Lately, I have watched a good number of Chinese TV dramas. While I enjoy the shows – more because of my Chinese background and I can relate better – most of them tend to be too lengthy.
Take Eternal Love (2020) as an example. 58 episodes equate to 58 hours of entertainment. I reckon a number of subplots could easily be edited out into perhaps 30 episodes (or made optional maybe… imagine a future of TV viewing whereby viewers get to define how concise the show they wish to watch).
The leading actress Yang Mi is amazing in terms of acting.
All in all, story writing is top-notch. Chinese TV dramas are prone to plot flaws or plot holes. This love story spans over “three” lifetimes by and large makes sense. For those who are familiar with Chinese fantasy such as the path to immortality, the trials that entail, cultivation and essence, etc., Eternal Love is authentic.
The real gems of this TV drama are the leading actor and actress Mark Chao and Yang Mi. Their onscreen chemistry is believable. Yang Mi is such an elegant actress. Every bit of her acting I can see was carefully orchestrated. I look forward to their scenes, which is where the problem lies. The rest of the scenes are just not as good. Most of the supporting actors are just not as good. Hence my first observation, this TV drama is too lengthy.
Another flaw I would like to call out though is that the women of this TV drama are not well represented in today’s world. Men are too dominating. Most if not all the battles are won by men. Women are either hopelessly not as useful or purely wicked. In today’s standard, I am finding it hard to relate. Most of the time, I would just sigh or facepalm.
Also, if I were the scriptwriter, I may have wrapped up the story in a more grand and triumphant way, one that is worthy of 58 episodes of wait. Then again, I am not.
And why ain’t there more Yang Mi’s work on Netflix or Viu? That is disappointing.
I am mostly into Korean drama. But once in a while, I indulge myself in Chinese drama. I am not going to lie. I have always been wanting to watch a TV series with Dilraba Dilmurat as the main actress. She has unique facial features that make her look Asian but not Chinese (she is actually of Uyghur ethnicity). Should you watch 49 episodes of The Long Ballad (~37 hours)? Part 1 is a spoiler-free review. Part 2 has spoilers.
3 boys and 2 girls. 1 boy is not getting any 🙂
Spoiler-free Review
Set in the Tang dynasty, Princess Li Changge (played by Dilraba, also hence the drama title) escaped the Palace and the capital due to court politics. She faked death, disguised as a man, and promised herself to return one day and seek revenge against the new emperor. What follows was a series of life-changing events for her and the main cast.
There is a good amount of plot and acting brilliance that would make you fall in love with the series. I cried at a number of scenes, was awed at some of the very clever plot tweaks, loved some of the military strategies, and I mostly binge-watched the entire 49 episodes in just a few days.
There are also moments of very good cinematic whereby you witness a vast size of armies in conflict. The cinematic also at times supplements with the comic-drawn scenes, which tell a pretty good story (where the root of the series belongs).
I particularly love the character development. Each main character grows into a different person. There are moments of heroism and sacrifice, intrigue and danger. The main difference between Korean and Chinese drama is that Chinese writers don’t seem to hesitate to kill off characters. That makes Chinese drama very memorable.
The Long Ballad is not without its flaws. In my mind, the entire series is roughly divided into 5 chapters. The first chapter was great. The second chapter is amazing. The plots are so clever. You would get to love the characters (even the villains). The problem is, this drama peaked too soon. From the scale of physical and emotional conflict to the cleverness of plot tweaks, nothing follows can compete with the second chapter. This drama also has a number of glaring plot holes that made me shake my head.
I like the concept of Central Plain versus Grassland versus Desert tribes. The story backdrop could have been so much more powerful had the final chapter been the climax of all. What a missed opportunity.
While some have great acting, most are average or one-dimensional. Personally, I think Dilraba acts well, but not exceptional. But her physical attractiveness and the exceptional heroic plot opportunities make up for it. I do enjoy watching Zhao Lusi played as Princess Li Leyan (cousin of Princess Li Changge) and she has acted in The Romance of Tiger and Rose, one of my favorite dramas.
All in all, an enjoyable watch that I don’t regret watching.
Warning: Spoilers follow.
