People who like micro-short dramas will find that not only are the types and themes of micro-short dramas nowadays becoming more and more abundant, but their knowledge content is also increasing rapidly. Many dramas even reserve the main scenes for intellectual content. Some use the "time travel" setting to discuss the rise and fall of past dynasties. Some dramas include a large number of professional terms in work scenes, and some dramas have quite complete anti-fraud or rights protection knowledge. Some of the content is not completely understandable by the audience, or even completely unintelligible, but they still enjoy it. It stands to reason that micro-short plays are dramas, and the first thing is to tell a story, and the intellectual content can only be used as seasoning. Unexpectedly, the audience's acceptance is quite high. It is said that the Hongguo short drama has also increased its investment in the cultivation of high-quality science popularization and public welfare services through the "Guo Burning Plan", and has carried out relevant exhibition activities on the platform. It is expected that the micro-short drama will open up more knowledge tracks.
Why can the audience feel the joy of knowledge from micro-short plays? First, knowledge itself is something that arouses curiosity. Many of the knowledge in literature, history, natural history, and popular science in the micro-short plays are within the experience or vision of ordinary people, and can easily trigger discussions among the audience. Although some knowledge is not popular, there are always "masters" viewers in relevant professions who respond in the barrage area or comment area, and other viewers will feel powerful and fresh when they see it. If the informative content is too professional, it will of course affect the scope of the audience. However, micro-short dramas have the characteristics of precise delivery. As long as you choose the right subject, tell the story well, and find a balance between professionalism and popularity, it is not difficult to win enough suitable audiences for yourself.
Secondly, knowledge is logical and can bring intellectual pleasure. Many people think that people who watch mini-series don't care about logic, but this is actually an overgeneralization. Brainless plots sometimes give the audience the pleasure of intellectual crushing, but the audience prefers to see works that are in line with their own level of knowledge. Even if there are surreal settings such as time travel, rebirth, and "Goldfinger", the advancement of the plot, the presentation of details, and the creation of characters still require logic, and knowledge is a logical thing. It can be as small as how to prepare a piece of egg fried rice, as large as how to organize a city defense battle, or how to collect evidence for a certain rights protection action. If the audience sees elements that are enough to be called knowledge, they will get stronger happiness than routine emotional satisfaction. This is not to force fragments of knowledge into the plot, but to make the audience feel that the whole situation has a basic self-consistency, allowing them to "pretend to be real" without distorting their rationality. In micro-short plays, the advancement of the protagonist's abilities is often used as the leading clue of the story. If this advancement process is combined with professional knowledge and follows the logic of knowledge and advances steadily, the audience will be more likely to be immersed in the plot.
Finally, knowledge can also participate in shaping characters. Although watching micro-short dramas is a kind of entertainment, audiences like to see their favorite characters serious and hope that the latter can make reasonable and decisive judgments based on their professional knowledge and the current situation, whether they are doing cultural relic appraisal, legal aid or aquaculture. Even for survivors on desert islands, we hope to see that they not only have a firm will, but also have practical and accurate knowledge and survival skills. Among micro-short dramas, "farming stories" have always been widely loved, and the most desirable thing about this genre is that the protagonist has all the necessary knowledge. Not only can he complete various plans in an orderly manner, but he can also calmly deal with emergencies, analyze problems, and solve problems. In some professional dramas, especially those with medical themes, the protagonist is not sociable, but takes his work extremely seriously, has super professional abilities, and can speak a series of "hard-core" knowledge. Such characters are uniquely charming and are especially popular among young audiences.
Among today’s micro-short plays, AI-generated works account for the majority. AI dramas have unique advantages in showing the joy of knowledge. Its screen scheduling is very easy, and post-processing can be easily added. The fast pace of plot advancement and the high density of line information are also suitable for the display of knowledge. The hot meme that appeared in the AI micro-short drama "If the rules are established, there will be no heartburn". The reason why it came out of the circle and triggered countless imitations is not only because the protagonist's counterattack slaps people who do not follow the rules and compete unfairly, which is in line with the emotional tone of the micro-short drama's happy grudges, but also because the plot advancement and line design of the AI drama are closely related to the quasi-professional content of re-establishing, maintaining and executing contracts. The goals are clear and the rhythm is fast and exciting. If the same subject matter is performed by real people, more emotional content will be added, which will inevitably be delayed at times. Moreover, if the weight of intellectual content is too heavy, the requirements for actors in terms of lines and performances will be very high. However, live-action dramas also have their own strengths. Excellent live actors always find a way to find a balance between knowledge sharing and character performance, giving the audience a deeper and richer experience. We also have reason to expect that if AI dramas can learn from excellent micro-short live-action dramas or even long-form dramas, so that the presentation of professional knowledge can be better integrated into the characters' actions and environment, and avoid overly direct talking about pictures, it can also further improve the quality of the work.
Many people say that micro-short dramas are "refreshing". This is true, but "enjoying" does not mean that the audience can only get superficial or even harmful stimulation from micro-short dramas. Reliable knowledge, excellent logic and especially human professionalism can also make people happy. Not only because they are part of the protagonist's personality, but also because they poke some special empathy points in our hearts: we still hope that there are enough clear and recognized things in our lives, we still hope that our profession and profession will be respected by more people, and more importantly, we still remain curious about the world. (Text: Tang Yonghua, Professor of the Chinese Department of East China Normal University)
