“Although it has a certain topicality, in our opinion, the educational theme is still a very small line.”

Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “Poisonous 眸” (ID: youhaoxifilm), author Zhang Na, editor He Runzhen.

The summer is coming to an end and the show is still in the summer.

Before the “Chen Qingling” “Zhen Xiang” earned the tears of passers-by, “Chang’an Twelve Hours” staged the “Anti-Strike” of the Tang Dynasty; after the sweet pet drama “Dear, love” crazy sugar, “full-time “Master” breaks out with the theme of e-sports, and it is not an easy task to stand out in this summer file.

Recently, a “black horse” different from the above-mentioned big IP, after 15 days of broadcasting, was attacked by Douban 8.1 and educational topics. “Xiao Huan Xi” is currently in the Yunhe data, with 13.08% of the positive film effectively playing the share, becoming the number one hot drama in the TV drama screen.

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“小欢” with 8.1 points and educational topics to break through the encirclement

This makes people think that two months ago, the “Youth Pie” of the same theme also beat the data with an average daily audience rating of 1.393% (“Provincial Satellite TV drama CSM55 City View”), defeating the explosion at the beginning of this year. The red “all very good” “big river” and other dramas became the champion of the TV ratings in the first half of 2019. Compared with the “Dear with Dad to Study Abroad”, which was broadcast at the same time, it was not as eye-catching as the former, but it was ranked fifth in the ratings with 1.271%.

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These TV shows that seem to have some “clashing questions” are under the double inclusion of high ratings and hot discussions. Let the “educational drama” become a key word that cannot be ignored in this summer’s summer.

The “flocks” of similar subjects are often associated with special nodes. The once popular educational drama has once again become popular with the momentum of “rejuvenation”. Is there any trace behind it? Can it form a banner that clears the theme of realism this year? Poisonous ID (youchaoxifilm) Try to explore the reasons behind this.

Educational drama:A realistic mirror

The TV drama market has changed.

A few years ago, the fantasy drama, the big IP, and the costume drama were the mainstream of the market, and they were also the darlings of capital pursuit. According to the past flow and IP common blessings, the investment company can always bring rich returns. But now, with the decline of capital hot money, stricter policy management, and the aesthetic fatigue of the audience, TV drama type creation no longer relies too much on large IP and traffic, but instead turns to a more realistic theme that fits life.

According to the “China TV drama industry development report 2019”, in the 2018 domestic drama type, the realist theme accounted for 63.16% of the annual output, which is the largest type of subject matter. Among them, in the dramas that have been broadcasted by major TV stations, realism such as emotion, family, and workplace have the highest proportion.

The educational drama that has been growing in the soil of realism has also smelled a trace of opportunity.

Five years ago, director Yao Xiaofeng said when he wrote “Tiger Mom and Dad”: “If I were to add a label to this play, I would prefer it to be an educational subject and explore the relationship between native families. “Five years later, Yao Xiaofeng returned with another similar theme “With Dad to Study Abroad”, trying to use the phenomenon of “study abroad” in the current society to explain the reconciliation and growth of both parents.

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“With Dad to Study Abroad”

As early as 2018, he announced that he would create the “Education Trilogy” of the Mengmeng Film Industry. After the launch of “Little Bi”, which focused on studying abroad in 2105, he also launched “Little Joy” at this time. This is a summer stickThe second half of the series, the first day of the broadcast, with “Oriental TV ratings of 1.038%, Zhejiang Satellite TV ratings of 1.168%”, ranked first in the market segment at the same time. According to Xu Xiaoou, executive vice president of the company, the “School”, which is currently focused on early childhood education, is also being prepared.

Why did the educational theme show signs of “fire” again this year?

“Education is a very resounding social topic and a very mainstream subject.” Xu Xiaoou said in an interview with the drug lord that the original intention of developing the series of educational dramas is to think in all directions. It shows that Chinese families have an insight into Chinese-style parent-child relationships at all stages of their child’s growth.

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“Small Separation” Stills

The real reason behind this is that the nationals are paying more and more attention to education. According to the “Residents’ Income and Consumption Expenditure”, in recent years, the national investment in education has been increasing. From 2016 to 2018, the per capita educational, cultural and entertainment expenditures of the national residents are 1915 yuan, 2086 yuan, and 2226 yuan respectively. In the first half of 2019, the per capita education and cultural and entertainment consumption expenditure of residents increased by 10.9%, accounting for 10.0% of the per capita consumption expenditure. In the total consumption expenditure and composition, it became the fourth largest expenditure of medical care. More and more families in China are not worried about spending on education.

And in these various educational dramas, the drug lords found that the current story of the educational drama points to the same bull’s eye – the anxiety of the middle class.

The 2018 China New Middle Circle White Paper published by Hurun Research Institute defines the middle class as: “A social group that still has higher spending power and investment ability after removing basic living consumption expenditures such as household food, clothing, housing and transportation. The basic consumption expenditure of middle-class families accounts for less than 50% of annual household disposable income.”

