Although it is a bit of a headline party, objectively speaking, in recent years (the key point), no original Japanese drama with a reasoning theme can be better than this Netflix drama, and it can be said that it is all-round in terms of original reasoning, storytelling, production level, and depth of subject matter Was hanged and beaten by "America's Embarrassed Case".
First, let's talk about the element of intrinsic reasoning. In my impression, there are very few TV dramas with original reasoning. The British drama "Master of Illusion" is a series, but in general, the degree of completion is much worse than that of "Beauty". Although there are many Japanese mystery dramas, the classics are nothing more than several series such as "Furubata Ren Saburo" in the past. In recent years, the reasoning dramas are mainly remakes of mystery novels, or they are not original creations. Unnatural, which was a hit last year, can barely be regarded as a social faction drama. . . The great thing about "The Embarrassment of America" is that it not only presents the whole process of exploration and reasoning about a case in the form of a documentary, but also the case itself is a daily mystery without murder - 27 cars in the school parking lot He was painted with JJ's graffiti with spray paint - if Japan shoots like this, the key is that Americans who "only know" fists, pistols and whiskey can choose such a Japanese-style interesting daily puzzle as a shooting. The subject matter, there are eight episodes in one shot, you can literally cry. Japanese dramas are often made into unit dramas, and one or two episodes hastily brought up a case, which can only reflect the lack of both the level of screenwriting and the lack of funds.
As for how to define "intrinsic reasoning", we will not go into details for the time being. Roughly speaking, as long as you do any one of the elements of tricks, reasoning, and lines, or balance the three, it can be regarded as a good natural reasoning.
- the trick level , the show prisoners used several tricks to mislead the identity of the murderer and the motive for the crime, although not particularly tough, burst core trick, but wins in use was very clever. The trick of misleading the motive of the crime is somewhat similar to Grandma's famous book (for the sake of preventing leakage, not to mention the title of the book), but I personally feel that the cases in the play have been optimized enough, and the trick itself only serves the advancement of the reasoning process, not As the core trick, so the viewing experience is very good.
- the level of reasoning can be particularly pay tribute to this drama. First of all, reasoning accounts for a large proportion, because it is in the form of a pseudo-documentary, the reasoning of the two photographers about the case runs through almost the whole drama, and all the interviews and monologues of the people involved are provided by rounds of clues, and after driving the protagonists new reasoning. In terms of entry point, the show is also very elegant: the key point that made the protagonist suspect whether Dylan is the real murderer at first is a painting habit (the content is a bit vulgar, so I won't repeat it), and then the characteristics of the tools and materials, graffiti behavior The small actions in the book have also become the entry point for further reasoning, and the exhaustive method is not used, which is highly praised.
What's more, the reasoning method for the location of the crime tool on the grandma's body turned out to be the small video function of Instagram. When I watched the first few episodes, I complained inwardly that it was because of the lack of cameras that a case like the U.S. imperialist could not be solved. Unexpectedly, at the beginning of episode 5, a "surveillance system" in line with the characteristics of the times appeared - Instagram. This point can be said to be very awesome. Shimada Shoji bragged in his mystery manifesto that modern mystery novels start from "using blood type, fingerprints and other science and technology to explain mysteries", so Shimada teacher especially emphasized the role of technology in mystery novels However, he himself has embarked on the wrong path of "brain science" - no matter what strange phenomenon is ultimately attributed to the problem of the brain, this is obviously an irresponsible usage. However, in "America's Embarrassment", the protagonist uses small videos on Instagram as a means of investigation and evidence collection, which is itself a modern technology application similar to blood type and fingerprints, and it serves the process of clue acquisition and reasoning, not directly used to explain the mystery. , which is much more reliable. . .
- the volt line level , the show also counted as very good. Because it is a pseudo-documentary, a lot of useful information is given when the interviewed characters are introduced. In this way, it will not seem to rely on eating settings to sway lines, and it will not constantly disrupt the narrative rhythm in order to squeeze in clues. The elution of Dylan's suspicion, the reversal of the real murderer, and many other key plot developments are all based on the show's ingenious visual lines.
Another great thing about "The Case of America" is that not only the completion of the reasoning part is high, but the core of its own story is also excellent enough. The "Master of Illusion" mentioned above is a classic example of the separation of reasoning and plot: the reasoning part is well done, and the tricks in several episodes are very exciting, but the story itself - "what the hell..."
Even if the reasoning element is stripped away, "America's Embarrassment" itself is a good enough story-if reasoning, deciphering, and restoring the truth will make everyone (including the wronged Dylan) more painful, then explore Does this truth still make sense? Poirot believes that "returning the innocent to innocence" is the most important thing compared to "finding the murderer" and "maintaining justice"; and in this play, the innocent will even lose everything and suffer more because of the truth of the incident. The setting of this moral dilemma has rarely appeared in the reasoning stories, and the moral dilemma is accompanied by issues such as identity and moral evaluation. It can be said that the excavation of the theme of the play has been slightly difficult and obscure. At the end of the play, what Dylan did further complicates the character, and the identity of the former real murderer also enriched the character of the whistleblower Alex. Without the chicken soup and preaching that Japanese dramas are used to, the last episode of "America's Embarrassment" shakes the values established in the previous seven episodes with the unexpected truth and the aftermath after the truth. The final episode of "Beauty" can be said to be quite successful, turning a speculative comedy into a serious story of irony.
Recall that Netflix not only played well in various traditional types of dramas in the American market, but also produced high-quality Japanese dramas such as "Spark" in the Japanese market, and it can also reverse the reasoning themes that Japanese dramas have always been good at. Hung up Japan. This can be said to be a show to fly. Can the Japanese film and television industry learn something? If you don't want to be aggressive, take jujube pills.
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