America 1982

"Who can tell me what is the dream of a TV person?"

On the rooftop terrace on the third floor of BT TV headquarters, Tommy turned around, leaned his back against the guardrail, took a cup of coffee from Sophia, and looked at the four white people within his sight range with gentle eyes. Men and women, asked a question.

The four people looked at each other, some hesitated to speak, some shrugged, but no one answered the question.

After waiting for dozens of seconds and no one answered, Tommy laughed: "Congratulations to everyone for giving the correct answer. If any of you are just going to talk to me about bullshit dreams, I will let Sophia tell him how to go faster. Complete the resignation procedures.”

"I know some of you graduated from the University of Southern California, the University of California, etc., majoring in media, television production, etc., so you should realize what kind of bargain you have picked up." Tommy sighed and looked at everyone helplessly. He spread his hands:

"My black friend, Mr. Wolf Tucker, spent nearly a year building BT TV station from scratch for me, including public relations, various approval documents, management systems, market analysis, audience surveys, etc. , let’s put it this way, except for the shortcoming that he has a dream, he is simply impeccable. Therefore, I used the program production ideas of the dream to get him to help me build the BT TV station. Now, the precious things he left behind The inheritance will be completely handed over to you, my black friends, who have done the most difficult preliminary work for you."

"I think communicating one by one will show that I value you all more." He paused and raised his head again: "Introduce yourself, Tommy Hawke, the owner of this TV station, so, who comes first? "

"Rick, Rick Luther, Mr. Mark Warren told me that I will be the senior vice president in charge of programming of this TV station." A white man who looks about thirty years old and has reddish-brown curly hair, After seeing that the others had no intention of being the first to speak, he took the initiative and said, "I used to be the production director at Live Color Adult Entertainment Company."

"Sophia, accompany the other three to chat about the weather and other topics, and give me and Mr. Luther a little space to communicate alone." After Tommy finished speaking to Sophia, he looked at Rick Luther:

"I read all your information on the flight back to California, and it impressed my memory. You majored in film and television production at the School of Film and Television at the University of Southern California. You are a natural talent for film and television programming. It's just that your former stupid* boss and alumnus didn't know the goods. That’s all.”

…

"The era when men and women performing in front of the camera can get those customers to pay for our movies is over. This industry has begun another period of change in which the fittest will survive." Rick Luthor told Shi, the boss of Living Color Company. Tiff Hill said:

"The golden age of small movies has passed. A few simple scenes and a few actors can no longer make customers have the urge to buy movies home. The emergence of home video recorders is impacting this fragile industry. Look at Japan How cheap are video recorders? Almost everyone can afford them. As long as they set up a video recorder at home, they can shoot their own short movies. What’s the difference? The same simple scenes, the same postures and movements, Why buy from us?”

Steve Hill looked at the project plan for this year that Rick Luther gave him in his hand: "So, you are going to persuade me to let our company increase costs like a Hollywood film company and make real movies." A movie with a storyline?”

"Yes, we have to use factors other than the body to attract customers. We have reduced production but improved quality. We used to be able to release seven movies a week, but now I feel that maybe we can slow down and complete one movie a month. A high-quality small film to prove the difference between Living Color Company and other small film companies that have no pursuit." Rick sat opposite Steve and said seriously.

Steve glanced at the text on the plan: "'This Is Not The Terminator', the label written on it is science fiction? A small science fiction movie? Are you crazy? You can't continue to let your team film it Beach, villa?”

"The Terminator is a good movie. Three years have passed since it was first released. There are still many second-run movie theaters showing this movie, and the video of this movie is still a hot commodity in video rental stores. I think this While watching the movie, I had a question: What would it be like if a robot used his metal club to have sex with a woman? I guess I am not the only one who is curious, there must be other people who are also curious." Rick heard the boss ask Get up and say confidently.

He believes that his idea will definitely make the company's new movie a hit. Who can refuse an adult version of "Terminator"?

