The industrial ecology and cultural ecology of China TV series.
Feng? fierce
Source: Journal of PLA Art College No.4, 20 12.
Abstract: China TV plays are developing vigorously in the new decade of 2 1 century, and industrial ecology and cultural ecology are getting more and more attention. However, the interaction between them has been shelved to a certain extent, which is the key to the healthy development of China TV series and must be considered as a whole. We can discuss the relationship between China TV drama industry value chain and cultural value chain from four aspects: correctly understanding the reform of production and broadcasting system, paying full attention to the creativity of script theme, rationally choosing investment and financing strategies, and properly responding to the introduction of new government regulations. The development of TV drama art not only needs to improve the operation mode and increase capital investment, but also needs to enhance creative care and deepen cultural connotation. If China TV series can realize the strategic transformation from capital logic orientation to cultural logic orientation, it not only means practicing the artistic mission of "expressing the Tao by writing and educating people by culture", but also means promoting the industrial upgrading between industrial ecology and cultural ecology.
Close? Keys? Words: TV series/industrial value chain/cultural orientation/artistic mission
About the author: Feng Wei, postdoctoral fellow in art at Communication University of China.
China TV plays are booming in the new decade of 2 1 century, but at the same time, they are also facing all kinds of crises and censures. If we are only encouraged by the ambition of vigorously promoting the TV drama industry, it is obviously far from solving practical problems at all levels. Industry, academia and relevant decision-makers are aware of this and actively explore it in depth. Among them, the industrial ecology and cultural ecology of TV plays have been paid more and more attention and clearly interpreted, and progress has been made in policy, practice and theory, but the interaction between them has been shelved to some extent, which is the key to the healthy development of TV plays in China and needs systematic and in-depth research. There is not a relationship between the two, but a close positive correlation, which must be considered as a whole.
Since 2003, the annual circulation of China TV series has exceeded 654.38+0,000 episodes, with 489 episodes of 654.38+0,003,865.438+0. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television also issued the Notice on Issuing the Annual National TV Drama License in official website the following year (see table 1, and relevant statistics are recalculated according to the official website figures of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television). It is worth noting that the proportion of realistic themes has always occupied the first place, but the word-of-mouth effect has not obviously surpassed historical themes (including major themes) for a long time. I'm afraid this is not a one-way thinking from the perspective of the industry, or a problem that can be summarized in one sentence by borrowing the past creative attitude. Even when the TV drama situation is good, the policy-driven adjustment, out-of-control cost-driven, weak creativity-driven, and mixed audience-driven are still worrying about the future. On the one hand, the production of TV plays has soared, and about 50% of them are not allowed to be shown every year, so there is no chance to meet the audience; On the one hand, the supply of TV plays is insufficient, and there are few excellent works that can be bought and broadcast, which destroys the industrial structure and leads to industrial ecological imbalance. More importantly, this industrial ecological imbalance can be mainly attributed to the cultural ecological problems of TV dramas, that is, the imbalance of cultural ecology, such as entertainment, content similarity, classic deconstruction, cultural lack and so on. At the same time, since the new century, TV series has been greatly transformed and innovated by other types of TV programs and the rise of massive interactive new media content, which has gradually eroded the fierce competition environment of traditional media. How to construct the modern form of cultural bearing artistically is the key that TV drama creation needs to be carefully examined. Strengthening the proportion of excellent TV dramas has become an inevitable measure to improve the overall cultural ecology of China TV dramas and further balance the industrial ecology.
If the policy drivers move towards perfection in reform, the cost drivers move towards steadiness in supervision, the creative drivers move towards pluralism in innovation, and the audience drivers move towards clarity in subdivision, it will greatly help TV drama producers and broadcasters to build a virtuous circle of TV drama industry value chain. So far, as far as the game between the value chain of China TV drama industry and the cultural value chain is concerned, the following four trends are particularly important, and they are also the hot spots that the industry and academic circles continue to pay attention to.
One? From production and broadcasting integration, production and broadcasting separation to production and broadcasting integration
The production, distribution and broadcasting of TV series constitute three basic links in the value chain of TV series industry. As the traditional distribution mode of self-production and self-marketing still dominates the TV drama industry in China, TV drama distribution companies are often subordinate to production companies, that is, film and television enterprises, and production, distribution and broadcasting constitute the two ends of the industrial value chain. At the same time, the original integrated system of production and broadcasting makes the production, distribution and broadcasting of TV dramas unable to play a balancing role. Distribution channels such as new media channels and audio-visual channels cannot be effectively expanded. In other words, the unclear boundary of the value chain caused by the unsmooth policy system has hindered the development of TV dramas in cultural and creative industries. Therefore, the decision to separate production and broadcasting is of extraordinary significance to straighten out the value chain of TV drama industry. This decision can turn "single actor" into "industrial actor group", and a long-term closed value circle can build a discrete, interrelated and expanding value chain.
