Lovers in Paris will never be what Meteor Garden was. Or was to me. It doesn't have Lei, or those extremely heart-wrenching moments when your heart just wants to collapse and die.
But I liked Lovers in Paris, anyway. I like Ki-Joo's (Carlo) humor. There are less tears. And my heart actually goes out to Carlo. It even did a bit of that collapsing-dying bit during the ice cream scene by the fountain (not yet shown on local tv, watched it on vcd). I cried more than twice (nothing compared to the buckets I shed for Dao, Lei and Shancai, but still...).
It's a Cinderella story, that's for sure. Aren't they all? And I like it that way. Asian telenovelas are always like that. Maybe they should do a study on this phenomenon.
Now I can't say for certain if these shows are representative of the prevailing behavior in a particular society or they seek to dictate or influence future human behavior. It's a chicken-and-egg thing. But they do portray certain realities and truths, and however you look at it, it will always be a caricature of a people, a place and a general philosophy.
Given that, there are some differences between Western and Asian drama. Asian soaps have so much more pathos. Maybe that comes from our being "repressed" or whatever Americans like to call it, vis-a-vis their own "liberal" behavior. Asian soaps have a certain character, or at the very least, an ideal character. I watch Asian dramas, and then I watched two minutes of The Bold and the Beautiful, and all I can say is, eh? To me, what it all boils down to is that American soaps are just vicious and mean and full of mindless sex. It's amazing how Americans profess their love for one another after a couple of shags, and Asians can know in absolute certainty that they love a person by simply looking in his or her eyes or even being within an arm's length of the person. Carlo and Vivian kissed, what, twice during the entire series? And yet you can feel, yes, you feel the depth of their love. Dao was harsh and rough and there seemed to be no sexual chemistry between him and Shancai, but you know that Dao will kill and die for her. Meanwhile, Americans supposedly ooze with sexuality and sensuality, but they never seem to know the meaning of love. No, not in the way we know it, not in the way we dream of it.
I wonder how Westerners would react if Asian dramas are suddenly shown in their countries. I imagine they would be amazed. Curious? Revolted? Would they think we live in the stone ages? I think that's why they are attracted to Asian films like Crouching Tiger and others. There's a charm and a reality that is so distant from theirs. I bet they can't believe that it's grounded on reality.
I think a tiny part of them actually envies us (or other Asian countries at least, because everyone knows the Philippines is a wannabe Westerner). Either way I would love to hear what they think. And if they actually, truly like it? Well, that'll be the day.
In the meantime, I'd rather dance with Carlo to the tune of Moon River, or sit silently beside Hua Ze Lei the whole night, than get into bed with one of those silly schmucks from Days of Our Lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment