SB Comments of the Week (11/4-11/10)

I would like to add a disclaimer before I begin rambling. These thoughts are basely solely on my own personal observations and late night discussions, so please feel free to disagree.

The human experience is universal. We share the same potential in emotions, intelligence and comprehension. However this experience is also very specific in the personal sense.  Just because you are smiling doesn’t mean I understand your happiness, even if understand my own.  It is important to note that our environment and lives shape the manner we react to things, including TV, which of course, funnily enough, can also be a means to shaping how we perceive things.

I have watched dramas from several countries including, Australia, England, America (North and South), Canada, Scandinavia, Sweden, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea (Many thanks to YT and subbing teams.)  The mainstream dramas from each country tend to have a certain style, something that maybe has developed along with the countries progress, a manner that entices the hearts of the majority of viewers. The the main stories tend to center around issues that perturb and fascinate the public in that specific country.  (Again, I know that I am speaking out of my depth and knowledge but these are just thoughts that I am still researching, please feel free to educate me,) So in the Asian subcontinent you have issues of status and wealth, in America/England crime and medical shows, in Japan illnesses and injustice, in Northern Europe psychology and so on.

When I first began watching Indian/Pakistani dramas which my family loved, I rolled my eyes, and was befuddled at how anyone could derive any kind of enjoyment or entertainment from such stories.  The style and stories seemed so unreal to me, so fake and issues that seem far fetched except that are not. Or rather more accurately, they aren’t relevant to me because I never grew up in that country, that environment.  My family did and so they understand, not only the substance but the style. As my friend told me, those spinning round and round shots, or close up on faces or lingering slowed down moments reflect the emotional hearts that are always on display in India/Pakistan.  She continued, ‘it isn’t the same as in England, where the normal social etiquette is of restraint and closeted feelings in the style of Austen.’

That’s when I began watching those very dramas with a new lens, as a way to understand a new viewpoint.  I try to relate to it in the general/universal sense as well as personal/specific sense too. In this way, my world is broadened and I can’t deny that it has changed the way I perceive those dramas. I am not saying that you need to do this. I know many Indians, living in India who hate/criticize Indian shows. I once read that even an avid reader would only read 3000 books in their lifetime. Life is short, so fill it with things that you love but I would encourage people to try new things, such as Kdramas and to not tune out at the first thing that might put them off. Even American audiences are beginning to enjoy world TV in ever growing numbers. I love the note at the end of this article about why that might be, “an average story brilliantly told is better than a great story well told.” I also liked the point in this article about how modern productions are taking back power from marketing, so that modern TV is less about brainwashing and more about education of the issues within that country.

KrisMyStar on The Latest Weapon in the Battle for China: TimeZ:

Honestly, the mainland Chinese music market is not very idol-friendly. Idol groups, even the ones exclusively produced in China, are not well-known. They are mostly looked upon as immature teens trying to sing rather than doing something more productive with their life, at least that’s the impression I get from visiting Chinese blogs and my own experience living in China. They’re not as respected, though some have broken out of that niche e.g. SHE and Fahrenheit. I think that idol groups produced in Korea are probably more popular because at least they have the attention of kpop fans.

For TimeZ, their music is very easy on the ears and definitely more understandable than Exo-M. However, they NEED to get rid of their “rap”….that “rap” sounds like some Chinese children songs that I sang in preschool. I can’t really see them going anywhere in the Chinese music market until they release something more serious and mature than “Hooray for Idols”.

km313 on 5 Reasons Why SM the Ballad Needs to Make a Comeback: