OBS Chapter 71 The Question of Pleasure
Chapter 71 The Question of Pleasure
"The male protagonist, Mei Changsu, crawled out of a pile of corpses after surviving countless near-death experiences. He endured and plotted for many years, dragging his ailing body back to the capital. He maneuvered among various forces, fighting against the Crown Prince and Prince Yu, and bringing down Xia Jiang and Xie Yu... In the end, was it all just to force the old emperor to admit his mistakes in front of everyone and issue an edict of self-reproach?"
"For an avenger who carries a blood feud and has accumulated terrifying power enough to overthrow the government, is this goal not enough to drive him? In fact, the overall structure of the avenger would be top-heavy."
The third point raised by Qi Yue is actually a chain reaction that is inevitable due to the existence of the first two problems.
Mei Changsu is too tragic, and too strong. In the end, all he wanted was an apology.
Is it that the so-called "Brother Su" is too lenient, or did the creator not think clearly about the core goal from the beginning?
Qi Yue's words were like a scalpel, dissecting aspects that Guo Fan had not previously considered in depth.
Looking back at what he considered a near-perfect script outline, Guo Fan suddenly felt something was off about it.
The fragility of the logical chain, the unfounded motivations of the characters, the superficiality of the core objective... all these problems seem to have suddenly surfaced.
But why did this happen? Why hadn't he noticed it before? Guo Fan was puzzled.
Qi Yue seemed to see through his confusion and turned his gaze to Bai Mengyan, who was trying hard to understand and whose little face was tense.
"Xiao Bai," Qi Yue suddenly changed the subject.
Do you usually... enjoy reading online novels?
"Huh?" Bai Mengyan was taken aback by the question, and two suspicious blushes instantly appeared on her cheeks. "I... I occasionally... watch a little bit..."
She is actually a seasoned reader of female-oriented novels and even niche novels, but this hobby is somewhat "shameful" and she doesn't want to admit it in front of her boss!
Qi Yue seemed oblivious to her embarrassment.
"I've heard that in some works aimed at women, there's a plot where no matter how heinous or unforgivable the villain has been, as long as he sheds tears of repentance in front of the protagonist at the end, reveals his twisted mental journey, and shows his pain and regret... then the protagonist will often choose to forgive him."
"And as readers, at that moment, we also experience a tremendous sense of satisfaction, what's commonly known as—'a thrill.' Isn't that right?"
Bai Mengyan was stunned, her mouth agape as she stared at Qi Yue, as if she had seen some incredible creature.
Boss... how does he know about this?!
And such a pointed observation?! She felt as if her secret little world had been ruthlessly exposed!
But deep down, she had to admit that she could definitely grasp the "satisfaction" that Qi Yue described!
"This...does this really feel good?" Guo Fan frowned as he listened, completely unable to understand.
"No matter how heinous the sins a villain commits, they can be forgiven simply by repenting at the end? This... isn't this typical 'saintly' behavior? It doesn't make any logical sense! How can readers buy into this?"
Imagine you were Qin Hui, the man who framed Yue Fei. To avenge Yue Fei, instead of killing him, you made him recite "Man Jiang Hong" in public. Wouldn't that be utterly insane?!
Qi Yue looked at the two men with completely different reactions and nodded. This was the key point he wanted to make.
"Look, this is a typical example of the difference in perspectives between men and women," Qi Yue said slowly.
"Male viewers tend to be more inclined towards physical conquest and the thrill of results—to defeat him, eliminate him, and seize something tangible."
"Female viewers, on the other hand, prefer the thrill of a spiritual victory and emotional resonance. At the same time, women are prone to imagining power relationships as heterosexual relationships. For them, the greatest thrill of betraying their partner is seeing that betraying ex kneeling at their feet, weeping bitterly, just like the old emperor's ending in 'Nirvana in Fire'."
Qi Yue's gaze returned to the script of "Nirvana in Fire".
"Nirvana in Fire is undoubtedly an excellent work, with outstanding character development and delicate emotional descriptions, which easily resonate deeply with female viewers. However, for many male viewers who seek strong logic and action, it may feel superficial and even difficult to understand."
The actual developments at another time when Qi Yue arrived also proved this point.
Contrary to what many people later realized, "Nirvana in Fire" actually experienced a decline in both reputation and viewership in its early stages.
What is the reason?
Because it initially misjudged its target audience, its initial marketing focused on historical political intrigue, aiming to attract male viewers who were looking for hardcore intellectual battles and political maneuvering.
However, when this group of viewers came in, they found that the script had the same problems in terms of political logic and character motivations, so they were naturally disappointed and gave it bad reviews, which led to a decline in its reputation.
After a period of dormancy, why did "Nirvana in Fire" rise against the trend and eventually become a phenomenal classic?
Besides its excellent production and outstanding performances, the most crucial reason is that the production team finally found their true core audience—female viewers—during the broadcast.
In their promotional materials, they began to downplay the hardcore label of power struggles, strengthen the emotional bonds between characters, and amplify the subtle changes in the characters' inner worlds and their spirit of sacrifice.
Female viewers are more easily moved by these emotional elements and are more willing to invest their emotions in the characters' suffering and happiness. They tend to be more tolerant of logical flaws.
Or rather, they value the "emotional value" that the story brings.
The subsequent development of the production team of "Nirvana in Fire" also shows that the team has deeply realized this point after this battle.
If you can capture women, you can capture everything.
This team, which was originally known for producing heavy family dramas and male-perspective dramas such as "Crossing the Guandong" and "Parents' Love", has clearly shifted its overall creative direction to female audiences after "Nirvana in Fire".
Whether it's the later works like "The Story of Minglan," "Ode to Joy," or "All Is Well," they all continuously demonstrate their accurate grasp and deep cultivation of the female audience market.
But in Qi Yue's view, these are not things to boast about, but rather the creators' laziness and shortcuts when facing difficulties.
Artists must have backbone and not blindly pander to the market. If they avoid difficulties at the first sign of trouble, Chinese opera will never truly develop.
"So, the choice we face now is actually quite clear. Or, we can decide to drastically revise the script according to the stricter logic of political intrigue dramas, strengthen the logic, adjust the characters' motivations and goals, make the story truly stand up to scrutiny, and strive for a wider audience base."
"Or," he paused, "we could clearly position it as a high-quality historical romance drama, retaining the core charm of 'Nirvana in Fire'—its delicate emotions and unique character traits—and moderately optimizing logical flaws, but no longer demanding absolute rigor in political intrigue. We could shift the focus of promotion and creation entirely to emotional resonance and the characters' fates. This way, the risks might be smaller, and it would be easier to achieve success with the target audience."