The biggest feature of "Prison Break" is its narrative, and its magic is derived from its unique narrative method. This method is called by professionals as "the incomplete scene structure method in the narrative of the split line" (see "Contemporary Film" 2007 Issue 2). In other words, when one clue reaches the climax of the narrative, it suddenly cuts off and turns to narrate another clue, which raises the audience’s psychological expectations and raises the question of "what happened in the end". This question attracts us to watch episode by episode. . For example, a gunshot came from the police car in which Kellman was being held at the end of the second season, but the clue came to an abrupt end, and then another incident was described. Whether he is in danger of life can only be found in the subsequent narrative. This kind of narrative method is like a storyteller who always hits a gavel at the key point of the story, and says: Let’s listen to the next breakdown. The game is "interrogative ending". "Story Club" did the same.
Of course, "Story Club" and "Prison Break" are different in rank, and single-line narrative and split-line narrative are not the same. The narrative method of "Prison Break" is like multiple "listen to next time decomposition" frequently interspersed back and forth, which is dizzying. This is its brilliance. It is this method that successfully whipped the audience's appetite, but it is also this method that finally makes the audience's appetite. Stimulation brings excitement, constant stimulation brings numbness. When "Let's listen next time decomposition" appeared in the same forty episodes, we also lost the desire to "know the funeral". Especially when the "next time decomposition" is often left unnoticed-the recordings that were thought to be hiding the shocking political conspiracy only prove the indecent love between the president and his brother-the feeling of being teased as an audience is even stronger.
Suspense repeatedly caused suspense fatigue. As early as the second half of the first season, I had a negative idea of what to do with me if I didn't escape from prison. It can be seen that the hidden dangers of narrative routines did not appear in the second season. The dense plot enhances the viewability of the series and overwhelms the characters, making "Prison Break" a TV series that only sees things but not people. In addition to the plot or the plot, the characters are mostly flat and symbolic. The only thing that impresses everyone is T-Bag. T-Bag's popularity is due to his distinctive personality on the one hand (only one characteristic: bad. Totally bad, omnipotent and extremely bad), on the other hand, it is also because of the gloominess of other characters. The brilliance of the two protagonists obviously can't match their important status and the looks of the young and old. Mike's character is introverted and difficult to perform, and the starring Miller did not completely conquer the role. Even though he performed Mike's wisdom and loyalty, these are still no match for his handsome appearance. His unchanging nervousness made Mike a blank piece of paper that was impeccable and speechless. His brother Lincoln's shaping is even more disappointing. Apart from his strong desire to survive and his guilt for the family, he can't see his character and his interaction with other characters at all. He naturally accepted his brother's rescue and sacrifice, and was indifferent to all the injuries caused by him. Does the protagonist only have the word "indifference" for Lincoln? When I saw the death of the father of the two brothers, the actor who played Lincoln tried to show pain, but the final interpretation was still numb. I was even more sure that the problem was the actor's acting skills. In the end of the second season, Mike finally had a fight with Lincoln because of his selfishness. I was fortunate that the screenwriter also had an accurate character setting for Lincoln.
The supporting role seems to be better than the protagonist. Except for mental patients who are unforgettable because they are different from ordinary people, what I admire most is the shaping of FBI detective Ma Hong. His love and opposition to his family, the extraordinary hatred of criminals, his strength and weakness, his wit and ability all highlight the character's personality from different sides. Especially in order to show Ma Hong's capable appearances, the director's scheduling and the actors' performances are extremely chic and hearty. The actor who played Ma Hong played a small supporting role in "Stealing the Wire" in the early years. Now his face has added a bit of oldness and horror, as well as a sense of vicissitudes and charm.
