Zhou Siming

zsm_511@126.com

IN the diverse age of the Internet, new things emerge one after another in an endless stream. The viral dissemination of online short videos in China in recent years has opened a window to a new niche for the public. Now everyone has his or her own social media account. Every day people have the impulse to post something to their social media accounts. Under the influence of this new, trending behavior and the rapid influx of capital, online short videos, from production to consumption and circulation, have witnessed explosive growth. With it, many young people are setting foot in the live broadcasting business, which can easily produce overnight web celebrity. Making use of the cameras in their hand to shoot video clips, they hope to realize their dreams of wealth as well as life goals. But high circulation is not equal to high value. Quality deficiency, lack of original content and short-sighted commercial attempts are the bane of short-lived video works.

I blame the reasons behind the poorly-made short videos, both in quality and form, and on their producers, who fall victim to their won narrow-mindedness, poor vision and bad taste. These producers focus their minds on creating “funny” contents to attract consumers, paying little attention to other aspects. To save trouble, some of them simply make copycat productions. Such practices inevitably lead to the mass production of inferior works with hackneyed contents. A large number of substandard short videos arise, serving little purpose other than poisoning people’s minds. Under such circumstances, the credibility, appeal, influence and value of short videos, one of the most important forms in modern communication, are greatly damaged.

To fix the problem, I would suggest wise and creative producers who are willing to shoulder more responsibilities to work under the guidance of socialist core values to revamp the content and form of online short videos. To be more specific, we should give more emphasis to other functions of short videos, such as being a tool for awaking people’s awareness as well as education, rather than merely producing them to be a form of entertainment. Short videos should serve as a recorder of history and aesthetic achievements. Like other literary works, short videos shoulder the responsibility of spreading proper concepts, giving audience to figures with lofty ideas and moving people with beautiful stories and lively details. Producers should set their eyes on current social issues and the suffering of common people, so as to bring recreation as well as spiritual nourishment to their viewers. Bring them hope, light and good vision to face hardships. Most importantly of all, create video works that interpret truth, kindness and excellence and that can lead the public to a positive way of life as well as enhance the quality of their cultural and spiritual life. I deem these as the responsibility and mission of short video producers.

During an era in which the idea that “entertainment comes first” prevails, online short video producers should safeguard their pursuit for high culture. Their works, other than being gripping and entertaining, should also cultivate the viewers’ minds. The producers, working under the banner of socialist core values and at the same time following the standards of pursuing “truth, kindness and beauty,” should stress the aesthetic value of their works and make their influence on social values their prime concern. The pursuit of aesthetic value and the purpose of entertainment should be balanced. If not, priority should be given to the former.

Considering its short length, I would describe online short videos as the “snacks” of literary works in the digital age, a very similar form to cell phone novels. I can still remember how popular “Out of the Fortress,” a text-message novel by Guangdong writer Qian Fuzhang, was when it came out in 2004. The emergence of the novel really broke the limits of mobile entertainment and took it to the next level. I think that’s what online short videos should be: not only a tool to pass on information, but also a channel of expression and communication, to reflect the trends of time and to depict people’s spiritual pursuits as well as their emotions. A short video should be original, expressive and wise in form, and focus on modern daily life rather than grand and complicated stories.

Similar to skits and jokes, online videos should be short and concise. I would cite my favorite two-sentence horror tale by Thomas Bailey Aldrich as an example: “The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door...” Short in length, yet rich and beautiful in content, should be the artistic pursuit for short video producers.