Spoilers & Interesting Observations
Following is a list of observations I have made while watching the drama, which made me face-palmed or in awe. If you have watched this drama, you should be able to relate.
Arrows, so many arrows to the chest. When the first arrow shot at Princess Li Changge’s chest while she was hanging by the broken bridge, I gasped. While saved by Ashile Sun (refer to as Li Changge’s lover from now on), one of the division leaders from Grassland, she insisted to pull the arrow out of her chest by herself (because she was disguised as a man, which at that point in time, her soon-to-be lover already knew that she was a girl). And she did! Cut to the defense tower where she stood when Ashile Sun lay siege to the city she attempted to defend, an arrow again shot to her chest! She fell, but got up, and pulled the arrow out, which boosted the soldiers’ morale. She survived, once again! Not one man in the series could do what she did. Cut to her on a horseback chased by a group of armed Grassland people. Someone on a horseback behind her shot an arrow that went through her chest and saved her the hassle of her pulling the arrow out from her chest this time. She fell from her horse and was saved by a swordmaster and an old doctor. Once again, she survived! Cut to one of the palaces, an assassin shot an arrow at Li Changge’s lover who at that time was sitting next to the princess. It seems like a heavy injury but her lover survived! Cut to yet another palace, a Grassland soldier shot an arrow at Li Changge’s maid, also one of her best friends, and the maid died in Li Changge’s arm (technically speaking, the maid died in her lover’s arm shortly after). There are so many arrows to the chests. So dramatic. I really thought that the maid would survive looking at the pattern. Well played, scriptwriter.
People have super healing power. I would have thought that when one gets shot at, in the chest, even when the arrow misses the heart, there must be some serious injuries, be it to the lung or the rib cage. But no, both Li Changge and Ashile Sun are able to get by fine the next day. Princess Leyan’s lover was beaten to a pulp while trying to win the wedding competition. The next day, he recovered and went on helping others with farming! A general was tortured in Grassland with cuts all over his body. It was a failed attempt to escape and in his final hour, he could still fight like a healthy warrior against a group of mobs. Ancient people were strong indeed.
How powerful is Princess Li Changge? Now, this bugs me a lot. Li Changge led men into battle against a horde of Grassland army. She literally slaughtered a lot of them as Commander Li (granted she was wearing armor … but still, many characters in armor died in the series). Yet, later on, she and her lover who is equally strong struggled to fight off a small group of rebels inside a temple, needing the help of Tang’s soldiers (with arrows). And there is one Chinese official whom she was really terrified. She nearly got killed by him one time. Who is he? The one that was beaten to a pulp above.
How powerful is Ashile Sun (Changge’s lover)? Cut to the scenes when Ashile Sun faced the evil princess alone. Sure, he had chains on his hands and feet but I reckon he could still fight. Mind you, he was on a death sentence soon to be executed. Surely, he could take down an unarmed evil princess with zero martial art skill? Ashile Sun was the most powerful leader in Grassland, worshiped as God of War. Yet, he didn’t even put up a fight at all, ready to embrace death. Really? He must have known that help was coming 🙂
Those kissing scenes are so lame. I know Chinese drama is not well-known for kissing scenes. But I have not seen anything this lame at all. When the main characters Li Changge and Ashile Sun finally kissed, the entire scene was blurred. Blurred! What was in focus was two green birds kissing each other at different angles in front of them, in close-up! When princess Li Leyan kissed her lover at her wedding, the scene froze, turned into a black and white comic book style drawing, with the lips still an inch away … what?! The only legit kissing scenes in this draw are the ones between Li Changge’s maid and her lover. They are still bad compared to Korean drama. But at least, the lips touched.
Where did that palace come from? I often think that the Grassland tribes stayed in tents on the grassland. When the evil princess took over the Grassland tribes, she decided to move the capital back to town. Now, it wasn’t clear to me if the town belonged to the Grassland people (more like the previous dynasty’s I suppose) or the Tang dynasty. But it appeared to me that the evil Chinese princess from the previous dynasty who married the Khan’s (plural) in the Grassland still have a well-maintained palace for her to move back to whenever she wanted. Mind you, she hasn’t moved out of Grassland in the last 30 years. Surely, the Tang royal families wouldn’t let the royal families from the previous dynasty still occupy a palace? Or was the town already taken over by the Grassland people? If so, it wasn’t at all clear to me.
