Zhang Fujian
The creation of domestic medical professional dramas has been working hard to break free from the stereotype of idol romantic dramas and stick to the essence of genre creation. “Thank You Doctor” is the latest achievement. When Yang Mi and Bai Yu, a pair of actor CPs, starred in this play, the audience actually had great emotional expectations. At least as far as the cast is concerned, everything that revolves around their relationship should be effortless. What’s more, the appearance of the opening characters in the whole show shows the genre elements of “urban fashion drama”-Dr. Xiao Yan played by Yang Mi wears a leather suit and drives a car, both beautiful and sassy; Also enjoy the mood brought by hand-ground coffee—the audience has already smelled the overflowing romance of idol love dramas. Surprisingly, however, the emotion between Xiao Yan and Bai Shu in “Thank You Doctor” is faintly visible. The love scene is neither dense nor lingering. It is linked back and forth in the development of several medical incidents. In getting along with the details, they find careers and lives. and the meaning of companionship.
As a new exploration of the creation of medical professional dramas, “Thank You Doctor” continues the professional presentation of medical scenes and the narrative form of medical cases as modular units. On the one hand, idol elements and love scenes are one of the highlights of this drama, where clues and suspense lie, but they have not made a big deal about it, and love just trickles through the gaps in the plot; on the other hand, this drama focuses on The focus is on the interpersonal relationship and professional personality growth within the hospital, as well as medical ethics and humanistic care, which strengthens the genre characteristics of medical professional dramas. This is a choice of genre elements, but also a sublation of the rhythm of the drama. It is reflected in the first half of the play, which downplays the routine of controlling the audience’s emotions by love dramas, and puts the strong love in the second half-this arrangement has caused The audience’s polarized evaluations undoubtedly provide another possibility for the plot direction of medical professional dramas.
A love scene that is raised high and lowered gently
Since “Emergency Room”, which premiered in the UK in 1986, has become popular in the West and created the record of the longest-lived medical professional drama, dramas such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Doctor House” have followed one after another. There are also dramas such as “Heart Technique” and “The Great Pediatrician”, which are famous for their long length, many characters, and strong professionalism, and have developed mature medical professional drama types. In the creation of genre dramas, the group of doctors remains unchanged, and the flow of cases, patients and their relatives and friends has three highlights: the professionalism of diagnosis and treatment, the work and life of doctors, and the emotional stories of patients. In the narrative within the framework of this genre, the “professional” plot and the “human” plot are entangled with each other, which establishes the basic genre model of medical professional dramas. The professional reproduction of medical treatment and the discussion of medical ethics have become the basic narrative of this genre. Modes also create different creative directions and interests.
The creation of “Thank You Doctor” chose a more radical direction. This drama has a total of forty episodes, but there are more than seventy cases in it, and a large number of patients and their families rotate in the plot like a revolving lantern. From the original novel “ICU 48 Hours” to the TV series “Thank You Doctor”, the change of the title shows that the TV series pays more attention to the construction of doctor-patient relationship, so it is defined as “medical emotional care drama” by the producer. The heroine Xiao Yan returned from the war-torn West Asia and came to Shanghai Tongshan Hospital under the peaceful sunshine; the heroine Bai Shu has always been an elite doctor in Tongshan Hospital, and his career went smoothly. The contrast between the CP is so strong, their different experiences created a collision of personalities and concepts, so that the collision of the characters is full at the beginning of the episode, which makes the relationship between the male and female protagonists in the play clear at a glance, and consolidates the drama of the play The basics. Although there is not much room for imagination in the routines of handsome men and beautiful women from conflict to reconciliation to mutual acquaintance, it conforms to the general drama logic. The arrangement of the plot is even beyond the expectations of ordinary audiences. The conflict between the characters reached its peak at the beginning of the play and then quickly cooled down. The love scene gives way to showing the professional work and humanistic care of medical workers. It has the courage to hold it high and put it down gently, leaving enough room for the love growth of the hero and heroine. As a result, the focus of the first half of “Thank You Doctor” has changed. The construction of the EICU (Emergency Intensive Care Unit), the contradictions within the department, and the diagnosis and treatment of intractable diseases all take priority over idol love scenes.
The breakthrough lies in the reconstruction of doctors’ professionalism and professional environment
The series is promoted by the continuous maturity of doctors’ professionalism. This is the intention of the director to make medical professional drama hardcore. We have seen that although the doctors in “Thank You Doctor” will listen carefully to the advice of those around them, the real change they make is not simply influenced by others, but a change from the inside out. Those who give advice will not impose their own views on the other party, but be honest and accompany and observe the other party’s progress. This is a very comfortable and professional attitude worth advocating.
