Sweet pet drama for the elderly is hunting down parents
2024-08-15
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Written by | Li Guoguo
This summer, short dramas of the type "A domineering CEO falls in love with me during menopause" became popular. Domestic short dramas continue to increase their focus on the middle-aged and elderly track, with idol drama routines replaced with middle-aged and elderly protagonists, taking the down-to-earth "I'll treat you well forever" route, coupled with the plot of a prodigal son returning home and the discord between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, with full buffs and plenty of highlights.Behind the popularity of the drama, more and more parents have become the new prey of entertainment capital. Young people still have anti-addiction systems in the online world, but parents are almost open to the Internet. Although many people insist on not recharging and only watch for free, the lonely life of the elderly and the inexhaustible desire for love will always jump out of the pond, nourishing the thriving growth of the elderly entertainment market."Sweet Pets for the Elderly", a refreshing counterattack story of parentsUnable to endure the domestic violence of her husband and the blood-sucking son, the 45-year-old heroine Li Shufang was left with nothing. Relying on the support of the plumber (whose real identity was the chairman of the group) whom she married in a flash and her eldest son (who was adopted as the vice president of the group) who was lost in her early years, she slapped the faces of all the villains along the way and finally won the "family harmony brings prosperity".This is the story of the short play "After the Flash Marriage, the 50-year-old Domineering President Spoiled Me Crazy", 99 episodes of bloody tug-of-war,The traditional Mary Sue story of a father and son saving a beautiful girl and Cinderella's counterattack through kindness。The routines and core of idol dramas have not changed, only the people have changed.The male and female protagonists just want to live a stable life in middle age, and with the addition of elements such as wedding gifts, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships, and competition for square dance venues, a short drama about middle-aged and elderly idol love is born.Picture｜Short play "After a flash marriage, the 50-year-old overbearing president spoils me madly"Some netizens commented that at a time when domestic sweet pet dramas are in a slump, love is still a topic for uncles and aunts who should be enjoying their lives.There are already several such "sweet old love" short dramas on the market, with highly homogeneous plot elements: blind date, flash marriage, concealing identity, bullying by hooligans, evil women blocking the way, etc., and they all end with the son recognizing his parents and the family reuniting. There are also some vulgar plots that make netizens call them "destroying three views", which is like the full resurrection of traditional family ethics dramas.The audience knows that it is "toxic", but they still enjoy watching it. In many family scenes, the mother is anxious about the cowardice of the middle-aged white flowers who are set as "good wives and good mothers", but at the same time she can't help but secretly enjoy the famous scenes.Data proves that innovative short plays with "sweet love stories for the elderly" are very popular. Another short play, "Flash Marriage at 50", has been played 460 million times on the platform, and other short plays have also been on the short play hot list many times. Many short play creators who have tasted the sweetness are still working hard to produce new works.Don’t think that only sweet pets are in vogue. In this market, there are also family-oriented dramas such as “I Am a Mom”, “Three Sons Respecting Their Mother”, and “Ten Fingers Connected to the Heart”, as well as “Riding the Wind and Breaking the Waves at 50”, which is classified as an urban emotional drama. Capital has already segmented all the pain points and pleasure points of mothers.In addition, dads were not absent from the feast of short dramas for middle-aged and elderly people. Compared with the female-oriented short dramas that emphasize dedication to the family, there are also short dramas for the elderly that are oriented towards men. In addition to family affection, they also emphasize the word "cool".at presentHis representative works include "Daddy the Driver""The Return of the Peak", "Dog Father and Tiger Son", "Old Cannon's Father and Son Soldiers", etc., as can be seen from the titles of the dramas,The "classic division" between male and female frequencies is also retained in short dramas for middle-aged and elderly people.Picture｜Short play "The Return of the Designated Driver Dad"It is worth noting that while these short dramas for middle-aged and elderly people occupy their mobile phones, they also attract a large number of young people who are active on the forefront of the Internet. In their words,"Such a familiar plot, such a strange age"。Different from all kinds of sweet dramas dominated by young actors, young people watching the love dramas of their parents' generation can not only relieve the visual fatigue of switching from domestic entertainment to love, but also satisfy their curiosity and playfulness about the love of middle-aged and elderly people. They want to see where the aesthetic taste of their parents' generation will fall, which is a bit of a "watch the fun" mentality.Picture｜Netizens’ feedback is both tacky and addictiveAs a result, the evaluation after reading it is:On the one hand, he said, "I'm not interested in generally tacky ones, but I can't miss the extremely tacky ones," and on the other hand, he said he would "collect them and watch them when I'm 60."This is not a short play for middle-aged and elderly people, it is clearly a harvest for people of all ages.Why are the elderly this generation obsessed with cool novels and cool dramas?The pain points of fear of death and loneliness are the traffic passwords of the elderly.The