The Drama Department of the State Administration of Radio and Television Holds a Seminar on Healthy Aesthetic in TV Dramas to Avoid "Appearance Over Substance" and "Traffic Dependency"

Author: Yang Xiangfei

The China Securities Network, as reported by the Shanghai Securities News (Reporter: Yang Xiangfei) On April 2, the TV Drama Department of the National Radio and Television Administration (abbreviated as “NRTA”) held a symposium on healthy aesthetics for TV dramas. Attending the meeting were representatives from key online audio-visual platforms such as iQIYI, Mango TV, Tencent Video, and Youku, as well as relevant personnel from production institutions including Noon Sunlight, Ningmeng Film and Television, Huace Film & TV, and Changxin Media.

The meeting held that within the TV drama industry, there are unhealthy creative tendencies of one-sidedly pursuing “beauty above all.” In some dramas, actors’ makeup appears excessive, and some wardrobe and makeup props are disconnected from the characters’ personalities and story settings.

The meeting proposed that it is essential to deeply understand the important significance of establishing a healthy aesthetics concept. We must integrate the healthy aesthetics concept into the entire creative process, so that TV drama works become a vivid vehicle for highlighting Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength. The public’s demand for TV dramas has never been limited to “good looks.” It lies in stories that are “worth watching repeatedly,” in the works’ ideological depth, emotional resonance, and cultural nourishment—so that artistic value and social value are unified. We should “entertain people,” and also “educate people.”

Second, we must firmly discard distorted aesthetics, uphold the aesthetic bottom line for TV drama creation, and resolutely move from a “star-centered system” to a “script-centered system.” We must put an end to “beauty worship,” and adhere to “content is king, people are the foundation,” so that characters are full of substance, with warmth and a soul. The most basic requirement is: “Whatever you act, it must feel like what you portray.” We should avoid “beauty above all” and “reliance on traffic,” and focus more on acting skills and the quality of the work. We must ensure that wardrobe, makeup, and props serve character shaping and story expression, matching the character image; overall, we should present healthy and uplifting spiritual traits, embodying China’s style and Chinese character, enhance cultural confidence.

Third, we need to strengthen primary responsibility and promote the healthy aesthetics concept to be implemented effectively. Through coordinated efforts and close cooperation among administrative management departments, industry associations, production institutions, and broadcasting platforms, we should strengthen professional guidance and learning and training, and carry the healthy aesthetics concept through the entire process of TV drama creation and production, broadcasting, and management.

The meeting emphasized that establishing a healthy aesthetics concept requires the whole industry to unite its efforts and work with determination over the long term. We must stick to the healthy aesthetics bottom line, put care, feeling, and effort into producing more high-quality works that deserve the times, deserve the people, and deserve the nation, and make new and greater contributions to promoting high-quality development of the TV drama industry and building a strong cultural country.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            TV drama