My strong affinity for Asian dramas all started about a year and a half ago when one of my students returned from studying abroad in China and commented about how he enjoyed a Chinese television drama on Netflix called, “Meteor Garden”. Having traveled extensively throughout China myself and with my daily advising of so many Chinese students, I thought it might be nice to get acquainted with China’s more modern culture and college setting through an entertaining story about Chinese college students–the population I deal with daily. So, I watched all 52 episodes, three times!
The first time through, I was put off by behaviors we would never tolerate as college administrators. But I loved the story and found myself more understanding of the family pressures my students experience. While watching, I found myself full of emotional ups and downs. I laughed and cried as characters and situations evolved. There were times when I was utterly appalled by the villains who worked to tear young lovers apart and then grew to understand and empathize with their motives. I was hooked. First, I was fascinated by the cultural values on display, the difference in family dynamics, the popular Chinese music, the scenery, and the few Chinese phases I came to recognize. I ended up downloading the musical soundtrack for “Meteor Garden” and watched the music videos on YouTube. I came to realize that Dylan Wang, the male lead is a popular rock artist in China. Other students told me that the show was a Chinese remake of a Korean drama, “Boys Over Flowers”.
I moved on to another popular Chinese television drama, again featuring Chinese college students. These were computer science students in “Love 020” involved in the gaming industry in China. It too, was a romance and featured the typical love triangle, the social-economic stratification, and the villains who eventually redeem themselves. It too became a favorite and I learned that the handsome male lead, Yang Yang, was also a popular singer and dancer in China. He dances much better than he sings. It was through watching some of his videos that I learned that black choreographers and musicians seem to act as musical mentors in China.
I’ve watched many Chinese television dramas on Netflix since then. My favorites are “Here to Heart”, “Single Ladies Senior”, A Love So Beautiful”, “I Hear You”, “Somewhere Only We Know”, “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”, “Unintended Love”, and “Diamond Lover”. Amazon Prime has them too, and I enjoyed “My Little Princess”, “Whirlwind Girl” and “Attack it, Lightning!”. I had to move to another streaming platform, “Rakuten Viki” to find more content and it was worth paying for a subscription to get rid of the commericals. I absolutely loved, “Go Go Squid” and I think I’ve watched all 42 episodes about five times. I’ve enjoyed the twelve episodes of a popular historical drama, “The Story of Yanxi Palace” that I learned about through its theme song. My students tell me that its a tragic story, so I’m waiting for a mood that will permit me to get through the entire saga. It’s so well done and the music is so beautiful. It was listening to JJ Lin sing the theme song (“The Sound of Snow Falling”) and its many music videos that led me to the drama on the Viki platform. I’ve since found the lyrics to the song and it is absolutely beautiful.
I thoroughly enjoy Chinese dramas although the Chinese government certainly has its fingerprints all over them and product placement is very evident. The level of nationalism is evident as personal ambition expressed by the main characters is always about bringing prominence to China and the Chinese on the world stage. Getting past that, the storytelling and music and learning about everything from gaming, international business, martial arts, cyber security, fencing, medicine, violin making, science, diamond design, or ice sports, movie making, and the culture and language itself is fun and eye-opening.
I started with China and then added Taiwanese and Korean dramas. But those reflections are for future posts.