Finding people in the Central Plain can be so hard and so easy at the same time. Many episodes I have spent watching characters trying to look for Princess Li Leyan and Princess Li Changge, only to see these characters narrowly miss each other. Many times I have seen Li Changge found by characters out of nowhere. It can be so confusing at times.
Oh wait, what did I just see or not see? There was a scene where one brother mourned the death of another brother. It was an interior of a tent. The brother poured wine into a small cup, just when he was about to pour the wine onto the floor in memory of his lost brother (who did not die), there was a close-up scene of the cup, as the wine hit the wooden floor in slow motion, the wine splashed at the back of very dramatic music score. The camera zoomed out and wait, where was the wooden floor? All I could see what a thick rug inside the tent where he sat, the rug where the wine would have landed. Cut to the scene of Princess Leyan’s wedding. Her lover’s dad was dying so they wanted a small wedding, with just the two of them and their dads. In the end, the emperor (the princess’s dad) was not in the scene and there was no explanation whatsoever. Did the actor who acted as the emperor take a medical leave that day? Or something lost in translation?
Missing scene? There is no closure on the recovered Great Khan. It would have been a moving scene to witness the reunion of Great Khan and his adopted son Ashile Sun. What a missed opportunity.
The parallelism is brilliant. Towards the end of the series saw an emergence of a subplot. A princess of the previous dynasty married into Grassland executed a plan 30 years in the making to seek revenge. In one of the ending scenes, standing face-to-face with the evil princess was princess Li Changge. Two princesses separated by one generation experienced similar family pain, one took the path of revenge while one didn’t. The contrast cannot be more impactful, an answer to what-if Li Changge took a different path. In the end, make peace, not war.
People in the past were used to ask me this question a lot, especially during the days when I was actively running my YouTube channel playing the game Marvel Heroes.
As you may know, each superhero comes with unique abilities. There is one hero whom I really want to be. I will get there in just a bit. Let’s talk about fortune-telling for now.
Do I believe in fortune-telling? I tend to think that there are gifted people in this world who can reveal a glimpse of our future. Chinese believes that the future is a secret that has to be kept within the heavens. Those who reveal the secret would have to pay with self-sacrifices depends on how big the secret is. Hence, real and good fortune tellers are often well compensated by their clients.
Is fortune telling a self-fulfilling prophecy? Does that mean that our fate is sealed before we are born? Knowing our future, can we change the course? I will get there in just a bit. Let’s talk about quantum mechanics for now.
The first time I have encountered the topic of quantum mechanics was not from books nor classes. It was during my university days in the UK, my friend Trevor from Hong Kong was obsessed with physics. We would play arcade games, Street Fighters or Mortal Kombat (by that, I meant I watched him playing it). And he would talk about all things physics. We bonded so well that we have decided to cycle from Oxford to Edinburgh together. Side-track to this topic, going on a trip with someone is a true test of a relationship. Unfortunately, the relationship between Trevor and I didn’t survive the trip. We could barely survive day one of our trip.
Quantum physics is a heavy subject. What is relevant to this post is that quantum physics is probabilistic. We can’t predict the outcome. But we can predict the probability of finding each of the particular possible outcomes.
So in my mind, there is no one future but rather, a wide spectrum of futures. Each future has its own probability. In the concept of the multiverse, who knows, we may have to live through each of these futures.
And so, when a fortune-teller shares the secret of the heavens, he or she may refer to the most probable future. For example, one time, I was told that I have two windows of opportunity when it comes to marriage: marry young, marry old. Was there any chance that I could marry somewhere in between young and old or not at all? I guess so. But the fortune-teller must have sensed that it was highly improbable.
I tend to think that our actions today can help to charter towards a future we desired – no guarantee that we will reach there, of course (think quantum mechanics). There are versions of the future that we may not be able to choose, determined by just a toss of a coin. If there is one Marvel superhero I could become, right now, I would like to be Dr. Strange (think Avengers: End Game).
