Back in the backstage of the Spring Festival Gala in 2008, after Zhao Benshan's wonderful performance came to an end, his emotions exploded instantly like a broken embankment, and tears fell like rain, causing the audience to be shocked.
However, behind such an unexpected scene, it is implied that he and the chief director of the Spring Festival Gala, Ha Wen, who is committed to in-depth thinking and educational dissemination with the help of the Spring Festival Gala stage, and Zhao Benshan, who adheres to the artistic concept that the sketch must be full of laughter, is-for-tat, and they are not mutually religious, so that both of them are unwilling to retreat half a step, which makes Zhao Benshan finally regret leaving the harsh concept contest of the Spring Festival Gala stage. It has become an important incentive for the Spring Festival Gala to be unable to regain its past glory after 11 years, and Harvin's "brainless rules" still make Zhao Benshan uneasy.
The clock hand turned back to the Spring Festival Gala of that year, and Zhao Benshan encountered a sudden new challenge from the chief director Ha Wen, requiring him to temporarily add up to 10 minutes of performance. This demand has undoubtedly created unprecedented pressure on Zhao Benshan.
As an outstanding and perfectionist artist, Zhao Benshan treats every performance as strict as it is almost harsh, he has carefully polished and revised the sketch script for more than a whole year, and every detail of the performance has been simulated and perfected countless times, and at the critical moment when there is only one month left before the performance, Ha Wen put forward this seemingly unattainable requirement.
In the face of such a ridiculous instruction, Zhao Benshan was extremely depressed, but with his strong acting skills, he insisted on extending the originally scheduled 15-minute sketch performance to 25 minutes.
Because the importance of personal reputation and credibility is particularly prominent in such a large-scale CCTV Spring Festival Gala, any negligence may cause a devastating blow to him For this major gathering, Zhao Benshan had no choice but to put aside his beliefs and move forward bravely to complete this task.
The moment he slowly walked down from the stage, all the suffering and dedication were finally released. He couldn't help but shed tears, and it was really hard to accept that Harvin had forced him to revise the script and introduce Olympic elements more than a month ago.
For an artist who attaches great importance to the independence and freedom of artistic creation, this practice is simply stepping into the most vulnerable area of his emotions, and the accumulation of two such improper demands finally caused Zhao Benshan's helpless tears of loss backstage at the Spring Festival Gala.
Director Ha Wen and Zhao Benshan are very different in terms of creative concepts, and the final conflict is about to erupt.
Ms. Harvin is well aware that as an important platform to reflect the image of the country, the Spring Festival Gala must not be regarded as a vulgar program for people's entertainment! Therefore, she strongly advocates that the Spring Festival Gala should nurture far-reaching educational significance, and even the sketches should incorporate positive and positive values.
However, Mr. Motoyama's concept of making sketches is to make the audience laugh, and he firmly believes that entertainment is the highest level of skis, and there is no need to overemphasize the esoteric content.
However, the two competed against each other many times in the discussion, but they never reached a consensus, just like the solid iron casting concept collided with each other, and the three sketch scripts submitted by Zhao Benshan were all rejected by Harvin on the grounds of "not meeting the requirements" due to lack of depth and resonance, which was a major blow to Mr. Benshan's creative career.
In the face of Mr. Benshan's many doubts, Ms. Harvin still insisted on her opinion, and the debate between the two became more and more intense. In the end, Mr. Benshan couldn't bear it anymore and resolutely announced to Ha Wen that he would withdraw from the Spring Festival Gala stage.
He declared that he could not accept such a harsh demand on creative freedom, and he did not want to add unnecessary trouble to the directorial team.
The conversation between the two ended in vain, and the ideological confrontation between Mr. Benshan and Ms. Harvin also came to an end, but the pattern of the Spring Festival Gala fell into chaos because of this dispute. This incident has gradually become one of the important reasons for the decline of the Spring Festival Gala in the future.
Since Mr. Benshan left the Spring Festival Gala, Ms. Harvin quickly launched a drastic reform work. In the Spring Festival Gala of the new year, she took a series of remarkable measures.
