Several modern urban dramas that have received good ratings in recent years, such as "The Sea of Stars", "With You in This Life" and "Good Things Come in Two", all have one thing in common: the reasonable use of bloody elements. The high ratings also prove that dog blood is indeed effective.

"Stars in the Sea" "Good Things Come in Twos" "With You in This Life"

Bloody dramas are a trend that came from ancient Korean dramas. In the 1990s, "Stairway to Heaven", "Blue Love", "Winter Sonata" and other "stairway to heaven", "Winter Sonata" and other bloody elements of having the wrong baby, terminal illness, and three consecutive car accidents swept East Asia.

This wind first hit Taiwan, China. At the beginning of the 21st century, the movie "Meteor Garden" announced the arrival of the era of Taiwanese idol dramas. People born in the 1980s should be able to recall many popular Taiwanese idol dramas at that time: "Lavender", "The Prince Turns into a Frog", "The Wedding Dress of Heaven", " "Next Station of Happiness"... Most of them continue the routines of Korean idol dramas: terminal illness, amnesia, and even running with the ball. They use bloody plots to earn the tears of audiences on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

"The Prince Turns into a Frog" and "Blue Life and Death"

Subsequently, this bloody trend in the film and television drama industry spread to mainland China. In 2009, "Let's Watch the Meteor Shower" made actors such as Zhang Han famous and once again proved the rationality and effectiveness of the bloody element.

In 2011, a miraculous year, the only drama in the Internet world that could rival "The Legend of Zhen Huan" in terms of classics: "The Temptation of Going Home" was born.

Screenshot of "The Temptation of Going Home"

Accompanied by the music of "The Pain of Persistence for All Love~" and the classic lines of "You are so sexy~", the mistress's scumbag, skin-changing return, the eldest brother's revenge and other bloody elements all came into play, which made the audience angry at the time. One Buddha was born and two Buddhas were reborn in heaven. He wanted to stab the villain and curse the legendary scumbag "Hong Shixian" to death.

In the same year, there were also dramas such as "The Three Daughters of the Xia Family", "Snow on a Thousand Mountains", "True, Good and Beautiful Love", "Love Wakes Up" and other dramas. The plots of "real and fake daughters" were gathered together, and "the grudges of wealthy families" took turns to play, laying the foundation for The bloody drama is the king of the satellite TV ratings list.

Stills from "Xia Family Three Daughters of Gold"

Why do we need bloody dramas?

The author chatted with a screenwriter friend who was born in the 1980s, Lu Mingming. He once worked for a "carrying company" in the era of bloody dramas. Although he did not want to be named out of a low-key mentality of "no need to mention the past". , but he still made some summary of the creation of bloody dramas of that era: "The audience at that time was easier to satisfy than it is now. In addition, online broadcast platforms and short videos had not yet emerged. TV dramas were almost free for people to eat and entertain. The second choice is that one drama can get four stars, and the TV drama company has almost no worries about selling it. Naturally, it is too lazy to think about the creation. Since the routine is popular and one routine is popular, just copy and paste."

However, with the technological iteration and product upgrading of the film and television drama industry, such bloody dramas have gradually fallen behind. Coupled with the enrichment of categories, changes in audience aesthetics, and guidance from relevant parties, "realism" has gradually become a creative element in modern urban themes. Mainstream, truly entertaining dramas are gradually withdrawing from the market trend.

But, have bloody dramas really disappeared? No, the times still need bloody dramas. In recent years, the popularity of the Korean drama "The Penthouse" and the high ratings of domestic silently making a fortune have proved that there is still a market for bloody dramas, and the market is unexpectedly big. But why are bloody dramas that are “vulgar” and “clichéd” in online comments still needed in this era?

"The Penthouse" Poster

Screenwriter Lu obviously said, "The so-called 'dog blood' is actually a strong plot that has been proven to be effective for the audience. The car accident plot, the brother and sister plot, and the terminal illness plot are all 'no coincidence' in the drama rules. When they first appeared, The audience does like it, but it becomes vulgar if used too much."

He said, "But 'dog blood' is still effective, and the short video is a kind of verification."

While long-form dramas are having a huge impact on short videos, the popular content on short videos has also taught long-form dramas a lesson. "I'm reborn", "The mistress forced her into the womb", "The heroine ran away with the ball", "It turns out that the son-in-law is actually the Dragon King", these are highly vulgar and vulgar words condensed in just a few minutes, and the number of clicks and likes exceeded one million, making it difficult to film a long series. and. The illogical slap in the short video seemed to be slapped on the face of the producers and the platform of the long-form series: It’s wrong, it shouldn’t be, the audience’s aesthetics should be upgraded! "In fact, it is human nature to crave high-concentration gossip and drama. It is better not to go against nature when creating." Lu Mingming said, "And the aesthetic upgrade does not mean that you can't be ruthless."

