First of all, The Awakening Age tells the story of China from a historical perspective with its superb narrative skills.
Without a strong sense of social responsibility and historical mission, a profound understanding of the historical background a hundred years ago and an accurate grasp of historical figures, it is difficult to master the dramatic structure of such a grand narrative. After the Revolution of 1911, the country was divided for a long time, from 19 15 to 192 1 year, which can be said to be internal troubles and foreign invasion. Warlords and politicians, after you sing, I will appear. "The flag of the king is changed for the head of the city." Old and new intellectuals, young students, industrial workers and other groups are depressed, hesitant, shouting and struggling between the country and the family, individuals and society, history and the future. How to choose among many historical events and historical figures? Following the principle of "the big place is not empty, but the small place is not limited" (directed by Zhang Yongxin), the play unfolds the narrative of the two protagonists (Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu) from three levels: macro (national destiny), meso (historical events) and micro (personal future). While being loyal to history, the plot and details are reasonably fictional, and the stories are interlocking, relaxed and complex. The camera rhythm fully takes care of the audience's emotions on the premise of ensuring the completeness and clarity of the narrative. In the play, montage, flashbacks and narrative interludes are constantly used to skillfully arrange the characters in historical events and events that took place in China for six years or even longer, even in the distant Japanese and French worlds. The story is wonderful without losing its truth.
In particular, the creative team of the play is not only strong and determined, but also original. Give two examples. Mr. Lu Xun once mentioned in the article "How do I start a novel": "But the editors of" New Youth "have repeatedly urged me to do an article. I will think of Mr. Chen Duxiu here. He is the person who urges me to do novels the most. " And the play has made a wonderful interpretation of this. In addition, the fictional character "Guo Xingang", which plays a very important role in the main line of the play, is actually based on Guo Qinguang, a martyr during the May 4th Movement. This situation can be found everywhere in the play. The rigorous creative attitude and realistic spirit of No Words Nowhere is one of the highlights of the play.
Secondly, the awakening era created colorful image aesthetics with rich audio-visual entertainment means.
The title of the play directly brings the audience into a specific historical context with a set of black-and-white still frames: the winding Great Wall in woodcut style, the camel loaded under the ancient city, the old wheel that ran over the deep rut, the iron bar with slowly rotating blades, the strong ships and guns of western powers, the cultural pioneers of missionaries, the youth and the people who fought after awakening, and so on. This set of shots defines the aesthetic style of the play, which is a mixture of realism and freehand brushwork, and this style is very suitable for the specific temperament of the times and social atmosphere. In the play, young Chen Qiaonian teased his father Chen Duxiu's frog, humble ant carefully selected by Chen Yannian from the water cup, duck in The Duck Prophet of Spring River Plumbing, mantis in Mantis Car, pigeon pet Ying Ying of Zimei (daughter of Chen Duxiu) and other small animals appeared in the audience's sight from time to time, embellishing the whole play. These seemingly idle lives are integrated with the environment and form a looming image system. The founder used symbolic and metaphorical artistic techniques to show the existence and struggle of the weak in the society where "power tramples on justice and the strong bullies the weak".
A Passage to Fu Bi is a traditional poetic technique in China, and the main creative personnel of the play played a creative role in it. Cai Yuanpei is eager for Chen Duxiu's talent, cares about humble abode and learns from Cheng (Chen); The red mud stove and red plum rice wine in Taoranting were accompanied by the tune of "flowing water", and three confidants drank wine; At the top of the Great Wall, Gao Junman led the children to sing Li Dazhao's youth and other bridges and scenes, all of which presented unparalleled oriental poetic aesthetics. All this is based on the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal awakening, enlightenment and revolutionary context, which aroused the audience's feelings and songs to the maximum extent. It is worth mentioning that the key scenes of Li's participation in the party-building conference are presented in a mirror image of light and shadow similar to oil painting, which makes the play complete the blending of narrative language and international communication, greatly enriching and expanding the communication space of the play.
In detail, the costume, makeup, props, art and other departments of the play are remarkable in restoring the sense of the times, while photography and lighting have also successfully created the ideal light and tragic tone in a specific time and space. It can be said that The Awakening Age not only provides a story feast for the audience, but also provides a luxurious visual feast.
Thirdly, The Awakening Age successfully created a group portrait of China's advanced intellectuals a hundred years ago, presenting the spiritual outlook of a generation of enlighteners, cultural pioneers and revolutionary pioneers in a holistic and creative way, which is a highlight of the play.
As we all know, it is difficult to tell the story of the hero as an intellectual in the form of drama. How to set the inner spirit as the action line and plot to catch people's eyes is a realistic problem faced by editors, directors and actors. Fortunately, on the basis of doing a lot of homework, the founders grasped the pulse of the times and the soul of the characters. Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, a generous elegy, Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun with a cold face and a warm heart, and My Friend Hu Shizhi, which is clear and inclusive, all have both form and spirit, and they all shine in the play. Just as they used rafter-like pens to wake up the sleeping China in the dark ages and light up the historical sky. When Chen Duxiu recited Su Shi's poem: "Bamboo sandals are lighter than horses, who is afraid?" A misty rain is a lifetime! "When young Mao Zedong was holding the magazine" New Youth "in the rain and running on the muddy long street; After Lu Xun finished writing Diary of a Madman, he lay on the ground with tears in his eyes, and all the viewers were filled with emotion. In the play, the brothers Chen Yannian and Chen Qiaonian, who were constantly in tears, struggled to die tragically, and the characters such as Guo Xingang, who could not "return my Qingdao" overnight because of the Paris Peace Conference, also gave people a strong emotional experience, purified their hearts and sublimated their humanity.
Even the conservative figures such as Gu Hongming, Huang Kan and Liu, who appeared as the opposites of the New Culture Movement, showed the unique personality charm of that generation of literati and the ethics of "harmony but difference" of gentlemen in the play. It is these people who have become a rich picture of that era.
The play also has something commendable in characterization. It not only tells the story of these pioneers' arduous enlightenment and groundbreaking creation, but also portrays one character after another with different personalities and flesh and blood through their mutual communication and family life.
"History will never forget that Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao and other advanced intellectuals with overseas study experience, together with Mao Zedong and other revolutionary youths, vigorously promoted and actively promoted the combination of Marxism and the China workers' movement, and created the China * * * production party, which made the China revolution look brand-new. "The creative team of the TV series Awakening Times adheres to the concept of' shaping people with noble spirit and inspiring people with excellent works', and restores an era of cultural awakening and ideological enlightenment with images with aesthetic and cultural self-confidence. 100 years have passed, how to be patriotic? How to inherit the tradition? How to create the future with a youthful body? With its excellent quality of gentleness, the play provides a good mirror model for contemporary youth.
Author: Ang Lee (The author is a full-time researcher at the Institute of Internet Information, Communication University of China)
* Wen Hui's exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source.