In August 2009, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued the guiding policy document "Opinions on Doing a Good Job in the Reform of the Separation of Radio and Television Production and Broadcasting" for the first time. As far as the current operation is concerned, the so-called "separation" for TV stations is not the "separation" of production and broadcasting, but should be understood as the "separation system", that is, the "one station, two systems" of TV stations-"separating some content production resources from the existing business system for corporate transformation to enhance its market vitality and make it possible for TV stations that cannot enter the market to circulate." (1) This will help to improve the possibility of realizing the integration of industrial capital and financial capital by radio and television institutions within the system, promote industrial upgrading and development, and avoid vicious competition between upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. As far as private TV producers are concerned, the industrial structure of China TV series has not fundamentally changed. However, after the new value chain is defined, the proper relationship among producers, private producers and TV broadcasters in the value chain has become an issue that needs to be discussed in depth. In the past two years, the voice of the integration of producers and broadcasters at a new level is getting higher and higher. The TV drama industry's investment, pre-purchase, customization and self-control centered on TV stations have gradually become a way to seek the integration of production and broadcasting again.
Closely related to this, the management mode of TV drama production in 2006 changed from planning to filing and publicity. This gives TV producers the greatest creative freedom, and of course it also poses a greater challenge to the producers' ability to predict the future market. Taking family ethics drama as an example, as the most popular theme choice for China audience, no matter how the TV drama market changes, this type of drama has been hot since the beginning of desire (1990), but the life story told in it has undergone tremendous changes. From 1997' s holding hands to 200 1' s letting love be the master and coming and going, and then to the Chinese divorce in 2004 and not talking to strangers, marriage has become on thin ice, which makes people panic all the time Although Dwelling House in 2009 can't be classified as a family ethics drama, it touches people's most sensitive nerves because it connects the third party with the house and finds a strong reason for it. In the past two years, from 20 10 to 20 1 1, the return of "happiness" has occupied a dominant position, from the happy epic of golden wedding (20 10) and golden wedding 20 10 to the happy epic of boss and golden wedding.
In the cultural value orientation of the TV series "From forbearance to tolerance, from sadness to positive happiness", we can see that the strong appeal of the audience has changed the creative trend of family ethics dramas. "Only by changing the simple producer mode and integrating the special element of audience into TV drama creation can we stimulate the life charm of TV drama art in the audience's survival and remain invincible forever." (3) When one family ethics drama after another becomes a "topic drama", its echo and shock to the audience's daily life, as well as the corresponding hot broadcast and hot discussion in various media channels, promote the industrial ecology and cultural ecology of TV dramas from imbalance to balance. However, the recently hit "harem drama" explains the disturbing family ethical relationship in another type, and its metaphor for real life needs more vigilance.
Two? From director-centered system, producer-centered system to screenwriter-centered system
The transformation from director-centered system to producer-centered system fully represents the latest positioning of TV drama as a cultural and creative industry. In these two structures, theme creativity, that is, script creation, is at the core of production, but screenwriters as a group are the weakest link in the value chain. This obviously deviates from the general trend of the intellectual property era. From the establishment of the first professional screenwriter company in China in 2005 to the establishment of the first screenwriter brokerage company in China in 20 10, although the position of screenwriters in the industrial value chain has not fundamentally changed, there are indications that screenwriters as a group have developed consciously.
The importance of TV drama theme creativity is not only reflected in the source of industrial value chain, but also the wisdom crystallization of cultural value chain. High-quality scripts can connect these two value chains well, promote a virtuous circle between them, and activate the economic and cultural efficiency of TV dramas. Whether from the strategic point of view of TV producers and broadcasters, or from the perspective of the healthy development of TV drama art, enhancing the creativity of screenwriters is the key to enhance the competitive advantage of a TV drama. As a small but growing value activity that can ultimately change the cost structure of TV dramas, the importance of script creation cannot be ignored. The reasonable guarantee of screenwriter's economic position in the value chain of TV drama industry will inevitably become a favorable factor to enhance the cultural connotation of TV drama.
On February 24th, 2008, "China Film Screenwriters Forum" issued "2008 Screenwriters' Rights Protection Statement" and "2008 Film Screenwriters' Self-discipline Convention", and 102 people signed it to appeal for safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of screenwriters. Although this statement failed to put forward measures on how to establish an effective cooperative relationship between screenwriters and producers, this standardized industrial agreement still had a certain shock to the industry, academia and relevant decision-making levels. This is by no means an effect that can be achieved by individual combat. 20 1 1 In April, the TV Writers Committee of China Radio and Television Association held its inaugural meeting in Beijing, with more than 200 members for the first time. This is the first national TV screenwriter organization in China. Even though the screenwriter-centered system is still a distant dream, these small efforts and progress have obviously begun to further optimize the value chain of the TV drama industry. The final course of TV drama culture is still restricted by the macro situation of the society-times, but the above-mentioned self-discipline measures of the creative subject can directly affect the corresponding adjustment of the policy subject, the industry subject and the audience subject. These measures are also obvious for the optimization of cultural value chain and the interaction between industrial value chain and cultural value chain.
