This paper mainly discusses the following issues:
Why did the snake mother send Xiaobai to assassinate the national teacher?
Is the relationship between Ah Xuan and Xiaobai hastily progressed?
What kind of person is Axuan? What kind of snake is Xiaobai??
Why do I think this film has great potential?
At the end of the article, there is my super brain hole. I think this series may grow into a white snake universe that does not lose to the Marvel universe!
The following contains minor spoilers, please consume with caution.
1 Compared with Zhao Yazhi's gentleness and generosity in "The Legend of the New White Snake" and Wang Zuxian's enchanting and charming in Tsui Hark's "Green Snake", Xiaobai in "White Snake: The Origin" looks like a fledgling. In this film, she is not Bai Suzhen, who will be powerful in the future, but just a little snake demon who has just been transformed into a human form, but her talent has already begun to emerge. In order to cultivate the true power of Taiyin, the national teacher forced the people to catch snakes with heavy taxes, which was regarded as a thorn in the eyes of the snake tribe. Snake mother sent Xiaobai to carry the magic weapon bead hairpin to assassinate the national teacher. Poor Xiaobai was just a fledgling, and he was no match for the disciples of the national master. There are many doubts here: of the hundreds of snake apprentices under the Snake Mother, is it possible that only Xiaobai Yi Snake can be dispatched? In terms of qualifications and loyalty, there is Tokiwa in the front; in terms of kung fu, the snake mother herself is not sure to defeat the national teacher, and Xiaobai, whose Taoism is far from the disciples of the national teacher, has no chance of winning; in terms of gnashing hatred for the national teacher, Xiaobai has no chance of winning. Bai is not as good as other snake demons, and even Tokiwa complained about why Master didn't let him go. It is a very risky choice to send Xiaobai to assassinate.
In fact, Snake Mother didn't expect Xiaobai to come back alive at all. The instructions she gave were: bring the pearl hairpin and sacrifice her life to assassinate the national teacher. One is pearl hairpins, and the other is life-threatening. The pearl hairpin is a magic weapon created by the snake mother in Baoqingfang and carefully refined. It can absorb the opponent's magic power, but the price is that the caster loses memory. The Mother Snake has placed considerable expectations on this magic weapon, hoping that it will be a hit when the national teacher is not yet prepared. But not to mention the chance of a successful sneak attack, even if the assassination is successful, the discovered assassin will definitely not be able to escape the siege of the heavy army and the hands of the disciples of the national teacher. Taking a step back, even if he was lucky enough to escape, Xiaobai would forget everything because of the launch of the pearl hairpin. Snake mother, as a refiner of pearl hairpins, could not be unaware of the side effects of amnesia. As the old fox said, without memory, what is the use of mana? The consequence of losing her memory is that Xiaobai will have a long vacuum period in her brain. During this period, she is extremely weak and full of flaws. It is easier said than done to survive in this demonic world.
Moreover, the phrase "death" already reflects the intention of the Snake Mother to let Xiaobai fight for an assassination mission with a low success rate by dying. In the chaotic memory fragments during Xiaobai's amnesia, we heard the following three reasons: 1. "For the snake family"; 2. "Brothers and sisters thank you"; "Don't Do" Reason 1 is high-sounding and well-founded, Reason 2 tends to be a moral kidnapping, and Reason 3 is completely a blatant death squad order. Three reasons to drive the ducks to the shelves, and just put this extremely dangerous task on Xiaobai, completely disregarding the wishes of Xiaobai's snake. Why did the mother snake do this? In fact, the answer is ready to come out, that is, she wants to use a knife to kill. A new question has arisen here. The snake mother has a noble status, why should she kill a young apprentice with a low level of cultivation? There are two reasons.