A new bloody drama with upgraded aesthetics

In 2022, the appearance of "Dark Glory" taught East Asian TV dramas another lesson. A cool drama with such a bloody revenge core can actually reach such a high level by relying on technology and aesthetics. It is both bloody exciting, exciting and igniting. It is also dark and ambiguous, with rich meaning. Although there are not many bloody dramas with such top-notch lineups in East Asia in a year, it undoubtedly gives producers and platforms an enlightenment under the bodhi tree.

"Dark Glory" stills

"In the past two years, many project parties like to use a word called 'extreme' when facing screenwriters." Screenwriter Xiao L said, "'I feel that this story/character/relationship is not extreme enough', so what is not enough?" 'Extreme', let me translate it to you, is 'bloody'." But the interesting thing is that if the writing is really bloody, Party A will put forward new requirements: it is not "high-end" enough. "Then what is 'advanced'? My understanding is profound. It is against convention and routine. This is exactly the opposite of what they want in many cases." Party A's intention, as everyone knows, is to be a dog. Bloody and profound, vulgar and fresh, it can not only hit the sinking market, but also capture intellectuals. What does it have to do with "both wanting and wanting"? High standards and strict requirements are the reasons why we, as individuals and as a society, become rich.

Under the high demands of Party A, the entire industry is also exploring new developments in bloody dramas. "In my opinion, bloody dramas are gradually becoming an 'element' on the same level as comedy and suspense." Lu Mingming said. Transform the bloody theme that hangs over the entire series into the bloody elements of settings and single scenes, "like condiments for cooking, add them appropriately where they should be used, and the seasoning is enough."

Like short video creation, big data has already played a guiding role in the creation of long-form series. Wherever the plot has a high number of viewers and comments, and where the plot has a high number of exits and negative reviews, there is data support. Among these data, the most noteworthy is the “retention rate”.

In the age of television, there are few content options, and there are only a few satellite TV stations with the most guaranteed content reputation. In addition, most dramas are broadcast at fixed times of the day. As long as a drama allows the audience to watch the first two episodes, Rough ratings are basically guaranteed. However, in the Internet era, optional content on the Internet has increased dramatically, and viewing time and media are even more freely chosen. To ensure that the audience’s attention is not lost, it is necessary to give the audience new excitement in the plot at all times, otherwise the small cross in the upper right corner will Isn’t it beautiful to watch short videos on Douyin?

So what are these “new excitements”? "For the showrunners and creators, the most cost-effective way to maintain the continuity of new excitement is the bloody elements." Xiao L said, "For a 40-minute episode, drama logic and characterization are still the most important factors. The top priority, therefore, apart from the main plot, there is not much script space left for 'new excitement'. Plus with the cost of filming, actors, and post-production, you can't have every 'new excitement' be an action. In a big drama or a big scene, maybe you only need a sudden slap in the face, a bloody little drama of 'the mistress forcing the wife into the palace' or 'the love rival setting up the scandal', to bring the audience's attention back from the state of being distracted."

"But the bloody use of micro-short dramas is different from that of long-form dramas." Li Mouxi, a screenwriter with many years of experience in creating micro-short dramas, said, "The creation of micro-short dramas of about 10 to 20 minutes is different from that of long-form dramas, although the characters and logic are also different. Yes, but the pace of the narrative should be faster and there should be more reversals. I want to take advantage of the advantages of short videos and long series." It is also a classic need and logic, but it is indeed feasible. Let go of the long series With strong standards for character creation and drama logic, blood can be spilled freely. At the same time, the length of the series compared with short videos allows these dramas to be more aesthetically refined and have complex elements of blood. and excitement can have more room for upgrades. The explosion of short dramas such as "Daughter of Gold", "Invitation" and "Fake Face" have proven this aesthetically upgraded methodology for creating bloody dramas.

Stills of "Provoking"

"Good things come in pairs" stills

"Good Things Come in Twos", which just aired a while ago, also verified the creation method of a new "bloody drama". A scumbag mistress, cheating and betrayal, irritating his parents-in-law, and counterattacking with revenge. The full-blooded taste is packaged with a bland urban texture in terms of persuasion, performance rhythm, and narrative rhythm. It retains the story core of the dog-blood drama - "the dialectical relationship between the mistress and the first wife", but downgrades its drama concentration to external performance, giving the audience a new audio-visual experience.

Not only long-form dramas, but also with the popularity of several movies this summer with highly TikTok-like plots, film and television dramas have almost collectively completed the recognition and upgrade of the dog-blood elements. What will be the next step for "dog-blood"? What new form appears in front of the audience? We can wait and see.