Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Asian Dramas-More Addicting Than Crack


Or so I assume but I have heard that crack is quite addicting. I had watched foreign films before-I remember watching Like Water For Chocolate when I was in elementary school (if you've seen that movie than you know how vastly inappropriate that was) but I had never watched any foreign tv shows aside from anime. I was on Netflix back in February looking for something to watch-mind you that I had a completely full instant queue-and I saw Boys Over Flowers was suggested for me. I played the first episode and a new obsession was born. I will do an actual review of BOF in a later post but I do actually love it despite it's many glaring flaws. I quickly finished all 24 hour long episodes and immediately started to search for more. I spent the next several months watching Meteor Garden, Playful Kiss, Secret Garden, Coffee Prince, and about 15 more full series and about 20 movies. I haven't watched a tv show in English for awhile now. I don't even fully understand this addiction but I will try to explain it. I feel like asian dramas-more specifically Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese- are like a weird combination of lots of different film genres. Most are about romance but some have elements such as comedy, mystery, friendship, family, horror, sci-fi, etc. I always feel like I'm watching a really long movie rather than a tv show. I will use the Korean dramas that I have watched as an example because I have watched far more of those than any other. Korea has a pretty conservative culture and that is prominent in most dramas. I love the fact the that the first kiss is so important and often a focal point in many dramas. Time is spent on developing the relationship before anything physical every happens. I like romance movies, but nothing annoys me more than the main couple having sex super early on in the movie. I'm sorry but that's not romantic in the slightest. It may be an outdated way of thinking but I like there to exist tension and emotions before anything physical happens-it makes the physical actions actually mean something. Although I love them there are quite a few things that I don't like that seem to happen in most dramas but again it might be the culture that I'm not familiar with. The wrist/arm grab has been used in every single drama that I have watched and I worry that many of these actresses may have to get surgery years from now due to their arm and wrist getting jerked and grabbed hundreds of times. I have never had my wrist or arm grabbed by a guy but if he did I would probably punch him in the face rather than look at it as a romantic gesture. I know that this has to do with the male being more aggressive and powerful but it still irks me. Thankfully female characters are beginning to become stronger and  more independent so I can let this con slide. Piggyback rides-I don't get it at all so I won't even attempt to explain it. Bathroom humor-I hate this one the most. Whenever I watch a Korean drama or movie that features such a scene it immediately turns me off of whatever else is going on. I have never been amused by gross humor but thank goodness this element is not used in most dramas. I absolutely love asian dramas and I think I will continue to watch them for quite awhile. I may take a break soon to catch up on all my other shows and movies that I have neglected for several months but I will always come back. I will be posting some drama reviews and recommendations so keep checking back.

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