First, Xiaobai is extremely talented, and his cultivation progresses rapidly, which is feared by the snake mother. First of all, Xiaobai, as a little monster in human form, can kill Tokiwa in seconds. Tokiwa is obviously the eldest apprentice under the Serpent Mother's sect, as can be seen from his size and the attitude of his brothers to make way for him. After Xiaoqing received Lieyang's soul-breaking scale and set off to find Xiaobai, the snake mother called Tokiwa and nodded lightly, but instructed Tokiwa to kill Xiaobai before Xiaoqing. In Snake Mother's mind, Tokiwa's kung fu is to be better than White Snake's. If she competes in a serious competition in the Snake Cave, Xiaobai may have no chance of winning. That's why Snake Mother sends Tokiwa to kill her. But in the battle of Bailangtan, Xiaobai was able to win with one move, showing superb adaptability and practical combat ability, which may not have been expected by her. Compared with Xiaoqing, the two of her have similar cultivation time, but there is a gap in their cultivation. At the end of the film, both of them lost their cultivation and turned back into the white snake and green snake. They practiced simultaneously for five hundred years from scratch, but Bai Suzhen in later generations was obviously stronger than Xiaoqing. At the beginning of the film, Xiaobai sees that he is about to achieve a positive result, but he can't break through because of his subconscious concern for Xu Xuan, but Xiaoqing, who is not tired of love, is not yet close to attaining the Tao. It can be seen that the speed of Xiaobai's cultivation is much faster than that of Xiaoqing.
Compared with the snake mother, after draining the little Taoist priest, she turned into a giant python, and its scales are much larger than the snake scales placed by the snake mother on the old fox, suggesting that she has surpassed the snake mother at this time; and the snake mother absorbed the national teacher. With the mana of many snake disciples, he turned into a two-headed basilisk, still in the shape of a snake, but Dabai, whose skill is not as good as the former, has begun to take the shape of a dragon, with fleshy wings and initial horns. The dragon and the snake are originally from the same origin, and the snake soars in the daytime to become the dragon, and Xiaobai's talent can be imagined. As for why Xiaobai is so talented, it may have to be traced back to its origin. Legend has it that Guangwu Zhongxing in Han Dynasty, on February 12, Xinsi year, Donghai Bailong was ordered to rain and dropped a few drops of dragon essence, which happened to drop in front of Mount Emei. In ancient Greek mythology, the god Uranus was castrated by Zeus, his penis fell into the sea, and the god of beauty, Aphrodite, was born from the blood-stained foam, and the birth of the white snake was similar. This Chinese version of the god of beauty, although the shape of the snake is closer to the dragon, how can it be compared with the ordinary snake monster?
Second, Xiaobai's values are different from those of the group of snakes. The snake mother's sentence "There are many things in the world that you don't want to do but have to do" points out that Xiaobai actually doesn't want to do but has to do it. Under the brainwashing of the Snake Mother, all Snake disciples put people on their opposites, including Xiaoqing. The national teacher was struggling, and the snake tribe hated him thoroughly. The snakes and snakes wanted to kill them and then hurry up, but only Xiaobai showed a reluctant attitude when he was ordered. The limited ability of self-knowledge is part of it, but Xiaobai is obviously not a snake who is afraid of death. Why is he unwilling to seize this great opportunity to make his snake history famous?
I think the reason is that, in her heart, she doesn't think it's the right thing to do. When she was rescued by Xu Xuan and woke up, she thought she was a human being. What is this concept? It means that she has approached people in all aspects from her thoughts to her behavior. She has not shown any snake-like behavior in front of people, and she has no flaws. If it is not to save the apron, she will not even know that she can do magic. Xiaoqing said, "Master said that demons do not have emotions and desires." But White Snake fell in love with Xu Xuan, which was actually a crucial breakthrough from demon to human. In the world of the white snake, on the path from ordinary animals to demons, to humans, to immortals, and to attaining the righteous fruit, the aspect of being a human being can be bypassed. A demon can be transformed into a human form, but it does not have to be an adult. Even for many demons, adulthood is a taboo and a detour. Human cultivation of immortals seeks to completely renounce and liberate from emotions, anger, sorrow, joy, life, old age, sickness and death, and mundane desires; demon cultivation of immortals seeks to rise in class. Compared with human beings, there is no need to fight against emotions and desires. Being a demon is hard, but it is the hardship of the weak and the strong, while being a human being, there are countless mortal troubles, and life is short and fragile. But love robbery is the biggest catastrophe. For the sake of love, there are many who have become immortals and want to descend to the world.