"'Snow White and the Seven Black Men', 'The Last Man in the World', '1VS100 Physical Challenge'..." The boss read the plan that Rick gave him with a painful face, then stared at Rick and said:

"You are not trying to prove the company, but preparing to bury the company. Snow White may not cause trouble with the company, but the copyright company of "Terminator" and "1VS100 Intelligence Challenge" can allow us to use the hard-earned money in the past few years. If we spit out all the money, we might eventually go bankrupt and close down.”

"Everything seems specious. There will be no characters that the other party has copyrights. We just need to let the audience understand. There is no need to point it out. We will not give the other party any chance to cause us trouble. I will avoid all risks." Rick heard The boss was concerned and immediately said:

"Otherwise, we will still make those simple movies with no plot, and sooner or later they will be eliminated by the market."

"You know what? You were eliminated first." The boss threw his plan back to Rick like garbage: "I will give you a long vacation. You can use this time to prepare a new plan for me. Or, use it to get a new job, we’re a small San Fernando Valley movie, not a big Hollywood movie, we’re all about the body.”

"Maybe your company will close before my vacation is over." Rick picked up the plan, sighed, finally pulled out his chair, stood up and walked out.

…

"You haven't seen those BT TV programming plans before, have you?" Tommy asked Rick.

Rick Luther shook his head and smoothed his shaggy red hair with his hand: "I only know that this TV station wants to attract black viewers, but I know nothing else. No one talked to me about any program production or anything like that. topic."

"It's good, because those previous plans were useless. I designed about thirty more program plans, all of which were... rubbish that Wolfe Tucker liked. He is black, but he is no longer technically He's considered a black man." Tommy took a sip of coffee and said frankly:

"But I hope you have read through the dozens of survey data that Wolf Tucker and his team completed for BT in the early stage."

"BT TV has previously launched seventeen TV program surveys targeting the majority of low-income black groups in California. I have seen all the data." Rick nodded: "Those surveys were very well done."

"Otherwise, why do you think I pay them?" Tommy said matter-of-factly after hearing Rick's praise of the survey data, and then asked, "What do you want to say?"

"The black people at the bottom prefer programs that satisfy their desire for voyeurism and expression. All survey data ultimately point to these two points." Rick gently rubbed his chin with his hand, thought for a moment, and then said to Tommy:

"In fact, human beings are born with the desire to voyeuristically, but due to various factors such as self-discipline, morality, and even good education, people from other classes can suppress and control their desires, except for people at the bottom. If they are self-disciplined, they will not become the bottom. , so their desire for voyeurism is the strongest. If they want to see it, we will show them these things to satisfy their desires and show them things they cannot see in reality but often fantasize about."

"I agree with this." Tommy nodded with satisfaction.

To be honest, when Mark showed him this guy's information for the first time, he was satisfied with Rick's arrival. First, he was a professional, graduating from the University of Southern California with a major in film and television production. Second, it was the 1980s. Small movies are not as exaggerated as later generations, but this guy has already thought of improving small movies to avoid simplification and audience fatigue. This shows that he has his own judgment on the market, will not follow the trend, and knows what kind of programs to produce to adapt. No matter whether his program can really adapt to the market, but just because he is good at thinking about this, he is already much better than many solid industry practitioners.

Rick continued: "Second is exhibitionism, what do lower class black men and women care about? A haircut that makes other people ooh and aah, cheap but beautiful clothes, shiny shoes, if they have any of those three I'm talking about , believe me, he will be willing to show off to everyone, hoping to win everyone’s jealous eyes and gain great satisfaction.”

"And a greed that is completely out of proportion to one's own status. The lower the people are, the greedier they are. In fact, when I read the survey data that Miss O'Connor gave me, I couldn't help but have a guess. Now it's just Want to confirm." Rick looked at Tommy and asked tentatively.

Tommy put down his coffee cup and asked him, "What's the problem?"

"Did BT TV station never think of targeting all black groups? Those high-income, middle-class black people are not our audience at all. In other words, BT TV station only focuses on the bottom black people with the largest group base." Rick looked directly at Tang. Mi, expressed his inner guess.