This group of people has a good educational background, and in the pursuit of a more comfortable lifestyle, it also pays special attention to the education of their children. According to the white paper, the anxiety of the new middle-class population is mainly concentrated in children’s education (45%), investment and wealth management (42%), followed by career development (27%), health / medical (26%), parental pension (17%) and so on. In the face of double spending of money and energy, in the struggle between reality and vision, “education” has become the main contradiction and pressure of middle class.

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The anxiety of the new middle-class population is mainly concentrated in the education of children (Source: “2018 China New Middle Circle White Paper”)

Education dramas are sensitive to capture this real pain point. “The characteristics of the class make this kind of people think beyond the moral level on many problems in reality,” director Wang Jun claimed to have been the middle-aged family as the background. It is “like the self-deprecating spirit and black humor of the middle class.”

In addition to the above reasons, the educational dramas have gotten together this year, with types of rotations and just outside the summer. According to the TV drama production and production record, the “Juvenile School”, “With Dad to Study Abroad” and “Little Joy” have been established and filmed at different times around 2017 and 2018, respectively, and they have been plagued by realism by different platforms and TV stations. The vents are co-edited this year.

“In the future, such topics will definitely come out several times a year. Educational dramas have never been a new type of TV drama market, because this topic will always exist with social anxiety”, Xu Xiaoou told the drug lord .

Difficult development”

For the educational dramas that have a certain degree of heat in the past two years, although there are high-scoring works such as “Small Separation” and “Little Joy” and other Douban scores over 7.8, but the extension track of the back topic, The past development of educational dramas has not been smooth.

Time back to 1985, in the process of the cultural industry gradually prospering, a “Recovering the World” starring Zhang Lihua and Song Dandan, the drama tells how a teacher can educate “problem students” The story of rebuilding confidence and returning to society is considered to be the originator of educational drama.

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Song Dandan’s “The World of Finding Back” is considered to be the originator of educational drama

The educational dramas that are in their infancy are mostly the teacher’s main line of narrative. In the same period, the “Soul of the Teacher” and “Green Shade” were all reflecting on the education system at that time, ignoring the three-dimensional sketch of the student image.

Until the emergence of the “16-year-old flower season” in 1989, it was really a classic TV series about student life. At this time, the episodes of educational subjects are mostly linked to youth. The narrative subject is no longer limited to a single teacher-student main line, but begins to show the ignorant feelings and growing annoyance between students.angry. After that, “17-year-old does not cry” “Campus Pioneer”, “Flower Season Rainy Season” and other TV series have emerged, so that the educational theme ushered in a small outbreak.

After the millennium, the 80s gradually became the main force of the new generation of TV viewers. At this stage, “Meteor Garden” in 2001 with an average rating of 6.99 to refresh the Taiwan TV drama ratings, creating the theme of the idol drama theme, but also gradually changed the pattern of TV drama. At the same time, the educational theme has also begun to absorb the creative ideas and aesthetic experiences of some youth idol dramas.

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Meteor Garden refreshes Taiwan TV drama ratings with an average rating of 6.99

In 2002, Hualu Baina, which had just been established for more than a year, sensitively touched the pulse of popular culture and produced the “18-year-old sky.” Gu Yuetao, played by Bao Jianfeng, broke the clear boundary between teachers and students. He expressed a kind of friendship and friendship with the students. In the drama, some of the similar idol dramas sprouted, almost everyone. The experience of college entrance examinations has also aroused the resonance of young audiences. Once broadcast, they have participated in the entire Chinese, youth and youth markets.

The emergence of this drama, although it is timely filling a part of the market gap, but the episode of educational themes is still a small branch, showing no trend of mass production. According to the CCTV-Sofori Media Research (CSM) data, after 2000, the domestic market still favors historical subjects, military themes and family ethics. Although the theme of the dramas in the Mainland has changed in the past ten years, the episodes of education-related dramas have no such explosions as the “18-year-old sky”.

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A smash hit “The 18-year-old sky”

In 2006, the content of the family structure in the TV series began to explore new ways of composition, and the Internet culture also injected new elements into it. During this period, the mother-in-law dramas represented by “double-sided tape”, “spicy mother-in-law”, “new marriage age” and other dramas gradually became the rookies in the TV series, occupying the mainstream status for a long time. The educational drama at this time is not only neglected, but also a classic that can be mentioned.Product.

After 2010, a “Cultural Industry Revitalization Plan” was released. Among them, under the policy of encouraging private capital and foreign capital to enter the cultural industry, capital has entered the film and television industry. After this, the entire film and television culture industry showed a trend of prosperity, and the film and TV drama market was once flooded by big IP and big production.

Capital allows more subjects to have the opportunity to try, the Internet and streaming media have also begun to enter, the “White Nights”, “Undocumented Crime” and other strong plots of TV dramas, give more to the types and channels of TV dramas. More possibilities. At this time, the educational drama is a branch of the real theme. In the domestic TV series, it has not been singled out to make it a big category, and more belongs to the contemporary urban emotional theme.

With the diversification of educational concepts and methods, and the signal that the country gradually released the second child policy around 2010, after 2012, the episodes of educational themes began to return to the public eye: In 2012, “Children are difficult to raise” with the parenting story as the core; in 2013, there was “Children” facing Xiaoshengchu, and “Little Dad” to explore different father and son.