It is a pity that supporting actors often fall victim to the narrative of the split line. After the successful escape in the second season, everyone could have done a great deal in a wide world, but because the characters were scattered, there were too many clues, and the screenwriter gradually lost the ability to control. Several characters suddenly died to ease the burden of narrative. The tiring of narrative lines may be unexpected by the screenwriter's initial conception, which involves the reflection of the American drama production model. Not only in the United States, but also in countries and regions with mature and developed film and television industry systems such as South Korea and Hong Kong, the production of TV series adopts filming and broadcasting, so the concept of American TV series "season" is developed. The advantage of this method is that it can modify the plot development based on the audience's feedback, and decide whether a TV series should be closed as soon as it is good, stop broadcasting as soon as possible, or pursue the victory and continue filming according to the market reaction. In the final analysis, this approach is a product of the business model. The biggest beneficiary is the investor, and the audience just enjoys the benefits of their own choice under the business model by the way. After all, the decision whether to watch or not is in the hands of the audience. Most viewers can see the fate and finale of the characters they want, but a small number of viewers can't escape the fate of being abandoned by the film dealer. They can only guard the half of the series and feel sad. As a viewer who really loves TV dramas, I prefer to treat TV dramas as a craft with a precise structure and a complete concept, rather than a river that allows it to fend for itself without a direction; and as a viewer who treats TV dramas as works, I don’t I wish to see the creators, in order to respect the wishes of the audience, let the good guy live another twenty episodes and detract from the tragedy's due strength.
When it comes to the work "Prison Break", the most criticized part of the second season is the loss of control. The loss of control is probably due to the fact that at the beginning of the creation, only the general direction of the script was determined, without considering the specific difficulties encountered in the narrative. (Of course, this is just an unproven speculation that reverses the creative process from the final broadcast effect.) The loss of control also caused the negative effect of the plot partly wonderful and the overall flat. The screenwriter only pays attention to the details, from the macro perspective, the plot often has no substantial progress for a long time. In order to shine in a short period of time, the screenwriter had to set up his own game and crack it by himself. The constant repetition of being trapped and breaking through is easy to see through the screenwriter's ingenuity. The narrative skills can best be attributed to remembering that one thing is one thing.
And "little cleverness" is only a relative term. Domestic screenwriters don't even have this "little cleverness", let alone the great wisdom shown by the "higher-level ideas" in the play. "Higher-level conception" means that in addition to the main line of the narrative of "prison escape and escape", there are two auxiliary lines: the relationship between Mike and Sara and the political conspiracy behind Lincoln's imprisonment. These two lines have respectively enhanced the emotional content and ideological content of the whole play, making the concept of "Prison Break" not only worthy of emulation, but also worthy of respect.
Americans often lose their bluntness in expressing their feelings in film and television. In order to show Mike's confession for the harm he caused intentionally or unintentionally, the play arranged for him to confess to the priest. Such a straightforward plot is not as subtle as a design that touches inner pain through a seemingly unrelated event. It seems that the director of inner drama has to learn more from Ang Lee. Fortunately, the emotional scenes in this play are very restrained and delicate. Why do they have tears in their eyes, because they love deeply. According to incomplete statistics, Mike and Sara only have one kiss each season, and they only have one confession: "You and me, it's real..." But this sentence became one of the lines that moved me the most last year. By the end of the second season, the emotional drama became my only expectation for this drama. Their ending is very likely to be a tragedy, but it's just to see how this tragedy hurts our hearts.
It's not that I don't have no expectations on the political line, but I dare not look forward to it. From the moment the political conspiracy surfaced, it gave me enough surprises. Later, the stalls grew bigger and bigger, and the screenwriters tended to avoid this clue. A spy witness cleaned up the grievances of the two brothers. It was always too easy and perfunctory to win. Therefore, the screenwriter is likely to end in a hurry. I really can't think of how it should end and how it can end. I can't write a utopian ending in which the United States bids farewell to oligarchy.
It can be seen that, no matter the narrative skills, the fate of the characters, or the deep themes, the more amazing, the harder to control, the easier it is to produce aesthetic fatigue, and the easier it is to be short-lived. So in the end watching "Prison Break" has become a kind of unnecessary persistence. I had to wonder if Mike's strategy of setting firecrackers in the iron barrel to simulate the sound of gunfire was a tribute to "Landmine War" to dispel the boredom of watching the show.
2007-6-17
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