Tommy nodded slightly and said in a calm tone: "I don't deny that because the number of black people in other classes is too small, they are not the main ratings. Considering the ratings, it is indeed the case."

"Because I think these traits of voyeurism and exhibitionism will make black people from well-off families not like the style of our TV station." Rick scratched his hair and said to Tommy: "Most black people from well-off families will not like the style of our TV station." They will subconsciously avoid watching programs that are popular with black people at the bottom. When I was studying in college, I learned about this problem from my black classmates.”

Tommy nodded: "Based on your summary of the voyeurism, exhibitionism and greed of the bottom black group, do you have anything to say about the TV station's programming? Just chat, we have a lot of time anyway."

"Use the "Prime Time Restriction Regulations" to gain a foothold in prime time. Although there are twenty-four hours in a day, we only have one hour of opportunity." Rick said with certainty: "Every independent TV station wants to grab some ratings. , snatching a group of regular users all starts from this precious hour."

The "Prime Time Restriction Regulation" that Rick spoke of is a regulation on the television industry formulated by the Federal Communications Commission in 1970 in order to restrict the three major television networks. This regulation stipulates that during the two prime time periods every night, That is, from 7:30-8:00 pm Western Time, and from 10:30-11:00 pm Eastern Time (one hour ahead of Eastern Time), all American TV network affiliated stations are not allowed to broadcast during these two time periods. The parent company's programs must be filled with self-produced or separately purchased programs. Even if a wonderful American drama produced by the parent company is not finished, at this time point, it must be forced to switch to self-produced programs and wait for prime time. When it ends, continue playing the American drama.

This regulation was established to prevent those large-scale TV networks from completely monopolizing the TV industry. Otherwise, large-scale TV networks such as ABC and CBS would not be able to produce a large-scale investment drama and broadcast it simultaneously on dozens of affiliated TV stations across the United States. It is impossible to give independent TV stations any way to survive, so the existence of this regulation is to provide these small independent TV stations in the United States with opportunities to compete. Although there are not many opportunities, only one precious hour, as long as they are willing to produce wonderful homemade programs , you can use this hour to make the audience remember the name of your own TV station.

"From 7:30 to 8 o'clock, we have one opportunity. From 10:30 to 11 o'clock in the evening, we have one opportunity. I think it is not as good as the first opportunity. We design an expressionistic program. The second one The opportunity is for a bolder voyeurism program to be carried out step by step."

Seeing that Tommy didn't respond, Rick continued: "Let me give you an example. We can design an indoor reality show called "Hair Style Battle" or some other name, find those black hairstylists in California, and then let the bottom Black people sign up to participate in the show, and hairstylists help design their hair. The audience is asked to vote for the most stylish hair style in the show, and then the hairstylist and his model partner are given a bonus. This is the combination of expressionism and greed. Black people People will be willing to learn about cool enough hairstyles from our show, and they will also sign up enthusiastically. After all, as long as they are selected, they will get a chance to have their hair styled by a hairstylist for free, and more importantly, they can appear on TV."

"I said you are a programming genius. That's it. Good ideas can give people room to spread out." After hearing Rick's words, Tommy thought about it seriously:

"Now according to your idea, I think that if you change it slightly, maybe the effect will be better. For example, what if you change your idea to a duel between black hairstylists on the east and west coasts? We create conflicts, expand conflicts, attract attention, and increase ratings. It can even continue to generate other duels, such as tattoo artist duels, such as singer duels. If there are good ideas, I think there must be an independent TV station on the East Coast willing to talk to us about the broadcast rights of the show on the East Coast, or even jointly organize it. Think about it, the two TV stations seem to support each other. In fact, they share the advertising fees together and even charge the fees of hairstylists, tattoo artists, and singers. When the program is well-known enough, they want to appear on the program. To represent the East Coast or the West Coast, you need to pay us a sum of money."

"It's obviously more attractive to add geographical rivalries, but maybe it will cause some off-site conflicts, I mean the black street gang issues on the east and west coasts..." Rick said to Tommy.

