This director is vindictive.

Chapter 554 Thriller, An Jiahe's Advanced Version!

The news about the domestic violence death case mentioned by Zhao Liying brought everyone into a brief silence.

This news happened recently, and it has attracted attention because the case is very unusual.

The hospital's cause of death was determined to be "myocardial infarction," while the police investigation concluded that the cause of death was "traumatic brain injury caused by blunt force trauma," which were completely different things.

This is no longer domestic violence; it has escalated to intentional injury, or even murder.

Fan Binbin stroked the rim of his teacup and suddenly spoke: "Speaking of domestic violence, 'Don't Talk to Strangers' is indeed a milestone, but twenty years later, many people's understanding of domestic violence is still at the level of 'fighting at the head of the bed and making up at the foot of the bed'."

“That’s true. The case of the woman who was abused sixteen times and ended up having to use a urinary catheter to survive was also very sensational. My God, it’s terrifying to think about. Sixteen times! Why did they only stop it when it was too late?” Yang Mi nodded in agreement.

"Actually, this involves what Binbin said about domestic violence. In many people's minds, there is still the idea that 'couples quarrel, fight in bed and make up in bed,' as well as the ancient Chinese concept of 'advising reconciliation rather than separation,' or the deeply ingrained idea that 'it's better to tear down ten temples than to destroy a marriage,'" Chen Mo said.

"That's not all. There's also the issue of the victim's own actions, especially mothers with children. They are often advised by others that it's for the child's good or that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public, so they have concerns and thus tend to tolerate things," Zhao Liying said.

"But this would only embolden the perpetrators, allowing them to escalate their abuse."

Yang Mi suddenly pulled up a set of data on the tablet.

"Data shows that in 2022, there were still more than 8 criminal cases involving domestic violence nationwide, but the actual reporting rate was less than 10%."

She swiped the screen to show portraits of the victims: "Ironically, more than 60% of the perpetrators have higher education."

"Domestic violence is definitely a subject worth filming."

Jing Tian frowned and recalled, "But the problem is how to film it without making the audience feel it's 'old-fashioned' or 'forcedly didactic'? The reason why the old 'Don't Talk to Strangers' was a classic is because Teacher Feng's portrayal of An Jiahe was so realistic that it directly scared the audience into having psychological trauma. Even now, some people are still afraid of the 'domestic abuser' he played. But what haven't today's audiences seen?"

We're already tired of the same old trope of 'the perpetrator is ferocious, the victim is miserable'.

If we stick to the old formula of 'bad guys beating people up, good guys crying and complaining,' the audience will only find it boring, and it won't have a truly thought-provoking effect.

“Yes! Actually, there have been film and television works on this theme over the years, but none of them have caused such a sensation as ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’ back then, let alone had such a big impact,” Gao Yuanyuan nodded.

“This subject matter is worth filming, but it’s very difficult to film! The main issues are the level of explicitness and where to focus the emphasis,” Gao Yuanyuan added.

Suddenly everyone looked at Zhang Yuqi.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" The tiger girls felt a little guilty under everyone's gaze.

Everyone suddenly burst out laughing.

Speaking of which, among those present, the only ones who could be associated with "domestic violence" are probably the "tiger girls".

"I... I'm being very gentle right now, okay?" Zhang Yuqi protested, looking somewhat like she was trying to cover something up.

"Alright, stop fooling around. Let's talk about domestic violence. What do you think the focus should be on teaching victims how to fight back, on the scene of domestic violence, or on legal education?" Chen Mo asked with a smile, trying to calm the agitated Zhang Yuqi.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to teach perpetrators how to fight back, because different people have different living environments, and the impact they face is different. In fact, many people are not unaware of how to fight back, or that they are unaware that they can use legal weapons to protect themselves. The problem is whether they will do it!” Zhao Liying analyzed.

“Just like in the TV series ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers,’ after each act of violence, An Jiahe would always kneel down and beg for forgiveness. It is the relationship between husband and wife, the emotional bond, and traditional values ​​that lead those people to only choose to take legal action when they can no longer tolerate it,” she continued.

This is actually why it's difficult to make this subject matter stand out.

There are actually many real-life cases like this, such as the one where a woman was abused 16 times and survived with a urinary catheter. Her case attracted a lot of attention when it was heard in court.

In fact, everyone understands the principle, but understanding doesn't mean doing it.

“Actually, the most terrifying domestic violence is not what you can see or touch on the surface!” Chen Mo suddenly said.

"You mean PUA?" Jing Tian suddenly interjected.

"Yes, or rather, in a more subtle way."

Chen Mo tapped his knee thoughtfully: "If we're going to do it, we have to tear open the more hidden forms of violence."

Chen Mo thought for a moment and continued, "Nowadays, domestic violence is depicted in movies and TV dramas, with either beatings or verbal abuse. These are obvious facts. If the parties involved wish, they can seek protection from the law or relevant authorities at any time."

However, there are other forms of control, such as economic control. For example, a husband might confiscate his wife's salary card and only give her 200 yuan a month for grocery shopping, euphemistically calling it "housekeeping," but in reality, it's economic control.

