Rhino Entertainment Original
Text: Shen Wanting Editor: Pu Fang
Domestic dramas with the theme of "unlimited stream" are undergoing a genre innovation.
Mango TV's popular web drama "19th Floor" is such a "pioneer". Many people attribute the bright color of this drama to the charm of the real "infinite flow", which is certainly not unreasonable.
But what we should see more is that in addition to the high-concept and strong plot, the exploration of this drama in terms of genre expansion is also remarkable. The integration of Chinese-style thriller elements, the unique narrative style from the perspective of men and women, the interrogation of human nature and the refraction of social issues all give "19th Floor" a more three-dimensional "drama temperament".
Just yesterday, "19th Floor" opened Douban with a score of 70。For such a small and medium-sized suspenseful adventure infinite streaming web drama, it is not easy to be recognized by most audiences in the opening file of the New Year with a large number of big dramas and fierce competition.
This includes, but is not limited to, "unlimited streaming".
"Infinite stream" is not a new concept in domestic dramas, but most of the works that claim to be infinitely streamed are set in a time loop, and the main scenes and timelines of the story are fixed, which is not compatible with the multi-copy structure of "infinite stream" in the strict sense.
In a narrow sense, as a unique genre born in the field of Chinese online literature, the basic feature of "infinite stream" is that the protagonist has to constantly break through multiple replica worlds with different appearances that exist as parallel time and space, and the essence lies in jumping different worldviews and different scenes.
From this point of view alone, "19 Floors" does fully meet the various attributes of "infinite streaming". This series is adapted from Cai Jun's ** "The 19th Floor of Hell", which tells the story of college student Chunyu and others who are involved in a game called "19 Floors" that cannot be escaped, and brings the audience a terrifying and exciting viewing experience by deciphering the levels of different world views. Ghost Building, Deserted Village, Circus, Abandoned Factory, Ultimate Space, five major copies are being displayed one by one.
However, grasping the essence of "infinite stream" is only the first step for "19 Floors" to step out of the comfortable expression zone of similar themes.
On this basis, the play cleverly integrates various thriller elements such as Chinese horror and campus weird talk into the infinite flow setting, and adds comedy to the character configuration and plot in a timely manner, presenting a suspense genre drama that is both innovative and entertaining.
For example, the most intuitive Chinese horror is reflected in the set in the play, such as the sacrifice of the deserted village, the chain hanging coffin, the resurrected shadow puppet monster, the Chinese legend of the year beast, the coffin suspended by the iron cable, etc., these horror elements with Chinese characteristics combined with the cruel and cold characteristics of the copy create a suspenseful and supernatural atmosphere from the East. Campus weird stories are deeply embedded in the memories of their student days through scenes such as abandoned teaching buildings.
When the audience is "scared" because of the suspenseful and tense atmosphere, they will be amused by some light-hearted and funny plots that suddenly pop up from time to time, which can be said to grasp the audience's "surprise and joy". For example, the role of Yang Bawan (played by Bai Shu) can be called a funny role in the play, although he does not appear much, he can always find some unexpected jokes in him, and some netizens commented that he is "a funny man with social".
So in the thrilling and relaxed viewing experience, the audience witnessed how a group of young people showed courage, wisdom, and unity under extreme conditions, while young actors such as Sun Qian, Wei Zheming, Bai Shu, Wang Ruoshan, and Xiao Kai vividly interpreted the youthful vitality, the truth of fear, and the trust and betrayal between peers embodied in the characters.
A rare "intersex" perspective
In the protagonist group of this drama, the character setting of the male and female protagonists is a highlight.
In the traditional perception of the public, the audience of suspense dramas is mostly male, and the female characters in the play have been in a state of lack of voice for a long time, and female audiences are not the potential audience of traditional suspense dramas.
But Chunyu played by Sun Qian and Gao Xuan played by Wei Zheming in "19 Floors" both have the dual attributes of wisdom and force. One is a freshman, who has a very high IQ and is the intellectual core of the team. The other is a graduate student in the university, as soon as he appeared, he knew that he was the absolute leader of Shuangshang**, the two joined forces, and they can often resonate at the same frequency when facing problems, and even have a bit of a "common brain" feeling, and the emotional drama between the two is also called "intellectual love", which attracts a lot of cp fans.
This kind of unconventional character setting brings a more three-dimensional and diverse content perception to the audience, and can also resonate with different audience groups to the greatest extent. And this rare "bisexual" perspective is not unrelated to the male and female director configuration of the play.
"19 Floors" is co-directed by Cai Cong and Li Zhiheng, both of whom have experience in shooting suspense film and television works. Cai Cong has directed works such as "A Little Forest for Two" and "Dark Clouds Meet the Bright Moon", and Li Zhiheng's representative works include "Forensic Qin Ming's Mind Reader" and so on.