Three? About investment and financing
At present, the sources of funds for TV dramas in China are mainly divided into six categories, namely, self-owned funds, partner investment, pre-purchase of TV stations, bank loans, listing financing, government sponsorship and incentive funds. Among them, the proportion of the latter three categories is increasing day by day, and listing financing is setting off an upsurge. China TV drama industry is in a critical period of value chain reconstruction. Fifty-eight state-owned television production institutions, including China Television Production Center, have been transformed into enterprises, and the number of film and television production and operation institutions has grown to nearly 5,000. When the prospect turned into a "money" scene and Huayi Brothers became the "first movie" in China, Huace Film and Television became the "first TV series" in China. According to the information provided by Wonder Information, GICS classification (Global industry classification standard, global? Industry? Classification? Standard) includes 17 companies, Shen Yin International Classification (Shen Yin International Securities Research Institute) includes 22 companies, and China Securities Classification (China Securities Regulatory Commission) includes 22 companies. There are actually 40 companies except for duplication. From the description of their business scope, there are 10 companies directly related to TV drama production and broadcasting. There are both private enterprises and state-owned enterprises (see table 2).
In order to ensure economic benefits, the production cost of scripts and TV plays is excessively depressed, which has caused a vicious circle of the value chain of TV play industry to some extent. Although the "money" prospect of listing is optimistic, it is indeed conducive to the optimization of the TV drama industry chain. However, with the overall rising cost of TV drama production and broadcasting, it is obviously not the first choice to implement cost priority strategy to improve the ecology of TV drama industry through listing financing and other channels. TV producers and broadcasters clearly realize that differentiation strategy is the choice to optimize the value chain, and begin to pursue the combination of unique low-cost resources and high-cost resources with high buyer value, so as to create the biggest difference between the value recognized by all parties and the unique cost. This differentiation strategy is mainly reflected in the creative strategy, in which the uniqueness of the theme creativity, that is, the uniqueness of the script, is very important. Blind low cost is not conducive to improving the uniqueness of the script. Increase the cost of buying scripts and get high-quality scripts, so as to improve the bargaining power of TV producers and attract outstanding actors. At the same time, they can bargain to a certain extent, or they don't have to be starred by famous actors to reduce the total cost, that is, they can act on the cost by adopting differentiated strategies. In this way, in the process of optimizing the value chain of TV drama industry, the script purchase link has been paid more and more attention. I'm afraid this is also the root cause of the writers' increasingly tough attitude towards rights protection.
From the creativity of the script theme, we can enter the thinking of cultural value chain. This cultural value chain should not produce "cultural rubbish" brought by cultural impetuousness and cultural speculation, but cultural fine products brought by cultural reflection and cultural innovation. The art of TV plays has cultural and economic characteristics, which means that the industrial attribute of TV plays cannot exist independently without its cultural attribute as one of the carriers of ideological art. "The literary script of TV series has the cultural implication and aesthetic character of showing the advanced culture of our times, the aesthetic value of creating an index era and leading the times, and the comprehensive and systematic realistic social function it should have." (4) However, whose cultural voice a TV series will produce is a very complicated problem. We should not only consider the choice of TV producers and broadcasters, but also consider the choice of TV viewers. The hit drama is a classic cultural text of an era, which not only contains the cultural and social demands of the narrator, but also reflects the cultural expectation of the receiver. Those TV dramas that become "events" not only have classic artistic value, but also serve as spokesmen for cultural symptoms of national spirit and social and cultural thoughts, arousing strong emotions and psychology of the audience. This kind of * * * songs often have ethical cultural effects. It pursues different types of TV dramas and different dimensions of TV drama themes, and shows different cultural identities and emotional projections obtained by various sub-cultural groups.
Four? On "Entertainment Restriction Order" and "Broadcasting Restriction Order"
Having a career and no industry in TV dramas will definitely hinder the vigorous development of TV drama art marketization, and having an industry and no career will also bring negative effects to the sustained and healthy development of TV drama art. The choice of entertainment in TV dramas cannot deny the capital-driven factors. Capital is always committed to "liberating" symbols from the binding with reality and putting them into pure circulation. ⑤ In 2007, China has become the largest producer of TV series in the world. However, even if the economic value of TV series has increased, whether the cultural value is also increasing is a question that needs to be questioned. Since the beginning of the new century, the academic circles have begun to discuss the balance between culture and ecology in a broad sense, among which China is particularly concerned about the dilemma of the imbalance between culture and ecology.