Being human is always a temptation. In Li Rui's adaptation of the novel "Human World" from the Legend of the White Snake, the white snake gave birth to a child, completely shaking the boundaries of human and demon in Fa Hai's mind. A human child can prove that the white snake has been reborn into a human being (indicating that reproductive isolation has been eliminated hhh), and it can prove that the white snake is not hypocritical to harm people. Love is the only way to test a demon's humanity.
Xiaobai is too much like a person. When she lost her memory for the second time and turned into a giant python, it is reasonable to say that she was wild, but she still felt guilt and pain when she saw the city of Yongzhou and the displaced people that she had destroyed by herself. The golden light spell in the Demon Suppressing Underground Palace, "Ghosts and demons are terrified, spirits and monsters die" awakened Xiaobai's memory, but it still couldn't arouse her hatred of human beings. "Are the demons going to be slaughtered at birth?" This sentence was not a question, but a bitter question. Her subtext is, can the demon live peacefully and happily? Is the identity of a demon the original sin of a demon living in the world? Is there a way for humans and demons to coexist peacefully? Can there be no more killing and hatred in the world? Her kindness, in the eyes of other snake demons, is that she doesn't stand firm, that she has a traitorous tendency, that she is a right-wing speculator mixed in with the left, and that she is a white sesame among the black sesame, which is particularly dazzling and annoying. "Remove the traitors, kill the Taoist priests, and destroy the snake village!" When the snake tribe was angry, if Xiaobai was among them, would it be the one who didn't want to give the Nazi salute? The gradual recovery of memory is the gradual shattering of the dream. When he remembered everything, Ah Xuan said that he had also become a monster, and when he wanted to be a pair of free-spirited monsters with Xiaobai, Xiaobai must have been tempted, and thought of leaving the snake clan and the grievances of the human and monster. A genius with an unruly mind is a hundred times more dangerous than a fool. Moreover, Xiaobai and Xiaoqing have a deep friendship, and they have the stance of forming a small group. Of course, Snake Mother will find an opportunity to remove this thorn in her side.
Just as Xiaobai is incompatible with the snakes, Xu Xuan is also an anomaly in the human world. There is no mention of Ah Xuan's parents in the whole film. The only one who is close to him is an aunt. In the context of the chaos in the world in the late Tang Dynasty, A Xuan is very likely to be an orphan. And he is in a snake-catching village, but he doesn't catch snakes, all of which can show that he is different. Many film critics think that although A Xuan is braver than Xu Xian of the later generation, he can sacrifice so much for Xiao Bai in three or four days of getting along. As Xiaoqing said: "Boy, when we meet by chance, you can have any affection for my sister, but you just like my sister's beauty!" This is true, not true.
First of all, we have to know what kind of person Ah Xuan is. He is dashing. In the early stage of character setting, the main creator mentioned that Xu Xuan's image was a reference to Linghu Chong in "The Swordsman", which also gave him a kind of chivalrous spirit. Judging from the film, Xu Xuan is not afraid of snakes, so his fear of snakes is just pretending to be seen by the villagers, in order to cover up his arrogance that he does not want to be a tiger; become a monster.
"You are born as a human and enjoy the many benefits of peace in the world. Of course you are confused. When you become a monster, God will kill you, people will kill you, Taoist priests will kill you, and other monsters will also kill you." through. "Life is impermanent, there is more suffering and less happiness, just remember more good times." This is a very classical and very Chinese mentality. Marvel superheroes are busy saving the earth. Will think of their own time to have fun or persuade others to have fun. But he is not cynic. "There are so many wicked people with two feet in the world, what do you mean when you have a tail?" This chicken soup, in another tone, would seem contrived, but Ah Xuan said it in a relaxed and even slightly playful tone, This shows that he doesn't care whether he is a human or a demon from the bottom of his heart. As long as Xu Xuan cares a little about the difference between human and monster, he will not say "Yes, I am a monster, but I am still Ah Xuan" to the villagers.
