Trump falls in love with the White House cleaner? Chinese "lowbrow" short videos tickle Western audiences' itch
Trump not only "falls in love" with the White House cleaner, but even wants to abandon his model wife and dissolve the cabinet just to marry her?
Recently, a lowbrow short video titled "Trump Falls in Love with the White House Cleaner" has become popular overseas, claiming to have earned 150 million dollars in three months, with a payment rate exceeding 50%. Many American viewers both mock the absurd plot and desperately recharge to watch it.
However, the "love story" between Trump and the White House cleaner is just one of the recently popular Chinese lowbrow short videos.
According to a report by Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao", the melodramatic plots such as "domineering boss", "Cinderella's rise", and "feud in the aristocracy", which are often criticized by Chinese netizens, have recently started to export to overseas markets.
These scripts, after localization, have caused strong reactions among European and American audiences. Not only do they provide immediate dopamine stimulation with their "short and fast" satisfaction, but they have also created a viewing miracle with low investment and high returns: a short video with a production cost of less than 200,000 dollars can earn more than 25 million dollars within three months of its release.
The boom of Chinese lowbrow scripts going abroad proves the simple logic that "satisfying novels know no borders": even though Western audiences may not understand the jokes of Chinese netizens, the sense of satisfaction that transcends language barriers is shared. The output of Chinese culture needs both "highbrow" and more "lowbrow" forms.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838954275123276/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.