Or it could be psychological manipulation, which is now popular as PUA. For example, if a wife wants to go out to work, the husband might say to her every day that she is useless and undermine her confidence. This is psychological manipulation.

There are even more insidious forms of domestic violence, such as husbands forbidding their wives from adding colleagues on WeChat and requiring them to report their weekend outings, ostensibly out of concern, but actually imprisoning them within the marriage. These new forms of domestic violence are at most relegated to the background in current TV dramas, barely mentioned. "Hiss!" The women all gasped.

These actions are indeed not as obvious as physical abuse, but they are even more terrifying.

One is direct physical harm, and the other is indirect psychological harm; it's difficult to compare which is more serious.

However, in terms of subtlety, what Chen Mo said was clearly more covert.

This is truly the dark corner where sunlight cannot reach.

“But wouldn’t that be too bizarre?” Zhang Yuqi asked.

“What I mean is, does it lack social universality?” she added.

Chen Mo nodded and said, "That's right, what I mean is, we should take both into account!"

"Therefore, we need structural brute-force logic!" Chen Mo suddenly sat up straight.

"Do you remember the holographic interaction in 'The Wedding in a Cheongsam'? If you put the audience in the perspective of the perpetrator," Chen Mo suddenly said.

Zhang Yuqi gasped, "Making the audience press the 'domestic violence button' themselves? That's too cruel!"

"But it may be more effective than a million legal education campaigns."

Gao Yuanyuan added softly, "Just like how 'Silenced' changed South Korean law."

“But that’s difficult, isn’t it? It’s impossible for a movie to use holographic technology to make the whole film look like that, right?” Zhao Liying retorted.

Chen Mo smiled and said, "Of course not, I'm talking about this method! It doesn't need to be direct, it just needs to make people feel involved."

Chen Mo looked around thoughtfully, tapping her fingers lightly on the table: "We all have cases like this around us—when a best friend is crying and complaining about domestic violence by her husband with a bruised and swollen face, what is the first reaction of relatives and friends?"

Yang Mi recalled while biting her straw: "My assistant's cousin encountered this last year. Her mother-in-law kept advising her, 'He already knows he was wrong and has promised me that it won't happen again. Besides, the child can't be without a father.'"

“What’s even more frightening are some of the mediators.”

Zhao Liying suddenly sneered: "When I was filming 'Article 20,' I remember seeing a woman who had her arm slashed with a kitchen knife, and the mediator actually said, 'He knows he was wrong, but life goes on.' So, the most terrifying thing is not violence itself, but that the whole society is making excuses for violence."

Gao Yuanyuan suddenly gripped the tea towel tightly: "I remember when 'Don't Talk to Strangers' was a hit, the whole society was criticizing An Jiahe. But twenty years later..."

She unfolded the crumpled tea towel with a wry smile: "We are actually teaching the victims how to be 'more docile'."

During the discussion, Chen Mo's creative outline gradually became clear.

"You said that if we adopt a flashback structure like 'Memento,' opening with a funeral, and reconstructing the victim's escalating violence in a 'boiling frog' manner through the piecing together of family and friends, it would be perfect."

And the various treatments encountered during this period, such as well-intentioned, malicious, and perfunctory treatment, and the resulting consequences, ultimately led to tragedy.”

"You mean you want everyone to find a reflection of themselves among the people around them?" Fan Binbin asked.

Chen Mo nodded, his gaze gradually focusing on a point in the air, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the table: "Yes, perhaps we can design it like this—the first third of the plot will shock the audience with the most explicit scenes of domestic violence. For example, close-ups of the male lead grabbing the female lead's hair and slamming her head against the wall, the bloodstains left by the belt on her back, and slow-motion shots of broken dishes piercing her knees. We need to make the audience's stomachs clench."

He suddenly grabbed a teacup and slammed it heavily onto the carpet, startling the women. Chen Mo, however, stared at the splashed tea and said, "Like this, after each act of violence, the male protagonist would kneel down and wipe the floor clean bit by bit with a towel, while the camera kept a close eye on his trembling fingers and the female protagonist's bruised face reflected in the tea stains."

"But the middle period begins."

He suddenly lowered his voice, took a silk scarf from the drawer, and slowly wrapped it around Jing Tian's wrist: "Violence will become a silent noose. For example, giving her only twenty yuan a day for groceries but demanding four dishes and a soup, and then pouring the whole pot of hot soup on the back of her hand when he finds out she's hiding some change."

Fan Binbin suddenly gasped – Chen Mo was standing behind her, his finger hovering over her phone: “Social isolation is even more terrifying. When your best friend sends you a party invitation, the male lead will smile and reply ‘okay’ for her, then turn around and unlink her from the ride-hailing app.”

The show interweaves the attitudes and advice of friends and family at each stage, making everyone feel as if their persuasion has been effective, but the result is chilling upon closer examination.

Zhang Yuqi couldn't help but shudder and said, "This is too terrifying! This is simply an upgraded version of An Jiahe!"

"Yes, that's terrifying, but isn't it a bit too much?"

"This is just a thought at the moment; we need to learn more about real-world cases before we can make a more concrete decision," Chen Mo said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)