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

China Securities Network, Shanghai Securities News reports (Reporter Yang Xiangfei): On April 2, the TV Drama Department of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (abbreviated as the “NRTA”) held a symposium on healthy aesthetics for TV dramas. Executives from key online audio-visual platforms such as iQIYI, Mango TV, Tencent Video, Youku, and production institutions such as Noon Sun, Ningmeng Film and Television, Huace Film & Television, and Changxin Media attended the meeting.

The meeting held that within the TV drama industry, there is an unhealthy creative tendency of one-sidedly pursuing “beauty above all.” In some dramas, actors’ makeup may be excessive, and some costume and makeup props are disconnected from characters’ personalities and from story settings, among other issues.

The meeting proposed that it is important to deeply understand the significance of establishing and upholding healthy aesthetic concepts. We must integrate healthy aesthetic concepts into the entire creative process, so that TV drama works become a vivid carrier that showcases Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength. The public’s demand for TV dramas has never been limited to whether they are “good-looking”; it lies in whether the story is “easy to stick with,” whether the works’ ideological depth, emotional resonance, and cultural nourishment can be realized, so as to achieve unity between artistic value and social value—both “entertaining people,” and also “educating people.”

Second, we must firmly discard distorted aesthetics, adhere to the aesthetic bottom line of TV drama creation, and resolutely achieve the shift from the “star-centered system” to the “script-centered system.” We must eliminate “beauty worship,” uphold “content is king and characters come first,” and ensure that characters are flesh-and-blood, full of warmth, and have souls. The most basic requirement is: “whatever role is performed should be portrayed as it should be.” We should avoid “beauty above all” and “dependence on traffic,” and instead focus more on acting skills and the works themselves. We should make costume, hair, and makeup (including styling) serve character development and story expression, matching the characters’ images. Overall, the works should present healthy and uplifting spiritual qualities, reflect China’s style and China’s distinctive manner, and enhance cultural confidence.

Third, strengthen accountability for main responsibilities and drive healthy aesthetic concepts to take root and achieve results. We need to rely on coordinated efforts and close cooperation among administrative management departments, industry associations, production institutions, and broadcasting platforms—strengthening professional guidance and learning and training—to ensure that healthy aesthetic concepts run through the entire process of TV drama creation and production, broadcasting, and management.

The meeting emphasized that establishing healthy aesthetic concepts requires the whole industry to pool effort and make sustained progress over the long term. We must stick to the healthy aesthetic bottom line, and, with care, feeling, and dedication, create more premium works that live up to the times, the people, and the nation. This will make a new and greater contribution to promoting the high-quality development of the TV drama industry and building a strong cultural country.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            TV dramas