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Children’s story is the core of “Children are difficult to raise”

At the same time, the family structure has been updated again. The pattern of the “strict father and mother” of traditional families has also changed. In reality, the “Tiger Mom and Dad”-style family has emerged. In 2015, a focus on primary school education “Tiger Mom and Dad” made many mothers in front of TV see their own shadows, and became a common parental match model in future educational dramas.

After that, the educational drama has been closely resonating with the times.

In 2015, the total number of students studying abroad in China exceeded 500,000, and the number of students studying in secondary schools accounted for 13.76%. In the TV series, there was also a “small separation” in reflection on the tide of studying abroad; after the hotspots in the school district and accompanying readings remained high, In 2018, there was a “Reading Mother”; in 2018, the total number of overseas students studying abroad reached 662,100, an increase of 8.83% over the same period of last year. “With Dad to study abroad” was also launched. In 2019, the number of college entrance examinations exceeded 10 million for the first time in the past decade. Under the circumstance that the college entrance examination became more and more serious, the appearance of such works as “Youth Pie” and “Little Joy” undoubtedly expressed how education has become a major event affecting the people.

Is the business of educational drama good?

The past 20 yearsCome, the educational drama has gradually recovered from the low tide. This theme, which can be combined with the times and can express the background of the times, finally ushered in a small climax this summer. In the face of the question “Why is this educational drama concentrated in this year?”, Xu Xiaoou believes that educational dramas can include intergenerational relationships, conflicts of values, children’s style, and even changes in educational policies: “Education, Ben It is a topic that can always attract social attention.”

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Education is a topic that can always attract social attention

In addition to the attention of film and television companies, the TV platform relies on the platform to pay special attention to this subject. In the view of a senior employee of the Zhejiang TV TV drama department, from the perspectives of the theme, story, cast, production level, etc., the episodes of educational themes have certain advantages in the holiday broadcast: “These themes are close to the lives of the people, very It is easy to resonate with everyone. After several works and ratings have achieved good results this year, the episodes of educational themes will be the focus of TV stations’ continued attention.”

Although during the summer of this year, the educational drama ushered in a small climax, but while the number and attention have increased, there are still some educational dramas with minefields that are out of touch with reality, and also become hot inside the circle and some fans. The topic of discussion.

For example, in “Let’s Go to Study with Dad”, Sun Honglei’s father used the awkward Chinese English and a “Hongyan” at the airport to pass the customs clearance. Lin Miaomiao in the “Youth Party” gave up the college entrance examination for the live broadcast. Even the exaggerated plot of threatening parents and others, such as jumping off the building, completely escaped the prevailing state of life in reality.

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The exaggerated plot of Lin Miaomiao’s jumping off the building is out of the real life state

In the opinion of the industry, compared with some IP repertoires, “realistic themes are actually more difficult to create”, one of the reasons behind this is that “educational dramas often require creators to live.” Have a deeper experience.” “The good control is true. If you don’t control well, it is easy to suspend, so the grasp of degree is very important.” Wang Xiaojun, director of “Little Joy”, told the media that the most important thing is to make the reality of the drama.

Reality or not is only a small problem faced by the creators. Whether it touches the red line of the theme, it is a big problem for the creators of educational subjects to be able to pass the trial.

“If too much education content is involved, it will increase the review of the Ministry of Education. The cycle and difficulty of TV dramas will increase greatly.” Some social phenomena such as early love, high-priced remedial classes, or direct attacks on education malpractices are difficult to play in educational dramas. The details are touched. Su Xiao, the producer of “Little Bi”, said in the “Small Divorce” expert seminar that the plot of “Little Bi” is mainly based on family education, and there is not much school education involved.

Although the market needs this kind of subject matter, it seems that capital will not flood in a phased popularity. “Although it has a certain topicality, in our opinion,the educational theme is still a small thread, and almost no investment or production of educational dramas around me People.” The investment producer of a drama told the drug lord.

Audiences can also see why educational episodes are difficult to please. In the age distribution trend of “Xiaohuaxi”, the audience of 30-39 years old is the main audience with 53%, and the audience below 19 4%. In the age of the Internet with a young audience, it is hard to get more favors for the educational dramas that do not attract young viewers.

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The happy age of the audience is

It can also be seen from the number of scoring people that the educational drama is not as good as the big IP and sweet drama. Up to now, there have been 30,741 people participating in the “Little Joy” with a high score of 8.1 Douban. In the same period, there were 449,566 people in the “Chen Qing Ling” and 234,214 people in “Dear Love”. ” is 252,202 people. The “Youth Pie”, which occupied the first-half ratings, finally only scored 47,616 people, and the hot online drama is not an order of magnitude.

“Any theme will have capital coming in. The TV series is a to B market. As long as you sell it, someone will definitely vote. But the educational theme is a small branch, and it also faces a lot of creation. Restrictions, so it can only be a topic that has always existed. At least for now, it’s hard to see the turmoil that attracts the influx of capital..” A producer told the drug lord