Right now, I not only wish to see my future, but also the probability of each.
Smartphone prices vary a great deal. As of today, it ranges from S$2,888 (US$2,200) for a Samsung Fold2 to Xiaomi Redmi 9A that costs only S$139 (US$100).
A S$299 phone is not exactly a cheap entry level phone. But on paper, it is a pretty decent phone compared to the phones of a similar price point. The full spec is here.
My last phone was an old Samsung Note 8. It broke and the new models are due to be out soon. So I need a phone as a stop-gap measure. Or if it is any good, I could use it for a longer-term. How do I like this realme C17? Read on to find out!
A Chinese made smartphone that on paper is value for money and with good features – realme C17
What I Like
High-quality form factor. It doesn’t feel cheap. The box comes with a phone case as well as a screen protector as well that fits very nicely with the phone.
6.5″ screen with a decent screen-to-body ratio (90%).
realme UI. I like it a lot, having used Google’s latest UI and Samsung’s. realme UI has a sidebar like Samsung’s, split-screen, etc., and it is easy to organize homepages. Calculator for example floats on top of the app so that you can work out the number without toggling between apps. The OS also comes with tons of features including interesting ones like setting a time to auto power on and/or off the phone.
Decent processing power and screen refresh rate. This phone is responsive.
Decent battery life with a 5,000mAh battery.
Good fingerprint sensor. My fingerprints are kind of faint. It works on a Google Nexus phone and an Apple phone. But it doesn’t work on a Samsung phone or, say, a ThinkPad laptop. It is so good to have a phone that can be unlocked using fingerprint (no more manual bank app log in!).
Face biometric. While I am not entirely sure how secured this feature is, the moment I lift up the phone, the screen wakes up and after recognizing my face, the phone is unlocked. It is fast and doesn’t have to position in a certain way. It works from different angles. It even works when I wear a cap (took me two attempts) and a headset with a mic that blocks part of my face. Almost too good to be true.
What Could Be A Deal Breaker For You
Again, read the following in the context that my previous phone is an old Samsung Note 8, which back in its time was a premium product. If you can’t live with some of these observations, you may consider spending a bit more and get a mid-range smartphone instead.
There is no notification light. My old Samsung would have a blinking light telling me that there are unread notifications. This would not be terrible but …
There is no always-on display either. When the phone is on standby mode, the screen is all black. I.e. no time and date and no notification summary. I end up checking the phone often for potentially missed notifications. There are apps to help. But they are not the same.
There is no NFC – near field communication. This means this phone cannot be used for contactless payment. These days, I have to take out my credit card every time I make credit card payments or board public transport.
Screen quality is very so-so. It lacks vibrancy. The color seems off.
The 13MP quad-camera (4!) is very so-so. The daytime landscape photos lack sharpness and color vibrancy. Nearby subjects are okay. Nighttime photos are too grainy. Ultra macro does work and need only 4cm away from the lens.
The 8MP front camera is also very so-so. I tried to use it to take selfie videos. It is substantially worse than my 3-year old Samsung phone.
Wireless BlueTooth is not usable. I have tried two different headsets. The conclusion is that the mic keeps on breaking especially when the phone is on Wi-Fi (feedback from those who receive my calls). The music also breaks way more often than my old phone (granted, in crowded places, BlueTooth connectivity can be affected) especially when on Wi-Fi. I have to switch back to a wired headset.
There is no way to hide your security pattern while unlocking the phone. People around you can easily see your security pattern. I have switched back to numeric unlock.
UI doesn’t work well with apps like Spotify. When playing music through Spotify, the screen wakes up very often and randomly. After some research, this seems like a common issue for realme phones. I have to block Spotify notification, which is a shame. Because it is good to be able to see the widget and control the player without having to unlock the phone and find the app.
Audio recording is poor. I am a music creator. While I don’t expect a smartphone to be a high-end audio recording device, the audio recording quality of this phone is way below par. It has got to do with the mic volume being too high and/or a lag of clarity.
M and I are from the same division. He belongs to a program that I am spending half of my time with. And since I am not full time with that program, I am often seen as an affiliate instead. I don’t have a lot of allies in that program. M is a good friend of mine.