Tommy said calmly: "That is a social security issue, what does it have to do with us? We are just making a show that is attractive enough."

"Indeed, we shouldn't consider this issue. If you think this idea is good, I can follow this idea to prepare for the preliminary work including planning, team, budget, etc." Rick saw that Tommy didn't care. , and did not continue to say more.

Tommy picked up the cigarette, lit one, and looked at Rick: "Actually, I'm thinking about whether it would be better to produce and broadcast a program that satisfies voyeuristic desires during the first prime time, such as...a program called " "Me and the Moms of All My Children"? Of course, the name can be adjusted, but the general meaning is this. Let's find a famous black rapper or actor or NBA star who became rich overnight. He has many women, and many different women help him. For the children he gave birth to, we showed this successful black man’s lifestyle of getting along with women and children. On the surface, the theme seemed to promote family affection, but in fact, we designed a script for him, and I wanted black audiences to see his life. Just understand that if a black man has money, his life will be too comfortable, with lots of beauties, a garage full of luxury cars, and no problem raising more than a dozen children..."

"Why put it in the first time slot? It sounds like there's no problem with the second time slot." Rick did not comment on the program's ideas, but curiously asked Tommy why he wanted to put it in the first prime time slot. .

Tommy exhaled the smoke and said to Rick: "Do you know what kind of program I am going to produce in the second period? A popular science program, maybe called "The Universal Gun Changer King" or "Life's First Gun" We want to find a few gun shop owners in California to educate the audience on how to modify firearms, where to buy cheap firearms, how to recycle scrapped weapons, etc.”

"Although gun science programs are indeed very common, the arrangement of your program... This is the kind of arrangement that only a devil can come up with..." Rick couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard Tommy's words:

"You are telling the black people at the bottom, look, how wonderful life is after you have money. A dozen women are lining up to help you have children and are obedient to you, and then you tell them how to have money quickly. Money...does the increase in black robberies do anything good for the television station?”

"Of course it doesn't do any good for the TV station, it only does good for the bank. Rich black people will save their money in the bank to avoid being robbed." Tommy looked at Rick innocently:

"Listen, I made this proposal because I feel that we can't just sell entertainment, but we also need to have some popular science programs that help black friends gain knowledge and change their destiny."

Rick looked at his boss, who was much younger than him, and said weakly: "You have redefined the three phrases of helping black people, gaining knowledge and changing destiny. I even doubt that the black TV station you founded is to provide entertainment programs to Black people, still treat black people as entertainment.”

"Speaking of this, I am also aware of this problem. It seems that the flavor of entertainment is too strong. We still need to have some humanistic care in it. I have thought of a program idea that is warm and full of humanistic care." Tommy seemed to suddenly remember He came up with an idea and said to Rick.

Rick looked at Tommy suspiciously. After just a few moments of contact, he felt that his boss might not even know what humanistic care was: "What's the idea?"

Tommy rubbed his hands excitedly: "We will arrange private detectives to help black children from single-parent families find their fathers who live in every corner of the United States. We will follow the whole process. I want to see the bright smiles of the children and their mothers, and see their fathers." Cried tears of emotion.”

"Are you sure that the father shed tears of emotion?" Rick looked desperately at his boss' face with an obviously excited smile and asked.

Tommy said to Rick: "Whether he is touched or not, the children and mothers will thank us anyway, and the audience can also gloat in front of the TV."

"So, what is the name of this program that scares all black men who have not taken protective measures?" Rick nodded numbly and asked.

Tommy said the name of the show: "A black-only show, Finding America."

Thank you Tony for being the leader of the chief boss for the reward. To be honest, I really want to take the time to return the extra updates to all the alliance leaders. If I remember correctly, I already owe four leaders more extra updates... It’s good to have more updates. Earn royalties, but my problem is that it has been difficult recently. Influenza A has killed three of the four members of my family, and I am the only one who is still holding on. I am on the way to and from the hospital and home every day.

Please bear with me~I will pay it back~