former can still see a doctor and take medicine, but the latter is an unsolvable problem. How to make middle-aged and elderly people feel happy sounds like an overly grand narrative, and it is a headache for children in every family.Douzi’s solution to this problem is to support his parents’ hobbies as much as possible – watching entertaining dramas and watching them to their heart’s content.Her mother is a fan of classic Qiong Yao dramas. She likes the old versions of "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "Deep Love in the Rain". She also usually watches popular female dramas such as "The Legend of Zhen Huan" and "The Story of Minglan".But every time I see the heroine getting married and having children, the mother starts to urge Douzi to have more children so that no one will take care of her when she is old. Douzi knowsMy mother is used to putting her family above herself, hoping that someone in the family will listen to her and develop according to her ideal model.。Picture｜TV series "Do You Know? It Should Be Green, Fat, Red and Thin"She also realized that her mother actually envied these legendary screen characters: "My mother always felt that since she didn't go out to work when she was young, her life hasn't changed much in her hometown for so many years." When her mother saw her daughter traveling to take period costume photos, she also felt envious, but was reluctant to spend money on herself.Because she is worried about online fraud, Douzi's mother never recharges her WeChat account. Her WeChat deposit does not exceed 200 yuan. She usually only watches free dramas on major satellite TV stations, and her father only has an annual membership on Biquge.Douzi's father is usually honest and introverted.When I was young, I loved reading Gu Long, Jin Yong, and Liang Yusheng. Now I am following the "Five White Poems of the Central Plains"：I eat tomatoes, Tian Can Tu Dou, Tang Jia San Shao, Chen Dong and Meng Ru Shen Ji. I love to watch the various male protagonists have adventures and cheat all the way, and I ignore people when I am so engrossed in the watching.
My mother uses her smartphone to watch short videos, and my father is also particular about the phone's configuration, requiring it to be able to surf the Internet without lags. In order to make it easier to read novels on the construction site, Douzi was specially asked to buy a power bank.Douzi feels that his parents are ordinary workers in their 60s. They work hard enough at work and are reluctant to spend money on watching TV series or reading novels after get off work. It is normal and worry-free for them to read exciting novels to get "nipple pleasure".This is a common situation for many middle-aged and elderly people: when they reach a certain age, they are ashamed to share their thoughts with their children. They would rather watch TV shows and movies that are far away from real life to dream and forget the unpleasantness of life.Although middle-aged and elderly people do not necessarily only watch short dramas, the crowd funnel effect has already emerged.According to QuestMobile data, in the spring of 2024, the elderly population aged 50 and above will become an important contributor to the growth of mobile Internet. As of March this year, the increase reached 6 million, accounting for 26.5% of the total increase in the Internet. This figure ranks first among all age groups.There is currently no authoritative data on the payment of short dramas by middle-aged and elderly people in the market, but a number of market surveys have shown that middle-aged and elderly people with plenty of time are generally active in the entertainment market, and market growth is expected.Tang Mingming, the founder of Dongmanshe, is doing very well in her short drama business. She focuses on the market of mature women aged 30+, has produced many hits, and has a unique observation of the user groups.She believes that middle-aged and elderly users are the ideal audience for the short drama market: they have money and time and are willing to spend money, their information sources are not as rich as those of young people, and their needs are more stable and easier to satisfy."Short dramas for middle-aged and elderly people have great potential for development. At least the emotional needs of this group have been recognized. However, some of the current content is exaggerated and bizarre, and only focuses on fiercely provoking emotions, which is the wrong direction. Only by deeply understanding user needs can we successfully create a hit.Such a good track, I especially hope that everyone can calm down and do it well.。”Tang Mingming thinks that if you want to make money for a long time, you should take the long view and don't be so anxious. It's okay to make money in business, but short plays are still based on stories, and works with a long half-life can stand the test of time.Xiaoqi and Shuyi are both short play screenwriters who focus on the themes of the sunset of middle-aged and elderly people. They jointly founded the Shuyi Cultural Studio, which mainly creates short plays on sweet pet, revenge, and family themes. In addition to meeting the client's IP adaptation needs and other needs, they also observe the demand trends of C-end users.Their understanding of "old-age sweet pet drama" is more straightforward - it is to change the age of ordinary sweet pet dramas, and add gimmicks such as blind dates for middle-aged and elderly people, but the substance remains the same.Shuyi believes that as long as a work can provide some expectations for middle-aged and elderly people and express their long-suppressed desires, it can be called a good work."Human beings' fundamental desires and needs are similar, but few people take the emotional needs of the elderly seriously. Middle-aged and elderly women also want to be cared for, but they have not been treated as women for a long time."This type of sweet pet short drama provides a beautiful fantasy: they don’t have to be mothers or grandmothers, they don’t have to focus on taking care of children, they can also be loved by others.Perhaps, if you want to truly understand middle-aged and elderly people, you just need to treat them as human beings.The entertainment trend of the silver economyThe entertainment needs of middle-aged and elderly people are no longer a new topic.Long before short dramas dominated the screen, legendary dramas and family dramas were almost the main battlefield for middle-aged and elderly users. In addition to offline blind date corners in parks, grandparents also made a shining appearance in middle-aged and elderly love variety shows on major satellite TV stations.The grandpa and grandma who have been smart all their lives are straightforward even when going on blind dates.Young people are still flirting with each other, but here the price has been clearly marked and they are hurting each other。