Perhaps, as an audience, our understanding of the design and meaning of the mascot needs to be strengthened. We may only focus on the cuteness and fun of the image on the surface, but ignore the deeper cultural connotation. Therefore, the questioning of Long Chenchen's image may also be caused by the limited appreciation ability of ordinary people.
It is worth mentioning that the design of Long Chenchen is not only the dragon-shaped vessel in the museum collection, but also the color of our traditional Chinese color. This design choice further emphasizes the respect for traditional Chinese culture, as well as the solemnity and celebration of this important program. Such design elements increase the audience's sense of identity with the mascot to a certain extent.
After CCTV announced Long Chenchen as the mascot of this Spring Festival Gala, many netizens left comments on social **. Some of them expressed their surprise and incomprehension, they were originally looking forward to an image related to the Spring Festival Gala, such as "dumplings smashed (dumplings)" and so on. These messages highlight the audience's expectations and hopes for the mascot image, and also hint at their dissatisfaction with Long Chenchen's image.
As viewers, our expectations and hopes for the mascot image are to hope that it can be representative and symbolic enough to resonate with us and echo the theme of the show. In this Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Dragon, we may be looking forward to a majestic, solemn and powerful mascot that can better represent China's traditional culture and celebratory atmosphere.
However, we also need to recognize that mascot avatar design is not just cute and fun. It needs to incorporate cultural elements, conform to traditional values, and be able to resonate with the audience. This requires mutual understanding and communication between the designer and the audience in order to better create a culturally rich and memorable mascot image.
As an important representative and image symbol of the Chinese Spring Festival Gala, the design and meaning of the mascot should fully consider the audience's preferences and cultural needs. As the mascot of this Spring Festival Gala, although the design reflects the respect and reference of traditional Chinese culture, there is still controversy over the cuteness of the image and the gap with the "important weapon of the country". In addition, the integration of too many "AI style" elements into the design of the mascot also aroused doubts from the audience.
As audiences, we need to further enhance our appreciation of the mascot image and our understanding of the cultural connotation, so as to better resonate and connect with the mascot of the Spring Festival Gala. We need to learn more about Xi and understand the symbolic meaning of mascots in traditional Chinese culture, as well as the image design that fits the theme of the show. Only through in-depth thinking and exploration can we better appreciate and understand the cultural connotation embodied in the image of the mascot, so as to establish a closer connection with the important program of the Spring Festival Gala.