One day, M visited my neighborhood and we had lunch at a bakery. He is moving onto another role in our organization and with that comes a promotion. I like the Caucasian mindset. I also like reporting to Caucasians. When it comes to ranks and promotion, the sky is the limit. Reporting to Chinese bosses, the message often would be: be contented with what you have. Indian bosses, the vast majority won’t give a beep about my career. Speaking from someone who has reported to sixteen different bosses in a span of fourteen-ish years in this organization. Though one may say, the time has changed as the world is moving towards better diversity and inclusiveness.
Back to that lunch we had, which was on a Thursday as both of us have to attend a weekly meeting together, M suggested to have a wine event on the 17th with K at his home. The date was perfect as it was the first evening of my 2-week long compliance leave.
It was a 10 mins ride to reach his place. I was late and his friend G working in the fund business was already there. What a posh home! There were paintings from – quoting from him – famous artists and there is one small elephant painting M drew when he was 12. He showed me the cases of silverware he brought from the UK dated back to the 1940s. Those are beautiful. Black handles with small colorful adornment, casually lying on top of each other. “Why not arrange them nicely?”, asked I. M replied that they got reshuffled due to transportation. Still, I would have put each fork and spoon, and utensil in the rightful place. These are antiques! I had the compulsion to do it for him. But I have resisted.
M said that he doesn’t like French people. G agreed. I didn’t say a thing. I used to have a number of French friends when I was working in Paris. Sure, French people, in general, do seem to have their pride and perhaps still wonder why the world adopts English as the international language (I was once told by a French that the world was close to choosing French instead). I can see from the French’s perspective. Especially when their culture is so refined. Fashion. Food. Wine. Art and monuments. In any case, given the history of the British and the French, I can understand the general sentiment.
Later the evening, when I sensed that the topic of the French M and G so passionately deliberated has fainted away, I casually mentioned that I like the sound quality and the design of the “transformer” speaker. A high-end French product sold in MBS mall. To that M was very pleased with his purchase. The speaker can get loud, really loud as he briefly demonstrated.
I am often not a fan of red wine. Last evening changed my mind. We started with a 1.5 liter of Sao Joao’s Quinta do Poco do Lobo Cabernet Sauvignon 1996. It is24 years old Portugal wine. The age doesn’t make a good wine of course. It depends on the year of the grape. But to have a wine that is still drinkable after such a long period of storage is pretty remarkable. The cock was waxed and the bottle was huge.
Next, we had Artadi’s Pasos de San Martin Garnacha 2015. It was a Spanish wine and I really love that. Then we had Faiveley’s Mercurey Rouge 2017. It was even better! By the time we got to the fourth one, I was about to fall asleep. I didn’t have much, though I remember it as sweet and nice.
Yes, I am terrible in describing wine.
I am not a fan of a large group gathering. My ideal group size is two. Three is okay. By the time K arrived, I got slightly quieter. F then arrived – a great storyteller by the way and also a good friend of mine from that program. The party lit up. I was mainly the observer and spoke when we broke into a smaller group chat. Finally, when G’s friend who is a young teen student (possibly rich Indonesian Chinese) arrived, everyone was animated and liven. By then, I was the audience enjoying the entertainment and the wine.
Throughout the evening, many stories were shared. Stories that I can imagine some may balk at because it is not right. I don’t judge for I am a pragmatic person. The moral compass is a thing that people use to judge others or fear being judged. “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” is one of my favorite quotes. Throughout the night, I listened with bewilderment. These people have experienced lives in a unique way and they have stories to tell.
“You are quiet”, K asked. I wanted to chip in. But my stories are much darker, more emotional, and personal, which did not suit the theme of physical conquest. Like my friend N once said to me, while I have an alpha male mentality deep inside, I am gentle from the outside.
Recently, I have come across an article from Scientific American. Falling in love does make people more creative. Because it makes us think differently. That triggers global processing, hence promotes creative thinking and interferes with analytic thinking. Sex though does the opposite. It triggers local processing, promotes analytic thinking, and interferes with creative thinking.
From now on, I shall not look at love and sex the same way.
