Han Haoyue/Text Tencent Video held its annual press conference during the Shanghai TV Festival on June 24th. In the list of attendees released to the public, the format of "real name+stage name" was uniformly used, and the sorting was strictly arranged according to the stroke of the surname. The topic of 'multiple artists losing their stage names' has gone viral.

This move by the platform is considered a response to the "Notice on Standardizing the Attribution of Actors in TV Dramas (Online Dramas)", which was recently jointly issued by the China Television Drama Production Industry Association and three other organizations. The notice requires the standardized use of three types of titles: "leading actor", "special actor", and "actor", and prohibits arbitrary modification and addition of other titles; On the basis of classification, the order of signature is arranged in strokes according to the legal name and surname; Actors are not allowed to use stage names, English names, or nicknames alone. If they need to use them, they should follow the standard format of "real name (stage name)".

According to the "Notice", the purpose of standardizing actors' names is to guide them to abide by professional ethics, devote their main energy to artistic creation, and not interfere with the normal creative order or even create public opinion opposition based on the order of their names. In short, the issue of artist "fan splitting" (a term in the entertainment industry that refers to controversial behavior caused by celebrity fans or management teams competing for the ranking order of artists in promotional materials such as movies, TV shows, and variety shows) has attracted industry attention, and industry associations believe that standardizing actor authorship can solve this problem.

The relationship between stage names and "tearing apart fan positions" is subtle. For example, under equal competitive conditions, the artist with the least number of strokes in their stage name or surname can rank first among the lead actors. It is not ruled out that some artists may use or modify their stage names for this reason in order to improve their fan positions. The requirement of "real name first, stage name annotation" proposed in the "Notice" is helpful in curbing the abuse of stage names.

In addition to stage name management, the "Notice" also involves correcting the chaos of assigning titles to actors in various ways. For example, a certain film once had nearly ten signature methods such as "leading actor, special actor, special actor, family actor, special invited actor". This practice will be considered a violation after the "Notice" takes effect.

In the film and television industry, the ranking of actors' names is generally based on the proportion of their roles and performances. If an actor contributes the most, their name will be ranked first. If there are two main characters or a group of actors, they will be ranked according to the stroke of their surname. Although it gradually evolved into the idea that whoever has high popularity and strong box office appeal will rank higher, this is still considered a market behavior and does not represent industry recognition. The industry standard of "the drama is bigger than the sky" is still valued and followed by many film and television creators. That is to say, the chaos of artist authorship, concentrated in certain top projects and popular artists, is the most easily watched part of the industry, with certain destructive power, but it does not match the mainstream values of the industry.

Based on this background, it can be seen that the industry association's "Notice" mainly targets some artists and production institutions that do not comply with creative principles and industry traditions. For the film and television production community that respects creativity, reasonable attribution, and treats division of labor equally, the 'Notice' will not bring specific pressure.

In fact, if we look at the essence through the phenomenon, the stage name is only a superficial issue. The core is that actors need to understand that internal strength is the key to gaining audience recognition and making their career in the entertainment industry long-lasting. In the field of literature and art, creators use stage names (pen names) from ancient to modern times, both in China and abroad. Lu Xun, Ba Jin, and Mao Dun all use pen names, and they use their works as pen names to defend the honor of pen names. At the actor level, some veteran actors have also used stage names, such as Xie Tian (real name Xie Hongkun), Chen Qiang (real name Chen Qingsan), Cui Wei (real name Cui Jingwen), and Bai Yang (real name Yang Chengfang). Therefore, correcting the confusion in the use of stage names is not intended to deny the legitimacy of their existence, but to link them more with artistic ethics and the quality of their works.

It should be the consensus of industry associations and the performing arts community to return stage names to art, and to return the use and ranking of actor titles to creativity. This consensus not only requires the call of industry associations, but also the self-awareness of artists. When every actor or artist who uses a stage name can value their own name and defend it like their predecessors, there is naturally no need to rely on rules and regulations to constrain them. The notice issued by the industry association this time, although not legally binding, constitutes a self-discipline requirement for members. Even non members can read industry trends and self reflection signals from it.

(The author is a cultural critic)