Due to the differences between male and female directors in terms of narrative style, emotional cognition, etc., the division of labor between the two in the filming process has its own emphasis.
Director Cai Cong pays more attention to the emotional needs of female audiences, and plays the role of a "bridge" between the game and the audience, not only to ensure the tension and excitement of the game's plot, but also to let the actors and the audience understand the emotional changes of each character, giving the characters a deeper level of attraction.
Director Li Zhiheng mainly starts from the male worldview, focusing on the control of the game scenes in the play, including the setting of each dungeon, each level and the teamwork of the protagonists in the game, trying to present the audience with the immersive and refreshing feeling of the infinite flow of the game. At the same time, as a cutting-edge young director, Li Zhiheng also has his own unique understanding of the control of innovative themes and the mining of young users' content preferences.
For the entire drama industry, the emergence of "19 Floors" makes us happy to see more possibilities for innovative themes, and also gives young people's stories a richer space for expression. Such a novel theme, no matter how much it is encouraged, will be even more difficult to see in the future.
Therefore, in the story of "19th Floor", we will be fascinated by the dangerous and fascinating game plot, but also moved by the growth arc and delicate emotions of each character in the real story. Whether it is Chunyu and Gao Xuan, who seem calm and calm on the outside, but also have a fragile side inside, or Nan Xiaoqin (played by Wang Ruoshan), a swordsman who is deeply troubled by depression, and Qingyou (played by Dai Yuqi), who gradually blackens from "Little White Flower" to "An Xiaoniao", etc., with the development of the plot, these characters form an elusive double face in the interweaving of reality and fantasy.
As the producer of the play, Uncle Nanpai, said: "Only a director who truly has a 'perspective' can hit the resonance point of both male and female audiences." ”
High concept
Depiction of human nature and social issues
In the game of "19th Floor", everyone has to not only face dangerous levels and NPCs, but also deal with inner fears and struggles. In this process, fellow travelers are friends and foes, relationships between people become complex and unpredictable, and the weaknesses and strengths of human nature are infinitely magnified in this adventure.
And this is precisely the core essence of this high-concept theme. The setting of "supernatural" seems to be open to the brain, but in essence, it is an allegorical picture of human nature, through real and credible characters and their self-growth process, it arouses the public's deep thinking about human nature, courage and wisdom, so that the story and expression are not superficial.
To save or not to save" is a consideration of human nature. In the game world of "19 Floors", some people do not hesitate to become villains who kill their companions in order to survive at the beginning, and after several inner struggles, they bravely step into the unknown 19th floor in the later levels to save their companions.
For example, when Zhang Tianqiang played by Xiao Kaizhong faced the Nian Beast in the second level, he overcame brotherhood because of his desire to survive, and watched Ah Yong (played by Zhang Keyuan) being swallowed by the Nian Beast. But in the second round of the game, Brother Qiang did not hesitate to sacrifice himself, and decisively left the last chance of survival to Yang Bawan. Brother Qiang here undoubtedly reveals the multifaceted and complex aspects of human nature, one side is death, the other side is companion, and no one can criticize his choice from the perspective of God.
The "ambition" of 19 Floors doesn't stop there.
We see that the play also presents a lot of social issues in a large space, returning the audience from the atmosphere of chasing dramas with sensory pleasure to caring for social reality.
Take Chunyu and Qingyu, the two-way redemption girlfriends, as an example, a cool face hides the pain of the original family, since the mother died in a car accident when she was a child, and her father left her alone, so she packaged herself as a "hedgehog" that no one can enter; A deep quagmire of school bullying in high school, resulting in the formation of an inferior, sensitive and repressive personality. And the friendship between the two originated when Chunyu found out that Qingyu was bullied by her classmates and stepped forward to protect each other. Their sister CP also gained a large number of "girlfriend fans" in the early stage.
Another example is the glamorous online anchor Xu Wenya (played by Luo Yutong) in the school, who seems to be a proud rich girl with a sunny and optimistic life and a good life, but she feels ashamed because she has a delivery boy brother, and she subconsciously avoids and looks down on her brother, reflecting the phenomenon of "occupational discrimination" that has not been eliminated in society.
There are also Gao Xuan, who experienced domestic violence in childhood, and Yang Bawan, who grew up in the neglect of his family. All kinds of acute social problems are projected on the body of the protagonist group, allowing the audience to empathize with the hidden social pain points behind each character.
So far, there are traces of the standout of "19 Floors". The unbridled imagination and the grip close to reality are perfectly blended that day, so why worry that no audience will pay?
The story about "19 Floors" is coming to an end. Rhino believes that through the fog of human nature and facing the "demons" in his heart, the "19th floor squad" will eventually surpass itself and reach the light in this game about growth and humanity.