What is the cultural self-confidence in the new era？ The strength of online drama ＂going out to sea＂
CCTV News:What is the new era?
"At present, a new round of technological and industrial revolution represented by information technology is sprouting."
What is cultural confidence?
"The door to China’s opening to the outside world will not be closed, but will only grow bigger and bigger."
Therefore, the most intuitive expression of cultural self-confidence in the new era is to present our best cultural products to the world.
On November 30th, news spread like wildfire that Netflix, the global streaming media giant, bought the overseas distribution right of "White Night Chasing the Murder", which means that in the future, this homemade online drama, which has won numerous praises this year, will be broadcast in more than 190 countries and regions around the world. At the same time, "White Night Chasing the Murder" has also become the first domestic online drama series in China to be widely broadcast overseas.
Well-made and well-received in off the charts, the quality of good plays is obvious to all. Since it was broadcast in August this year, the cumulative broadcast volume of "Chasing the Murder at White Night" has exceeded 4.5 billion, and Douban scored 9.0. It is not surprising that it became popular. As a global streaming media giant, Netflix, which has produced excellent dramas such as House of Cards and Strange Tales, has gradually occupied a large number of screens with original dramas in recent years. There is no doubt about the selection and control of content, and its influence in the world is absolutely not to be underestimated, which also reflects Netflix’s recognition of this drama from the side. As soon as the news came out, netizens exploded, which made many people feel "excited". Some netizens commented that it was finally our turn to show foreign friends the drama.
In fact, this is not the first time that a domestic drama series has gone out to sea.
In the era of radio and television, the first episode of The Journey to the West, a CCTV version, set a viewing record in Nepal, and Princess Huanzhu quickly became popular in Southeast Asia. Whether it’s classic masterpieces such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Desire, or a few years ago’s Beautiful Times of Daughter-in-law, "China fever" has also set off overseas.
In the Internet era, Empresses in the Palace’s nirvana in fire, which has carried the spirit of China’s traditional culture in recent years, and Why Shengxiao Mo and My First Half Life, which have interpreted the feelings of China’s modern urban life, have also opened a place for China culture in cyberspace.
It is not difficult to find that the "China Seal" is the first reason why domestic dramas can be loved by foreign audiences. Our history, exquisite clothes and ancient way of life are all places that foreigners are most interested in. A series of works involving the ancient history and culture of China, including ancient costumes and martial arts, have attracted the most attention. They even regard them as teaching materials to learn and understand the history of China. On the American film and television subtitle website VIKI, there are a group of "brain-dead powder" who are keen on Chinese TV dramas. They not only count the update time of domestic dramas with their fingers, but also "urge them" on the website every now and then. While stimulating the curiosity of foreign netizens, it also forced them to gather spontaneously and start making English subtitles. On the famous video website Youtube, there is a special area for China TV series, and many series can even be broadcast simultaneously and translated into English, which is as hot as that in China and has a traffic of tens of millions.
The cultural industry is booming in China, and film and television plays have always been a sharp weapon for the export of national culture. According to statistics, the output and quantity of China’s TV plays have been ranked first in the world for a long time, but 70% of the output is mainly in Southeast Asian countries, and relatively few in Europe and America. On the one hand, it comes from the differences of background culture. For example, after Empresses in the Palace logged into the United States, it was reduced to six episodes, and the plot was fast-forwarded, and some characters simply disappeared. After three days of broadcasting, it was even colder, and then it was reversed. On the other hand, the lack of distribution channels has greatly reduced the communication effect of domestic dramas going abroad. Therefore, domestic dramas should not only simply "go abroad", but also succeed in commercial cooperation. Without so much cultural background knowledge, how to express the aesthetics of Chinese culture internationally, from quantity to quality, is also an aspect of cultural self-confidence.
With the development of globalization and the construction of "destiny community in cyberspace", film and television plays, as the most direct cultural product and communication bridge, have gradually become an important symbol of national cultural soft power. In September this year, five ministries and commissions jointly issued the Notice on Several Policies to Support the Prosperity and Development of TV Plays, which clearly put forward the requirements of supporting outstanding TV plays to "go global" and enhancing the competitiveness and influence of China TV plays. In fact, different from the previous world’s directional thinking about Chinese culture, with the promotion of China’s international status, there is an increasing demand in the international cultural market for cultural products with profound knowledge, connotation, quality assurance, description of the real society in China and the spirit of China.
"Chasing the Murder in a White Night" is a successful cultural output in the network voice. Relaxation is moderate, rigor is not procrastinating, stylized narrative structure and film-like texture make this modern criminal investigation drama quickly occupy the network popularity list. As a phenomenal online drama, the development of Internet platform also provides a new development space for the dissemination of excellent domestic TV dramas. In recent years, the popular IP-adapted online dramas have shown a spurt of development. Compared with the previous low-cost and low-quality online dramas, the content has become richer and richer. The injection of professional teams and a large amount of funds has also significantly improved the quality, and the audience has gradually changed their views on online dramas. It can be said that with the help of the Internet, new media and other vivid displays, online self-made content has fully entered the era of quality.
Under the background of new historical conditions and great cultural development and prosperity, it is also a part of China’s cultural soft power competition to attach importance to technological innovation, strengthen the deep integration of cultural communication and the Internet, and focus on cultural self-confidence in the network age. From attention to recognition, we can easily find that the production standard of "domestic products" is getting higher and higher. No matter how it is presented to the audience, there is no doubt about the production direction of TV dramas in the next few years. Good content and high quality not only provide opportunities for domestic dramas to go abroad, but also provide us with the confidence to establish and enhance cultural self-confidence. Through these dramas, foreign audiences have deepened their knowledge and understanding of China’s profound cultural heritage, which is also an important manifestation of China’s transformation from a cultural power to a cultural power.
I believe that there will be more domestic TV dramas in the future. We also expect China’s film and television works to overcome many difficulties, gradually become China’s cultural business card, convey more China voices, and explain to the world more excellent cultures with China characteristics, China spirit and China wisdom. (Text/Wang Jiaying)