The path into the Liu Da'e Universe is roughly as follows: clicking on the short film directed by Xiao Ce in collaboration with Phoenix Legend on the homepage, feeling the popularity of Liu Da'e, the director of the Black Swan🦢 Square, in the comments, and then starting to "binge-watch" in Xiao Ce's submissions. The simple performances of the aunties and uncles, along with the down-to-earth "classic adaptations," made me genuinely addicted for an entire afternoon during home quarantine.
Throughout the process, I had some wandering thoughts and tried to record them here.
The following remarks stem from random musings and social observations around me
What has Director Xiao Ce brought to the "actors"?#
In the hidden corners of Huanyin Willow Village, or rather, in the Chinese countryside, there are many hidden talents in folk arts. Director Xiao Ce is the one who awakens these talents. Aunt Cao, with a Kunqu background, shocked me when she opened her mouth in the recent award-winning short play. A young man named San Pao, with a Northeast accent, successfully created an image akin to Liu Neng as a "neighboring uncle" with a strong desire to perform and a knack for conversation. Er Gou, who runs a hot pot restaurant, embodies the "dance enthusiast" persona, and his portrayal of a beaten gangster carries a certain damned sophistication.
Director Xiao Ce and his new actors are mutually fulfilling each other. While Director Xiao Ce enjoys the adoration of being "Bilibili's top director," what has he brought to his "actors"?
Online, it's easy to quantify; they are undoubtedly "superstars," even generating many derivative memes. A quick glance shows that the core figures of the "Liu Da'e Universe," Aunt Goose and San Pao, have garnered over 100,000 followers, a number that many young people can only dream of.
But what about offline? Broadly speaking:
- It provides another form of entertainment beyond household chores, farming, and casual mahjong chats, which may hold spiritual value not inferior to those shiny online numbers.
- Revenue sharing improves lives; while we can only speculate about the earnings, I believe they should be decent.
Then, how do the "actors" feel about their work? Objectively speaking, these works are aimed at young people, and some scenes and memes might be "difficult" for the "actors" to grasp. In such cases, can the "actors" truly enjoy the performance 100%, or is it just a matter of reciting lines without understanding why the audience laughs, yet feeling happy that the audience likes them?
The Porridge Cooked by Elders for the Younger Generation 🥣#
This line of thought arose because I like salty porridge, and my grandmother cooks it for me every time. I never consider whether she likes it herself, or perhaps she just feels happy if I drink another bowl. I find myself being a bit pretentious, yet I want to continue pondering.
An extreme and inappropriate analogy leads me to think of monkey tricks 🐒...
The monkey doesn't understand where the humor lies in its jumping; it just feels the surrounding excitement, listens to the master's instructions, and performs the corresponding actions, making the audience laugh. The "actors" might not comprehend their lines, but enjoying the laughter they bring to the audience—does it really matter if they fully enjoy the performance in this scenario?
This thought is actually an extension. I've seen behind-the-scenes footage where Director Xiao Ce carefully explains some internet memes to the "actors." I unilaterally feel that some internet memes are difficult for the elders to understand, which led to this pretentious reflection 🤦♂️. However, regardless of how the elders feel, the younger generation truly enjoys this bowl of porridge.
Clever and Charming Scripts 📒#
As a short play lasting just a few minutes, Director Xiao Ce has done well.
Several scripts follow a similar pattern: selecting a well-known movie among young people, taking its story framework; placing the "original character" intact or with slight adjustments into a new story; and generating new plots through the collision between the characters and the original roles. For example, establishing a sect under the master, teaching the wife using multiple iconic scenes from Liu Huaqiang.
From this perspective, I believe the content of the short films is not much different from the edited re-creations of classic scenes on Bilibili. Formally, as a filmed short with a director, screenwriter, and actors, the essence of what the audience consumes is still the classic scenes from film and television, the so-called "iconic moments." The audience enjoys this short and straightforward format, requiring no mental effort to familiarize themselves with the characters; they only need to make simple connections between the new and original characters to understand the entire story, which is what we call clever.
The cleverness is also understandable; due to time constraints and the level of the screenwriter (not to undermine the screenwriter, but it's challenging to attract viewers with an original story in a short time), selecting classic story frameworks and segments allows the audience to quickly grasp the entire story. After matching the short film with the classic story, the audience feels a sense of pride (my viewing level is high; I see the connection between the two), thereby lowering the expectations for the actual story of the short film.
Creating original stories is very difficult; this is a limitation of the screenwriter's skill. Telling a good story in just a few minutes also tests the director's ability, which is evidently challenging for Director Xiao Ce's team. Therefore, some stories can only take shortcuts in the script, borrowing from classic stories and segments, making it easier for the audience to enter the narrative and reducing the demands on the director.
I do not want to, nor can I, deny the value of these works. I hope Director Xiao Ce can recognize his team amidst the adoration and understand that in these works, the team is taking a shortcut. As for where this shortcut leads and how far it can support the team, no one knows.
Having read Southern Weekend's interview with Director Xiao Ce, he mentioned leaving Zhu Yidan because he realized he could easily write a script based on formulas and couldn't feel the essence of creation. Therefore, in my view, Director Xiao Ce has aspirations; he won't walk too long on the shortcut.
I have no doubt that he will lead his team to create more and better short films with original stories that are on par with or even surpass this level.