Titled Let the Cat out of the Box and Be Free
This latest drawing of mine doesn’t have tons of hidden meaning. It is what it is – let the cat out of the box and be free.
In relationships, people often say something like, if you love someone, let him or her go. I think that is a bit not too pragmatic. The way I see it is that when you love (the roses) someone, let him or her have the freedom (a cat in an open box) within the boundaries (the frame) of what that relationship is or to be. And he or she will be happy looking for the things he or she likes (plenty of fish for the happy cat).
At the top left is a view of the port or the sea (I thought of the fish and hence, the ocean). The bottom right is a door. Why filament light bulb? I just happen to like its vintage feel.
Saturday morning, I woke up and asked my wife, “Which are your favorite Korean drama kissing scenes?”
You see, we watch a lot of K-drama. But before you think we always watch TV together, she is into Western drama while I am onto Chinese drama. So no, we don’t always watch TV together.
“Crash Landing Onto You,” said she.
OK. I mean, that is a vastly popular K-drama series. I like both actor and actress.
“It’s Okay Not To Be Okay,” added she.
The on-screen chemistry between Seo Ye-ji and Kim Soo-Hyum is a phenomenon. Especially so, I love how Seo Ye-ji acted out Ko Moon-Young’s unique character. I agreed with my wife. Those kisses were good. Besides, Seo Ye-ji is so very sexy.
“My Shy Boss!” concluded she.
Ah. I have almost forgotten that one. That kissing scene, in the shower room, was epic. And the acting of the lead actor is top-notch.
For me though, that would be Goblin (OK, it gets better) and Bride of Habaek. I am a hopeless romantic.
Back to this doodle, which I am not into deeper explanation because the composition is not complex, it is one of the more detailed work I have done. My dual-head Copic (Japan) pen was too large for the Queen of Card. So I have borrowed my wife’s 0.5 Faber-Castell (Germany) instead. My plan for the next set of drawing may perhaps have more detailed composition. We shall see.
Meanwhile, this is the playlist I listened to while creating this doodle.
Titled ‘Under the Merlion’s Watchful Eyes One Man’s Attempt to Steal a Heart‘. The couple is modeled after the K-drama series My Shy Boss.
Today, I have this sudden urge to draw. The initial concept was to display the tension between a pair of lovers not in balance. That is, one in control of the entire relationship while the other one is not. But it has become something more elaborate.
Title – Karmic Love Affairs
In control, to that I mean, have you been in a situation whereby you are at the mercy of that someone to contact you, set up the next occasion to meet, and etc. It is as though, you keep on staring at your phone – and in my era, your pager – for that one message. And when that comes, there could be thousands and one way to interpret it. The beauty and the torment of being in love.
For some relationships of yours, the other party could be the one in control. And for others, you could be the one in control.
While this is not a universal truth, I reckon those who are not in control in a relationship would likely end up getting dumped (note: the reverse doesn’t always hold true).
Hence, back to the composition of this doodle, there are three persons inside.
Three?! You may ask.
Let’s start with the rectangular frame in the middle. The hourglass inside denotes a time that is later than the two hourglasses outside (sand on top versus sand at the bottom). One way to interpret this is to think of the subjects outside the frame in the past while the subjects inside, the present. Another way is that outside is present while the inside is the past.
If you notice, while the man looks the same inside and outside the frame – i.e. the same person, we can’t say the same for the female character. The one inside has a sharper chin and short hair. Contrast to the one outside, rounder chin with long hair. Therefore, there are three persons.
Raised fist depicts control. Broken hearts are simply, broken hearts.
Going back to the three persons in the composition, the man who was in control of a relationship in the past broke a girl’s heart and at present, thanks to karma (all the loops are karma as what goes around comes around), his heart is broken by another girl at present.
I don’t usually opine on current affairs or entertainment news. The recent bullying scandal involving a very popular K-pop female artist and a Korean female stylist got me thinking on a few things.
Oh, Irene. Be Strong!
The Background
This case is interesting, especially in a South Korean setting. Long story short, Irene the leader of Red Velvet one day got really angry with her stylist for reasons unknown. Some speculate it was due to a transmitter fell off her costume during a live performance. Anyhow, the female stylist was called into a room and was scolded by Irene for 20 long minutes.