Picture｜Jilin TV "It's Never Too Late"The dating shows for middle-aged and elderly people launched by major TV stations have paid attention to this emotional need early on. The northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, which have the highest aging populations, have each come up with their own unique strategies: Heilongjiang TV has "Love Together", Jilin TV has "It's Not Too Late to Be Destined", and Liaoning TV has launched "Choice of Love".Compared with these popular satellite TV programs, the silver economy is indeed a step behind in the creation of film and television dramas. Now even short dramas are striving to catch up with this trend, eager to get a piece of the pie.After all, it is much easier to make money from middle-aged and elderly people than from young people who are tight-fisted and have tight wallets.According to the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2023, the population of my country aged 60 and above will reach 297 million, accounting for 21.07% of the total population. my country has fully entered the stage of moderate aging and has become the country with the largest elderly population in the world.At the national top-level design level, in January 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy to Enhance the Welfare of the Elderly". Article 6 clearly mentioned the need to "develop literature, radio, film and television, music, short videos and other content industries for the elderly" to enrich cultural and sports services for the elderly.The proportion of the elderly population continues to increase, which is a challenge as well as an opportunity. The silver economy has strong potential and the market will only get bigger and bigger.According to data from the China Center for Aging Research, the size of my country's silver economy market will be around 7 trillion yuan in 2023, accounting for about 6% of GDP. It is expected that by 2035, the market size will reach 30 trillion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 15.7%.The prosperous industry expectations and the untapped blue ocean of entertainment are both great temptations for gold diggers. At least the entertainment market has already heard the news and started to move.In recent years, movies about middle-aged and elderly people have attracted much attention. "Mom!" and "I Love You!" tell the emotional stories of the elderly in detail, reflecting the thinking on social reality issues such as caring for the elderly.On the long video platform, iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video have not only launched a simple and easy-to-operate mode for seniors, but are also competing to make efforts in content layout.Tencent Video's focus is broad and detailed, with a multi-faceted layout including long videos and short dramas. Simply put, it is taking the path of both quantity and quality, achieving both stable output and high-level texture.In July this year, Tencent Video launched the documentary "Front Wave" which "revealed the real life picture of the elderly". The seven-episode film focused on their spiritual loss and living conditions as human beings.Photo: Documentary "Front Wave"In terms of TV series, Tencent Video launched the high-quality short drama "The World of Aunts" in 2021. The audience feedback was "real and ironic", and the site scored as high as 9.3. The elderly women group portrait drama "Old Girlfriends" broadcast on three stations in 2022, the 2023 word-of-mouth king "The Long Season" and the short drama "Flying the Rest of Your Life", all use middle-aged and elderly protagonists as selling points.At the World Conference in April this year, iQIYI CEO Gong Yu said that "the sunset industry will soon become a sunrise industry" and that the company will provide good services for the "old and young" groups in the future. Its current strategy seems to still focus on family dramas, continue to leverage the platform's advantages in realistic themes, and show its true care for the middle-aged and elderly.In 2023, iQiyi's exclusive comic-adapted female short drama "Grandma's New World" received rave reviews; in 2024, the male group drama "Old Guys" was launched, and there is also a family drama "Old Home" with a strong lineup in stock.Youku is more direct, starting with making the platform more friendly to the elderly. At the end of May this year, the platform upgraded its "Elderly Mode" to "Silver Hair Theater", further adapting content recommendations and interface operations to the elderly, and pioneeringly applying the "large font mode" to the subtitles of theater works.Short dramas are showing a latecomer attitude. According to the "2023 Silver Economy Insight Report" released by QuestMobile, the top 5 of the top 10 apps preferred by the elderly are all occupied by short video apps.The platform is also increasing its investment, with a number of experts joining the game. Family management, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships, and elderly wear are all hot topics, and short dramas for middle-aged and elderly people are also constantly opening up new tracks and directions."Sweet pets for the elderly" is just the appearance, there is so much more to say about their stories.- END-
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