He's also pretty colorful. He is not some reckless and ignorant little milk dog, where can a man who named his dog be dabble go seriously? The apron is the underwear of ancient women! He told Xiaobai how he met her: "You are lying on a big rock with half of your body in the water." The white snake version of Ophelia, all the judges, imagine this picture for yourself! How fragrant and beautiful it is pitiful! The love of beauty is common to all, but the degree and manner of love varies greatly. Xu Xuan loves beauty. Here is a detail please pay attention to, that is, when rafting on the river, Xu Xuan casually used a straw to weave a bunch of flowers, and used it to beat the melodious "Why Should You Ask", when the boat passed by the cave. At that time, he climbed up the mast and hung this bunch of grass flowers on the lantern. Ah Xuan is so good at discovering and creating beauty in life, how could such a person not feel anything about Xiao Bai's shocking beauty and kind nature? ↓ Lantern and grass
The core of love between A Xuan and Xiaobai is actually very similar to that in "Titanic". The same is the suspension bridge effect, the same is to meet within three or four days - to fall in love - to die for love, but the most fundamental similarity is that both parties in love have a very high degree of spiritual compatibility.
Rose is a woman with a very high aesthetic ability, and before Picasso became famous, she collected his famous paintings. Her fiancé couldn't appreciate the avant-garde paintings, but Jack was drawn to the paintings at first sight when he entered the woman's boudoir. With just this detail, the compatible parts of their souls were revealed. Between Xu Xuan and Xiaobai, maybe they haven't realized it yet, but they are indeed perfect couples, the same kindness, the same transparent and refined, and the same brave and fearless. American psychologist Scott Parker said in his book "The Road Less Traveled" that love and love are different. Infatuation, or falling in love, means the sudden collapse of a certain part of the boundaries of the self, allowing our "self" to become one with the "self" of others. It is the degeneration of emotion and mind, the surrender of human reason to sensibility. This feeling is often disconnected from reality, and when the hormones start to drop, they revert to being two different individuals. This is why many loves at first sight and passions usually end in parting ways; while love is, by its very nature, "a willingness to improve oneself in order to mature oneself and others." ↑ This paragraph is quoted from Weibo "Big Dream Hard to Sleep"
Jack sank into the deep sea, but Rose has been completely changed. She is no longer the girl who was struggling in the birdcage before, but got off the boat without looking back, left her original family and fiancé, and takes her destiny in her own hands; Ah Xuan's body was broken, and Xiaobai kept his soul, retrained into an adult, and became Bai Suzhen, who dared to rebel against heaven's rules and steal fairy grass for love. Just a few days of love has become a turning point in their lives (snake birth), making them move towards true maturity. Love condenses in time and becomes eternal pure love. The beauty of love in "White Snake: The Origin" and "Titanic" is that the protagonists completed the transition from love to love in just a few days. This is a match made in heaven, not everyone can have it. Love at first sight or love at first sight, this is also the place where classics are different from ordinary love stories.
This is a rare highlight moment in the life of a human/snake. Therefore, Xu Xuan fell in love with Xiaobai, it was amazing, it was a desire to protect, and it was the comfort of having a confidant in life. Why do you need to ask, Floating in love, I would rather stay in the world than fly to the sky.
