Ladies: Women's maturity is driven by the wrestling that exists around them

The ninth episode of "Little Ladies" finally hit the title, this sex-turned "Macbeth". At this point, I also seem to have forgotten the real origin of the title "Little Ladies". When it was broadcast, it was introduced that it was adapted from "Little Women".

Following this beginning, a new and familiar story unfolded in front of the audience: the three poor sisters depended on each other for life, the eldest sister's good friend died, leaving her a large sum of money, which was stolen from the rich - the story is Starting from here, it is natural to feel that it is indeed the East Asian version of "Little Women" today. Dreams are broken, and life almost begins with revenge.

My memory of "Little Women" is very vague. In the distant childhood, it also made me look long and reach farther places, and even the imagination of the future, glowing with a bright and beautiful light, All the cruelty in reality is carefully wrapped, like a square table without sharp corners, no matter how free and wanton running in front of it, it will not be broken and injured.

Later, when I watched "The Neapolitan Tetralogy", the two heroines in the story, Lennon and Lila, when they were very young, had the courage to go to the "bully" of the block to get back the rag doll they had dropped. They got a sum of money, which they used to buy a copy of Little Women. The two read it over and over several times, and almost ripped the book to pieces. Then Lila began to write the first novel in her life. Although she did not appear in the world, she also indirectly influenced Lennon. It would always appear in her long life. Later, she appeared and wrote about her and Lila. Ra's full story.

So I think the official introduction of "Little Ladies" is that it is adapted from "Little Women" as a prototype, and I am afraid it is also the screenwriter's personal preference and longing, and use it to complete a story hidden in his heart.

I didn't know the screenwriter before, and I seldom noticed the role played by the screenwriter in a movie. It seems that the director's style overshadowed the efforts of others. It is a terrible neglect to think about it. It was not until I watched the new film "Resolve to Break Up" co-produced by Park Zanyu and Tang Wei some time ago, because I was interested in the story itself, and I wondered what kind of person created this character first, and then it was realized by the wonderful cooperation of the director and the actors. Started to notice Jung Seo-kyung as a screenwriter.

I believe that compared to director Park Chan-wook's consistently bright and easily recognizable style, it is actually the screenwriter who gives a character its vitality—at least the one who creates the story first, and then the "storyteller" realizes it. Do your best to get close, let the "fiction" happen in the three-dimensional space, and rise like a butterfly's wings.

As early as the film "Resolve to Break Up" was released, Zheng Ruijing mentioned "Little Ladies" in an interview with the media:

Soon, the TV series "Little Ladies" will be broadcast. I have been writing for about 2 and a half years.

... TV series and movies, first of all, the duration is different. For 2 hours, I do know very well. For example, after 30 minutes, everyone will have this feeling, and after an hour, everyone will expect, what kind of plot will unfold here, the following story needs to be highlighted from here, it needs to change direction here, and so on.

It's been more than 10 years since I wrote it, and I naturally have this feeling. What if it was 12 hours in length? Since it was scheduled for two hours, I wanted to split it into two at first. So, when the second part ends, the story ends. 12 hours, it's not easy to keep exploring during that time.

But stories are not big or small. It's not so much the depth of the subject as it's a summary of a person's life trajectory. If 2 hours of a movie is about the nature of human life and death, I think it's good to think of 12 hours as at least the length of a season.

It seems that while the audience is still amazed at "Resolve to Break Up", she has already allocated her attention to the upcoming "Little Ladies", and it is not difficult to see how much she cherishes and looks forward to this show. And at the moment of sharing it with reporters, the creation of this story has become a thing of the past, so she can get out of her body completely, just like counting glass beads, and use them to talk about the difference between movies and TV series, and the meaning of the story. The size and depth of the theme, the life trajectories of the characters in the story.

I have seen people criticize the drama "Little Ladies", and they also specifically mentioned Zheng Ruijing's creative experience, thinking that she is impeccable in terms of movie scripts, but she seems to be not very good at writing TV scripts. Taking a closer look at the following arguments, she was accused of not being familiar with the preferences of TV audiences for a long time, and the characters she created were not "unpleasant". This is unfair, and creation is not a service. There is no responsibility to please the audience. We can only find the audience as much as possible and get close to the audience. And the critic might as well honestly admit that he just doesn't like it, and the so-called unflattering audience is himself.

The understanding of Zheng Ruijing can only be restored through the many works she has been able to give full play to as a screenwriter. But before that, let's talk about the so-called "Macbeth of Sexual Transformation" in "Little Ladies". I'm actually hesitant to use such a word to sum it up, because "Sexy Macbeth" isn't some great narrative miracle, it's just an idea - a woman's story in a situation similar to that of a man. What chemical changes will take place and how the gears of their fate will turn.