Although "cultural ecology is a conceptual and subtle thing, which is often ignored by people in the early stage of development, it is difficult to arouse enough understanding", from the perspective of philosophical thinking and cultural practice, due to the universal existence of cultural ecology and the interaction of various cultural factors in the system, an interlocking "cultural chain" has been formed, and any change in it will bring about a chain reaction. Even lead to profound changes in the overall cultural structure of society. "If we lose the perspective of cultural ecology, we can't see the imbalance of cultural ecology in a specific period, which is likely to lead to' discourse drifting' and be covered up and confused by various' pseudo-problems', while the real mainstream discourse has not been revealed." ⑦ As far as the development of China TV series is concerned, this art form has been deeply involved in the daily life of China people, and has had an impact on the cultivation of contemporary China culture. If we avoid the imbalance of cultural ecology of TV series, it will lead to more serious cultural decline and will inevitably affect the virtuous circle of the development of TV series industry itself.
20 1 1 The game between the industrial ecology and the cultural ecology of TV dramas has entered a new turning point, and the pattern of great change and reshuffle has begun to take shape. The introduction of the new regulation of "hand of supervision" and the echo of capital expansion have caused new industrial growth points. From October 20 1 1 year 10 to October 20 1 year1month, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television successively issued "entertainment broadcast restriction order" and "broadcast broadcast restriction order", both of which stipulated that from 20/kloc-0. "Two restrictions" objectively become a measure to stimulate the TV drama industry to climb to a new height. Some satellite TV stations changed the "variety show time slot" of 20 12 to "TV show time slot", which led to the increase of TV show market demand and price. China Education Television 1 Channel and Jiangsu Satellite TV jointly developed a brand-new program mode, namely the reality show of creative idols in the workplace, and launched "Love You Wholeheartedly" for the first time on 20 1 1 October 30th. The opening TV series "Da Zhao" of CCTV Channel 8, 20 12, also has a strong color of "play in play". Considering the tendency of "excessive entertainment" in TV series, it is still difficult to draw a conclusion about the advantages and disadvantages of this innovation, but obviously it needs to be carefully examined. As for the specific changes of product placement, duration of TV series and advertising duration between TV series, it is still unknown, but the cancellation of commercials in TV series has obviously been widely recognized by the audience. Watching TV dramas through TV channels has regained a certain dominant position in the competition with video websites, although in terms of advertising revenue, the competition between TV and the Internet is overcast again.
The introduction of the "two limits" is obviously not impulsive. 20 1 1 April, the first national TV drama work conference was held in Jinan. Participants included representatives from TV drama management agencies, production agencies, broadcasting agencies and relevant ministries. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's work report "Strengthen guidance, improve quality, and strive to create a new situation for the prosperity and development of TV dramas" is equivalent to issuing a "general mobilization order" for the development of TV dramas in China. While affirming that "TV plays have become the mainstream art form in contemporary society", the central task of the development of TV plays during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period is to "improve the quality of TV plays" and achieve an all-round improvement in the quality of creation, industrial development and management. ⑧20 1 1 In May, CCTV TV drama channel published its own pilot release number of Channel 8. After the advertisement on the title page, he positioned himself as "the window of human emotion and the home of national spirit" with eye-catching words, and expounded "playing a melody, strengthening a brand, keeping a good pass, looking after a garden and establishing a set of mechanisms." As the "national team" of TV drama professional channel, this positioning not only responds to the call of relevant decision makers, but also guides the direction of TV drama industry itself.
In the lively but not prosperous ecology of China TV drama industry, there are not only the phenomena that producers compete for pricing power, marketing expands the right to speak, and broadcasting platforms seize the copyright of TV dramas, but also the problems that writers defend copyright, directors cede decision-making power, stars speculate and bargain, and advertisements abuse their rights. If the stakeholders in the TV drama industry chain can't straighten out the relationship, it will not only hinder the "industrialization" promotion and prosperity of TV drama in China because of the irrational imbalance of their own interests, but also destroy the ecological balance of TV drama culture based on cultural diversity and the diversified cultural value choices that the audience should have, which is ultimately not conducive to the healthy growth and rational construction of China culture in the contemporary era. "The proposal of' cultural creativity' is intended to arouse people's attention to a phenomenon of spiritual decline after economic development and improvement of material living standards, consciously increase cultural investment, improve people's quality with culture, and stick to the spiritual home of mankind." Paying attention to the development of TV drama art requires not only improving the operation mode and increasing capital investment, but also enhancing creative care and deepening cultural connotation. If China TV series can realize the strategic transformation from capital logic orientation to cultural logic orientation, it not only means practicing the artistic mission of "expressing the Tao by writing and educating people by culture", but also means promoting the industrial upgrading between industrial ecology and cultural ecology.
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