There are deficiencies in "White Snake: Origin" in the white snake universe, and the shortcomings and advantages are almost as obvious, but it does not prevent my preference for it. It is very important that this film is a commercial film with huge follow-up potential. The following is my brain hole: Xiaobai used the pearl hairpin to keep Ah Xuan's memory and soul, but he once again lost his memory due to the effect of the pearl hairpin. Ah Xuan. The beginning of the story is the late Tang Dynasty, and the Yuan Dynasty has reached the Yuan Dynasty for five hundred years. Bai Suzhen's life was clearly the Song Dynasty. If the Southern Song Dynasty was pushed forward for five hundred years, it could only be the early Tang Dynasty. The time doesn't match, where did these 100 years go out of thin air? Whose memory is wrong? When it comes to memory, the blue-green bead hairpin engraved with two snakes is the U disk in charge of memory, just like Proust's Madeleine biscuits to make tea, making memory and time closely linked. Acts like a time machine. Friends who have seen it, do you still remember the plaque "Bao Bao Tang" hanging on the wall of the cabin on the top of Axuan? That was the name of the pharmacy where Xu Xian and Bai Niangzi hung a pot to save the world in "The Legend of the New White Snake". The movie specially gave a close-up and a dialogue: Xiaobai: "The Baoantang, why is it called Baoantang?" A Xuan: "Cough, this is a plaque I picked up by the river." Dedicated a certain amount of space to describe this piece The plaque, I am afraid it is not just a simple tribute. If it is just to pay tribute to Xinbai, the origin of "I picked it up by the river" is too far-fetched and redundant. The riverside is under the waterfall, and the plaque was picked up there, and Xiaobai also picked it up there. Perhaps, this plaque came from the life of Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian, and Xiaobai is also Xiaobai from another time and space. This story is a tragedy of reincarnation! Snakes shed their skins, which in the eyes of the ancients was a manifestation of rebirth and reincarnation. The story of the white snake is an excellent theme of reincarnation and multiple time and space. When cultivating, Xiaobai said that Xiaoqing never let her touch the bead hairpin, indicating that Xiaoqing knew what was sealed in the bead hairpin, but at the end of the film Xiaobai kept Ah Xuan's memory and soul in the bead hairpin and transformed it back by himself. The white snake lost her memory again. Xiaoqing was outside the battle and was not there. Who told Xiaoqing the function and content of this bead hairpin? There is only one possibility, that is, Xiaobai has touched the pearl hairpin in the past five hundred years, maybe more than once, and some important things happened, which caused Xiaoqing not to let her touch it again. When chasing and killing Ah Xuan was blocked by his sister, Xiao Bai believed Xu Xuan's character and said that he didn't remember anything at the time, but Xiao Qing roared, "I still remember!"
What does she remember? Xiaoqing has never forgotten that she accompanied her sister in every time and space to fight, pursue, and be disappointed. She remembered how weak, suspicious and even betrayed Xu Xian, when she came to the origin and the beginning of the river, she would rather her sister I have never met Axuan. In the reincarnation of one life after another, each time is a tragic ending, and lovers cannot always stay together. Can Xiaobai and Xu Xuan finally realize that they are in a huge vortex of reincarnation? Can they fight against the rules of the world and finally manage their own destiny? According to this line of thinking, there will be countless characters that can appear on the stage. All kinds of ancient Chinese gods and monsters will sing and I will appear (the old fox gave a demonstration of how to attract fans correctly), and compared with "Magic Girl Madoka" and other time-reversing time and space The story of the author, the story of the front-facing author of "Colorful Dream Ballet", and the story of the single-player linkage of Marvel superheroes, have more sense of history. The White Snake Universe is just around the corner! Brain hole ends
Rather than saying that the legend of the White Snake has a huge excavation space, it is better to say that Chinese myths, legends and historical stories are a bonanza. "White Snake: Origin" has stumbled out of the first step. Whether the White Snake series can make cultural exploration and subversive re-creation in the modern sense depends on the ambition and skill of the main creative team. However, there is also something we audiences can do, that is, don't let "White Snake: Origin" die on the eve of victory because of its dismal box office. This industry needs profound works with ten years of sharpening a sword, and it also needs to launch four high-quality commercial films in five years like Chasing Light Animation, and the latter is the load-bearing wall that supports the entire domestic animation market. If "White Snake: Origin" is profitable, its sequel is promising. The foundation of the story is very good, the audience stickiness is extremely high, and it is not impossible to grow into a Big Mac series like the Marvel Universe. Let's witness the era of the White Snake Universe together.
This article was first published on my personal public account Museji
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