But in the ninth episode of the story, the screenwriter revealed this metaphor by himself, and did not put it in any conspicuous position, just like collecting a pebble of the right size to help cross the river. In this episode, after seeing the true face of her mother, Xiaolin, who finally chose to escape, played Macbeth at school. After she heard the news that her friend Ren Hui had disappeared on the stage, she quickly fainted. It was "Macbeth was betrayed", and it was also the new feeling that grew out of the old branches.

In the face of her mother's provocation, she still chooses "love" and shows her mother that she let Renhui leave. And Ren Hui, who was imprisoned by Xiaolin's mother, woke up in the closed room, and her first reaction was that Xiaolin probably thought that she had betrayed her trust and ran away with money. It would take a long time to get out of this pain of betrayal. .

No matter how the story will develop later, this is no longer the "Macbeth" that was staged according to the prophecy. Xiaolin just played the story that adults have played countless times, but she is not Macbeth who was bewitched by the witch and his wife. King White, Ren Hui is not a cold-hearted Lady Macbeth either. The feelings between the two girls finally broke through all the bloody struggles in the play in this episode.

Ever since I was a kid, I've felt the wrestling between women, and that's what hurts me the most, but I think it's also what drives me to maturity in the end. Later, I chose to use the wound to heal, I believe that there is no struggle between women, we can share, we can unite, and we can fight for a common belief. At the most extreme, I even thought about the trap that someone designed for us, what to do if we like the same person, my answer is that we can give in like a toy. I am willing to sacrifice for the belief of "I am a woman", because women get too little and too little, they should at least get the great and selfless love of the same kind, a kind of compensation.

So we talk about friendship between women as if there was no wrestling between them, but friendship seems to be premised on all kinds of wrestling. Think of Lennon and Lila in Naples, jealous, betrayed, hated, but mainly because of love, maybe they, as the protagonists of the novel, didn't realize it, and they wouldn't say it outright when they recalled across decades out that word.

When I talk about "Little Ladies", I will say that this is a struggle that women have to fight because of their different situations, but because of their inner compensatory psychology, I choose to avoid this word subconsciously, I think it should not be, I believe they should be sharing , united, and the truth can be revealed. But so what, if you don't recognize the struggle, you don't recognize that women are also dangerous and aggressive. Other than that, the main thing is still love, or struggle is just a form of it.

The three sisters were first connected by blood relationship. They had rejected, betrayed, and hated each other, but they pulled each other tightly and still cared about each other at an important juncture in their lives. As for the women who have no blood relationship but are connected in the play, Huaying is the "sister" chosen by the eldest sister Wu Renzhu, and Xiaolin is the "sister" chosen by Wu Renhui, the third sister. The second sister Wu Renjing has never met such a "other half" similar to herself, perhaps because this character is more "perfect", her dedication to the truth, and the courage to face reality. Like Renhui and Renzhu, as ordinary people, they will subconsciously choose to escape, or even face it by escaping.

Before learning the truth about Huaying's death, Inju had been relying on Huaying's shadow to survive and fight, until the moment when the truth was revealed, she finally let go of her obsession with Huaying, and slowly found herself and acted as herself out the choice. She had to do this, she had to accept the fact that Hwa Young died.

Renhui and Xiaolin have never been separated, except when Xiaolin's mother imprisoned Renhui, they seem to be separated for the first time in the play. Even more intimate. They are also one in their quest for truth, and no single storyline would be possible if they were separated. They are orchids that grow in contrast, saving each other at the same time as their different lives come together.

Seeing Xiaolin's letter to her mother, she and Renhui have left their family's choice one after another, imagining that they will lead an incredible life at a young age, and feeling that this maturity is also driven by the wrestling that exists around them sent. Those cruel struggles did not affect their sincere love, their longing for the world, and their desire to continue to create.

"Little Ladies" shows that different women are involved in the conspiracy of money and power struggles, entangled with inescapable class, gender, and narrow personal choices, and the men who appear in the play seem to be no longer so important. In the process of different women's games, they gradually become backgrounds and tools. But there are enough metaphors to show that it is those men whose bodies have fallen asleep, but who are still haunted. Even the notorious "Love Orchid Club" is run by women for a long time, but the big tree where the blue orchid is parasitic is still called the "Papa Tree", covering and protecting all evil happenings in this country. thing.

Screenwriter Zheng Ruijing has also adapted "Fingersmith" before, and the feature film "Miss" with Park Chan-wook was released in 2016. By 2022's "Little Ladies", the title of the play is easily reminiscent of "Ladies". Sure enough, when Xiaolin and Renhui fled, they responded to "Miss" by shaking hands and smiling at each other on the boat.

I was deeply impressed by the movie "Miss". Later, I accidentally thought of searching and noticed that the picture on the poster was very depressing. The two heroines were firmly controlled by different men. Compared with "Pick", there is a color of continuous decline and repeated despair.

Now that I think about it, the similarity between the title of "Little Ladies" and "Miss" is no longer a coincidence, but more like the screenwriter's intention. She is indeed still talking about the same theme, or it can be said that it is a precious The continuation of her creation, along with her thoughts in the creative process, shared it with the audience without hesitation.