Many words and deeds of Dr. Baishu are not what a qualified and experienced doctor would have, but TV dramas are telling stories after all, not making documentaries, and the shortcomings of characters are often necessary to advance the plot. Bai Shu is really too confident, but through the few words of his colleagues, we can understand that his confidence is not due to arrogance, but because of his great efforts and concentration in his studies and career. He respects science and the profession of doctors, as well as his hard work. He also has a well-behaved and humble attitude towards teachers, colleagues, and patients. After meeting Xiao Yan, even if there is a conflict at work, as long as the other party’s judgment is proved to be reasonable, he will never insist on his own opinion. Except for his private coffee time, he is either looking at medical cases or observing and thinking about other people’s words at other times. As long as it is true, he will admit it from the bottom of his heart, at most he will not admit it with his mouth. Bai Shu is confident because he is professional enough, not blindly arrogant, so this level of arrogance is not abrupt, and the actor Bai Yu has portrayed the character with great texture, making the character stand up and stand up.
The value output of a story can’t just look at what individual characters say and do, but depends on the overall value base of the plot. In the early stage of the plot, Bai Shu did have a lot of words and deeds that made people frown. Whenever he showed signs of going out of line, the dean, Xiao Yan or other colleagues would come out and beat him. Such a plot arrangement will naturally output correct professional concepts. On the other hand, Xiao Yan is also the same. She has been working overseas for a long time, especially in harsh and extreme environments. Her professional thinking is very different from that of domestic doctors, so she needs to adjust and change after coming to Tongshan Hospital. For example, when Dr. Xiao Yan saw her son beating her father with dementia, she immediately wanted to call the police. Based on her years of medical experience overseas, she had to do so when she saw domestic violence. However, Director Lu in the emergency room held her back. In Director Lu’s opinion, it might be the best choice for the patient to learn more about the inside story. And after Xiao Yan listened to the persuasion, the situation was indeed dealt with more appropriately. This kind of plot has its particularity in the reality of China, and it is also the embodiment of doctors’ professional wisdom in practice. It can be said that Xiao Yan has undergone a round of professional quality reconstruction in Tongshan Hospital, and has been deeply integrated into the EICU group.
In the creation of medical professional dramas, the reproduction of the medical environment is the soul. This requires the cases, patients and their families in the play to be typical, and the character design must avoid excessive routines and facial makeup, so that the arc of the characters can flash and the plot can attract people. The so-called slow work and meticulous work. First of all, the show made careful selections during the collection of cases: old couples who love each other, pregnant women who want to keep their posthumous children, fathers who give everything for unrelated children, family members of Alzheimer’s patients, and tense relationships Parents and children… Every patient is typical, and they have done enough drama in their limited roles. Secondly, the director neither deliberately beautifies human nature nor deifies doctors. The symptoms of patients due to diseases, and the complex and changeable psychology of family members due to various reasons are common problems that medical staff have to face. As for whether the medical staff will complain? Of course there will be. In the play, Dr. Tang Hua next to Xiao Yan and Nurse Xiao Lin next to the head nurse are all taking on such roles. Their roles may not be pleasing, but they are not superfluous. They add a realistic thickness to the drama.
authoring within a type, leaving the type unbiased
Generally speaking, “Thank You Doctor” does not have a framework for offset genre creation. It is full of content, dense in plot, and brisk in pace, which meets the diverse needs of the audience: there are specialties in the play, and every case is an informative medical science popularization ; There is technology in the play, and the professional methods of doctors in treatment make the audience feel the charm of medical technology; there is humanity in the play, and the stories behind the patients can reflect the world‘s various conditions and ultimate care. In addition to these, the audience can also see the gentle and hazy love of idol romance dramas from the male and female protagonists. This kind of love is just right, there are no exaggerated actions and nasty words, only hesitating and heartfelt. So we can see that the brilliance of the doctors in the play is mainly reflected in the growth of professional quality. When it comes to medical issues, they each insist on their own ideas.
Since the development of medical professional dramas, a relatively stable model has been formed. Whether it is in plot setting, character image creation, or discussions on human nature, life and death, they are constantly deepening. Therefore, the creation of medical professional dramas should break through the clichés, and grasp the balance between the professional knowledge of medical professions and the drama of TV dramas, so as to promote continuous excellent works. In actual creation, the genre of medical professional dramas often fluctuates between idol dramas, workplace dramas, and ethical dramas, and even shows a tendency to over-entertainment and genre deviation, which shows that there are possibilities for the conceptual connotation and extension of this genre. space for discussion. The good news is that “Thank You Doctor” has given an enlightening answer.
(The author is a doctor of drama and film studies, a teacher of Hangzhou Normal University)
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责编：张晓荣 ]