Feeling terrible, the female stylist released a complaint on her social media account without naming the artist in question (avoidance of potential defamation lawsuit), but with hashtags that gave enough hints to who that would be. Irene together with her management company apologized to the stylist as well as to the public. The original post has since been removed by the stylist.
You would have thought that the story ends here.
But no. South Korea does things differently from the rest of the world. Netizens – some could have adored Irene in the past – turn against her. Some demand Irene to leave the girl band Red Velvet. I would not be surprised that some may form a hate campaign just to pressurize Irene into committing suicide. After all, the latter is not uncommon in South Korea.
Irene’s major commercial contracts have been suspended. The release of her upcoming movie has been postponed. I wonder what will happen to Red Velvet in future. I do like their latest single called “Future”.
My Thoughts
Just three.
First, I do not disillusion myself thinking that the person I see on-camera would be the same person I see off-camera. On camera, artists do their job to entertain. They say the right thing and smile the right way, looking stunning and do things that capture our attention. Even more so in the South Korean entertainment industry when everything is on overdrive – costumes, makeup, dance choreography, reality shows, sports events, and more.
Am I surprised that an artist may one day lose it and yell at people off-camera? I am not. If this was to happen in the West – think Ariana Grande – do people care that much? I may like Ariana’s music. But I don’t necessarily have to like her personality.
Second, gender bias. If the artist in this episode was a man and the stylist was also a man, would the magnitude of the blow-up be the same? Or a male artist yelling at a female stylist? Would that have been brushed aside?
Perhaps the local society is not ready for females who dominate like men do.
Third, the industry. Take the banking industry as an example. Is it free of bullies? Not really. But at least, there is a code of conduct and there are speak up channels. So, what is the norm within the local entertainment industry? It would be interesting to know. I reckon the entertainment industry has to take some responsibility here.
And So
I am not a huge Red Velvet fan per se. But I really like Irene & Seulgi sub-unit and their Monster mini-album. Despite what the netizens say, I do not think Red Velvet can survive without Irene. Irene is the visual and she is the leader.
Who knows? There may be yet another scandal from within South Korea somewhere somehow and people would simply forget this entire episode. After all, the public just needs something else, something juicer to turn our attention to.
Or better, like my buddy Yudha said, “Red Velvet will do a comeback after the depute of the new girl group (from the same company SM Entertainment) Aespa“. I think he is right.
Had I not have watched that many Korean drama involving out-of-the-world kind of time travel storyline, I would have found The Romance of Tiger and Rose far fetched and too weird for my liking.
But thanks to Korean drama, I can no longer be shocked by stories that are … just way too bizarre. When I was young, I was used to scoring well at homework most of the time. Except for that one time when I failed homework because my story was … unrealistic. Now, I can safely conclude that I was born in the wrong era.
Oh yar …
The story starts in ancient China when the third princess of City of Huayuan (the girl in red above) intercepted the crown prince of Xuanhu while he was on the way to marry the second princess. Just to complete the picture, first princess is paralyzed from waist down. Although the second princess is not the real daughter of the queen (or City Owner), she is next in line because … well, the third princess is ruthless, not fit for the crown and the first … wheelchair bound.
In the City of Xuanhu, women call all the shots. They lead the army, go to work while men, stay at home and do housework. Women are the educated ones. It is not a taboo that women visits male ‘musicians’ (more like male courtesans) to seek entertainment. Men are born to obey and it is just weird to watch. In a good way. Sort of like, what if the whole gender bias in the world is … reversed?
City of Xuanhu is the total opposite and needless to say, the two cities are at war.
But that is not the main story, even!
The main story is that this ancient Chinese story is created by a modern day female scriptwriter who has been criticized because … she wrote a love story without knowing what love is.
And then she was teleported into her own story living the character of the third princess, get to fall in love with all her characters!
This is a recipe for a great story. A person travels in time to experience a plot, to attempt in changing the plot, and to live through a life changing experience.
That’s why, to me, this is bar none one of the best dramas I have watched.