First of all, she resolutely canceled all commercials in the Spring Festival Gala, and was convinced that such a top-level event should be pure and sublime, and no commercial atmosphere should be allowed to be contaminated here. Even if it means that the Spring Festival Gala will cost a huge amount of money of up to 600 million yuan.
In addition, she also decisively abandoned the classic repertoire "Unforgettable Tonight", which has been loved by people across the country for decades, claiming that the program is no longer out of date, and replaced it with a new literary and artistic work "One Family in the World".
Not only that, but in terms of stage form, Ms. Haven also made big moves. She scaled back the skit festivals that used to occupy a large percentage of the past.
Recently, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala program team suddenly made a decision to avoid talking about the traditional performance link "Unforgettable Tonight" for many years, which caused strong controversy and accusations from the audience, and everyone pointed out that Ms. Harvin did not take care of the emotional needs of the audience prudently and thoughtfully in this matter.
Obviously, the reform of the Spring Festival Gala program should seek to be carried out steadily, taking into account the interests of all parties, and not blindly pursuing innovation, which has obviously become a key factor that Ms. Harvin has overlooked.
Another well-known thing is that the well-known actor Zhao Benshan's withdrawal from the CCTV Spring Festival Gala has had a profound and extensive impact on the follow-up influence and quality of the party, which can be described as a stone that has stirred up a thousand waves.
First of all, Zhao Benshan's departure means that the traditional pattern of "sketch show" that has been formed in the Spring Festival Gala has been subversively impacted, opening the door to this top domestic stage for many up-and-coming young artists.
The situation of Zhao Benshan and his ** thriving alone has quietly collapsed, which provides an opportunity for emerging comedy groups such as Happy Twist to flourish.
However, with the departure of Zhao Benshan, the overall quality of the Spring Festival Gala sketches was also eclipsed. In the absence of the guidance of this heavyweight, classic sketches such as "Selling Abduction" and "I Want to Go to the Spring Festival Gala" have never emerged.
Secondly, under the reform requirements led by Ms. Harvin, all the Spring Festival Gala sketches were forced to be included in the framework of the educational theme, deliberately strengthening the tear-jerking elements and positive energy, making these works of art that should be full of laughter and laughter become mere formalities, and the audience complained, criticizing the current Spring Festival Gala sketches for presenting a sad and dull atmosphere, and losing the most core comedy elements.
It is undeniable that after Zhao Benshan left, the Spring Festival Gala sketches have completely lost the agility and vitality of the past.
However, this phenomenon actually expresses a focus from the side, not that the talent in the Chinese comedy industry is withering, but that it is difficult for us to find a stage with enough space for them to freely display their talents.
Zhao Benshan's experience deeply shocked us, we really need a broadcast platform like CCTV Spring Festival Gala with a deep mass base, but it is also urgent to give talents more space for self-expression and creative freedom.
Time flies, Zhao Benshan and Ha Wen have been away from the Spring Festival Gala stage for many years, but the traces they have left in this field are still intriguing and thought-provoking.
We look forward to more talented comedy artists who will be able to present amazing performances to a wide range of audiences. At the same time, however, we are also calling for those who have a broad vision, who are responsible, who can discover and nurture the best comedic talent, and create a creative sky for them.
Ms. Harwin's attempt to make the Spring Festival Gala more elegant and promote the spirit of education through reform is undoubtedly commendable in some respects, but the strategy adopted in the implementation process seems to be too idealistic, does not fully take into account the reception of the audience, and strictly restricts the freedom of creators.
On the other hand, comedy artists represented by Zhao Benshan should not only give full play to their creative talents, but also pay attention to their own influence and guiding role, which is a major social responsibility as an artist.
For the future Spring Festival Gala, we must deeply study and learn from the essence of the two masters, and strive to avoid their shortcomings. Maintain innovation and give creators enough space to think independently; Advocating a positive and benevolent value orientation is the key to the success of the party.
Only in this way can we build the Spring Festival Gala into a top-notch spiritual feast that combines vivid knowledge and endless fun! Maybe one day, we will be able to witness another comedy giant like Zhao Benshan in the Spring Festival Gala.
February** Dynamic Incentive Program