Jiang Ling did not dwell on this doubt for long, and continued reading.
When she finished the article on the page, she finally understood why the old artist mentioned Jiang Yuyan.
It turned out that in the parallel universe's domestic entertainment industry, capitalization and commercialization were even more severe than in her previous life.
In the past five or six years, no one knew what kind of trend had emerged, with major film and television companies all rushing to shoot "big female protagonist" dramas.
In the realm of film and television, women were the absolute main consumers and source of viewership. As long as a drama could resonate with female audiences, it was bound to be highly profitable.
In recent years, calls for gender equality on the internet had become increasingly louder. For this reason, the market potential for these "big female protagonist" dramas, which could fully showcase a woman's strong charm, was undoubtedly enormous.
Admittedly, this line of thinking was correct.
However, these blindly arrogant capitalists had used the wrong methods. During the filming process, they had infiltrated the toxic idea of "marrying well is better than working well," resulting in a string of pseudo-female protagonist dramas.
In her article, Hong Xiulan pointed out incisively that these so-called "big female protagonists" in China were not truly representative of the genre.
This was because the success and the "life winners" of these female protagonists were all achieved through the financial resources and power of men.
Throughout the entire drama, it was filled with Mary Sue tropes and contrived melodrama, creating conflict for the sake of conflict.
A large group of women would fight over one desirable man, tearing at each other's hair, scheming and calculating, engaging in vicious female competition.
There were very few dramas that truly depicted female protagonists as independent, strong, capable, responsible, wise, and courageous.
Hong Xiulan further criticized these so-called "big female protagonists" for their flawed ideology and distorted values, feeding poisonous chicken soup to young girls in their prime.
This bowl of poisonous chicken soup stated: "A woman's strength is gained by captivating men to acquire power and wealth. A girl must always dress beautifully to attract a large number of influential, high-quality males, so that the male lead, second lead, third lead… and even the nth lead will be madly infatuated with her, chasing after her with all their might. A simple smile can drive men wild, a few words can defeat a host of rivals, and mere cuteness and feigned innocence can absolve them of their wrongdoings. Even if they become mistresses and steal other people's husbands, their Mary Sue protagonist halo is so blinding."
After a thorough and incisive critique, Hong Xiulan then pointed out that she had recently watched a drama called "The Little Fish and the Flowers" (Xiao Yu'er Yu Hua Wu Que). Although the plot had been significantly altered, which she, an old woman, found difficult to accept, the female character named Jiang Yuyan was very much worth discussing.
Jiang Yuyan, although a villainous female character, and although she initially entered the palace as the emperor's favorite concubine to gradually seize power, beauty was merely one of her means.
She used her intellect to subdue the powerful eunuch Liu Xi, and with her wisdom, she opened the Six Rén Divine Dice, deciphered the secrets of cultivation, and mastered the "Yihua Jie Mu" technique, becoming the number one master in the land. Even when the protagonist group possessed absolute strength far exceeding hers, she still used her intelligence to manipulate them.
Did you see it? Jiang Yuyan's greatest asset was not her martial arts or her youthful beauty, but her exceptionally intelligent mind.
Her superb wisdom was her true killer move, the key to her success.
A lesson that even a villain understood, but unfortunately, our domestic "big female protagonists" do not.