Original title: Douban scored 8.4 points, “Sanyue has a new job” temporarily ranked the highest score for this year’s domestic online drama (quote title)
Atypical and good drama, what are the thoughts of Generation Z (theme)
Wen Wei Po reporter Wang Yan
The show relies too much on coincidence to advance the narrative, and the purpose of covering social topics also overflows the screen. 13 episodes, not only talking about life and death, observing the living conditions of practitioners in the funeral industry, but also radiating all living beings from life and death. Patriarchal families, mothers and daughters who lack communication and understanding, elderly people living alone, depressed youth, and even more serious topics are all covered…
If you look at it strictly, there are many places in the self-made online drama “Sanyue Has a New Job” at Station B that deviates from people’s understanding of a masterpiece of realism. But it is precisely it that not only has both popularity and word-of-mouth at station B, but also attracted more than 800,000 people to follow the show, with over 170 million broadcasts and a score of 9.6 on the station; after the end of the show, its popularity remained the same, and its Douban score was rising day by day. It also reached 8.4 points, temporarily ranking first in this year’s domestic online dramas.
How can a work with a lot of faults win almost one-sided praise on social platforms? I’m afraid it’s difficult to discuss its playback effect without its production and broadcasting platform, Station B. In fact, precisely because it hits the mind of the Z generation, this story tells the story of the “laying flat youth” who strayed into the niche industry and gradually realized the true meaning of life. Over 80% of the station’s B station is the Z generation user, and the interactive super In the context of the strong barrage viewing drama, the noise continued to rise.
Looking at life and death from the perspective of Generation Z, lifting weights lightly heals “mourning”
Zhao Sanyue’s appearance belongs to the standard “lying flat” posture. The house was full of mess, the girl was lying on the bed and brushing her mobile phone. The leftover instant noodles the night before was kicked by the mother who rushed into the door, and the mother-daughter war was about to break out. In the end, when Zhao Sanyue ran away from home and wondered whether to jump on the flyover, an aunt who was engaged in the funeral industry passed by and took her to watch a funeral. After that, the girl’s life started a new copy, and she became a makeup artist.
At the beginning of the chapter, screenwriter You Xiaoying gave Sanyue a close-to-the-moment situation for young people—repeatedly between hard work and lying flat, and often had an irreconcilable deviation from her parents in her understanding of “whether it’s worth it” or “whether it’s necessary”. Although he said “boring”, the small fire in his heart was not completely extinguished. Director Li Mo established the narrative style of the whole play with this ironic opening – it is about a topic with strong emotions of life and death, but it is light and warm in “mourning”, and just the right sense of joy and warmth dissolves the issue of life and death. heaviness.
It’s a little “small mourning”, but not much, this kind of Sanyue is as real as Generation Z in reality. The original intention of her determination to interview for a new job, in addition to supporting herself, to a large extent is to fight against her mother who runs a bridal shop; it was obvious that she was lost for a while and almost made a big mistake. Resignation… Kind, straightforward, rebellious and willful at the same time, the beauty and imperfection in the body are undisguised, and the cognition of work and life needs the power of time to slowly change. In You Xiaoying’s opinion, “If you think she has your own shadow, you can try to grow up with Sanyue”.
The creative concept of companionship is not only reflected in the character arc of the protagonist’s growth, but also in the head-up perspective of life and death. “Sanyue Has a New Job” is not afraid to talk about death, nor does it simply give the right and wrong of the ethics behind each deceased person. As for the various expressions behind death, the play does not define, choose no side, and leave blank value expression, attracting young people to follow Sanyue to find the meaning of life, work and self. I went through the various departments of the funeral home with her, and saw the mixed world; I met with her in an unfamiliar environment with director Gao and Master Liu, who were both teachers and friends, who were like fathers and brothers, and then followed their different ways of leaving. Experience loss; also follow Sanyue to gradually uncover the first half of life of mother, biological father, and stepfather, and reach a reconciliation after understanding… When the audience takes Sanyue’s perspective, director Li Mo shines a warm light in every emotional throbbing , swept the empty mirror, when he gave the most beautiful close-up of flowers, trees, and natural growth, some healings quietly worked when lifting weights.
The precipitation of sincere details creates a real empathy
Among the very few negative comments on the Internet, one is written quite representatively-“You cry only because the screenwriter wants you to cry”, which directly points to the deliberateness of plot promotion and topic coverage in the play.
To be fair, from popular social issues to a warm, small and fresh style of painting, “Sanyue Has a New Job” does fit the “user portraits” of station B and even more generations of Z. This group of young people grew up in the Internet environment, and the massive amount of information over the years has enabled them to broaden their horizons, have more inclusive concepts, express more unpredictable and more enthusiastic participation in social issues. In this way, the traditional Chinese concept of “death”, the funeral industry that still has various scruples in reality, and the issues of gender equality, intergenerational communication, and mental health that have attracted huge attention on social networks in recent years are all on the right platform. found a confidant.
But if you find the right way to open the topic, will the audience pay for it? The story of Sanyue further demonstrates the creative methodology of a good drama that does not hide its flaws: let the details speak.
Before cooperating with “Sanyue has a new job”, director Li Mo and screenwriter You Xiaoying’s well-known works are the TV series “I’m Good in Another Country” and the movie “My Sister”. The former is a sketch of the life of the “floating family” in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The latter is a careful discussion of the ethical dilemma of the family after self-examination by the female group. For deeper thinking, it seems that each has its own emphasis, and the core sees itself and all living beings with the attitude of “understanding you”. The new play co-authored and directed continues their consistent emphasis on sincerity and delicacy.
Before writing the script, You Xiaoying went to Chengdu Funeral Home for a period of practice. There, she met Siyuan, a post-90s boy. In the play, the aunt said, “When you meet people who want to die, bring them to the funeral home, and make sure you want to live well”, which came from the boy’s mouth. The observation that “the most grief in the world may not be heartbreaking” in the play also came from those days. The screenwriter also noticed that “they are particularly willing to create some small surprises and small romances in ordinary days to remember the beauty of living in the moment”, and the flesh-and-blood character of senior sister Yanan came into being. Go to the barbershop to change the look, relieve stress and achieve a sense of ritual in life.
Due to multiple factors, the shooting cycle of “Sanyue Has a New Job” was less than 60 days. The start-up time was not sufficient, so director Li Mo continued to refine the preliminary research. “This is a special professional drama, so special that I don’t want to complete it from the perspective of a professional drama at all.” Li Mo shared, “We try to use a more subjective perspective to resolve the cruelty and indifference brought about by the funeral industry. “So a big banyan tree in the filming location became a symbol of vitality in the play. The puppy of the deceased “Tuogu” dyed the subtle fetters between people, and the world of life and death became the “big garden of life” in the play. “.
All the delicate designs, coupled with the life-flow performances of the actors who jumped out of the proposition of life and death, precipitated a sense of reality, allowing people to put aside rational scrutiny when watching the play, and just follow their sensibility to release their emotions. Just like the end of the story, Sanyue saw spring from a pile of dead leaves, and felt that today’s filling seemed a little bit more in the unchanging bread. These are not the value or meaning of life, but only sincere emotions—— It’s still good to be alive.