all of it
thought about the movies everything everywhere all at once and the half of it today until i was sick. eeaao because i was analyzing joy wang's character as a nihilist and the half of it because i'm writing a final paper comparing it to sartre's no exit.
i'm so behind on this class, it's not even funny. it's called literature & existentialism and i picked it because i thought i would like it. i was supposed to like it. then again i was also supposed to take another lit class and consider the major this semester and none of that happened either. when i did wake up in time, i'd go to this class and sit in the back and try to just listen in, and the professor would call on me for nodding off.
but it'll be okay. my discussion post is a month late but i talked about how jobu tupaki searched through all possible universes for a version of a mother who loved and understood her. how she was driven to give up her sense of freedom and agency in the face of these pressures from her mother -- to be straight, college-educated, skinny, more fluent in chinese, less americanized -- and succumb to the conclusion that nothing matters. i have an idea for the thesis for my final paper -- in class we learned about sartre's framework for the concept of "the other" and how profoundly disturbing it is to be in the presence of another person, because as the center of your own universe you are in control of the meaning you choose to give to the world, and when another person is within your universe, your agency is being chipped away. you -- and your meaning -- become chained to the other's judgment of you. and for the half of it i was thinking about different ways people try to take back control of their narrative from the other, whether that's through overexplaining or overexposure of yourself or through physical distance from the other.
there's other things, more important things, about both movies that an existentialist framework could never fully explain away. i thought about evelyn, when facing the possibility of losing her own daughter to the black hole, asking helplessly to her father how he found it in himself to let her go. i thought about the lights from the failing laundromat, the smashed windows, the glass on that dark street, and mother and daughter trying so hard one more time to listen to each other, even though it hurts so much. then i thought about the ending of the half of it, paul munsky running after ellie chu's train, knowing that it's futile and that she's going where he can't follow, but doing it anyway because it was her favorite scene from the movie ek villain and he remembered. he remembered because he loves her. no drawn-out 60-page essay, translated to english from french, laying out a blueprint for how a man should face the burden of his freedom or his death or whatever, could dream of capturing this.
78 notes
·
View notes
Why I prefer cdramas over kdramas(as an international fan)
kdramas ive watched - business proposal, sweet home, rookie historian goo hae-ryung, mr queen, link: eat, love, kill , the glory , crash landing on you, what's wrong with secretary kim, true beauty, romance is a bonus book, goblin, meow-the secret boy, hometown cha cha cha, see you in my 19th life
cdramas ive watched - the untamed, word of honor, blood of youth, ten miles of peach blossom(i regret watching this one), love between fairy and devil, the starry love, till the end of the moon, put your head on my shoulder, mr honesty, the romance of tiger and rose, love o2o, go go squid!, love and destiny, currently watching back from the brink
1) Cdramas tend to have more developed side characters
ive seen a good variety of kdramas, and i always find the side characters to be lacking! they are often treated as props or only used for comical purposes. meanwhile, in cdramas, they tend to have more personality and are important to the plot as well rather than just being a plot device! (i agree that not all cdramas do it well, but the ones that do leave behind a good impression)
2) Cdramas make the characters interact well
one thing that i have noticed in cdramas is that they make character interactions to be deep and meaningful! personally, i prefer consuming media where both the main characters and side characters stand out, and while it's hard to create something like that, cdramas do it better than kdramas! side characters often don't get enough screen time or are too one-dimensional to make an impact on the viewers! im not saying that kdramas don't do it at all, im saying that a lot of times, it just doesn't hit as hard as in cdramas.
3)The angst hits harder in cdramas!!
now, don't get me wrong, im not saying that kdramas can't be angsty! it's just that a lot of angst in kdramas tends to be more romance related, and as an aroace person, i don't care much for romance and that's why the angst in cdramas(not just romance related) feels and hits way harder! yes, i absolutely adored the angst in the glory freaking loved it! i live for it, but angst in cdramas tends to focus a lot more on familial and platonic relationships, and my lil heart just loves it too much!!
4) kdramas have a lot more filler than cdramas
yes, ik that cdramas are longer, but just hear me out! i have noticed that a lot of times, if you remove a couple of episodes from a kdrama, it makes no impact on the plot whatsoever! or a lot of arcs just feel like they don't deserve as much screen time, and some arcs don't make much sense either after being dragged on for so long!! meanwhile, cdramas are definitely longer, but most of them, if not all of them, are adapted from a webnovel, and that, in general, leads to them being super long! yes, it feels like they are dragging some parts out, but it all seems significant to the plot and is not just filler!
5) relationships between females are better portrayed in cdramas!!
i absolutely adore female friendships or just respectful relationships between females. and cdramas definitely do it better than kdramas! look at li susu and pian ran from TTEOTM or jiele and xiao lan hua from LBFAD or WOH or back from the brink! female connections are better portrayed in cdramas!
6) cdramas tend to be more fantasy focused than kdramas
i enjoy fantasy as a genre a lot, and cdramas tend to be more fantasy based! chinese fantasy is so interesting, and i absolutely adore wuxia/xianxia as a genre! kdramas don't have something similar, and while i adore a lot of historical kdramas, fantasy just hits differently! especially cause there is just so much to explore in chinese fantasy! look at the blood of youth, i had so much fun watching that show. and the fight scenes were so well done!
7) cdramas have beautiful platonic relationships, and i adore the found family arc a lot more in cdaramas
there is definitely a found family arc going on in most of the cdramas ive watched, and i live for it! a lot of time, the characters might not have as much screen time, but they all seem to have depth, and that makes the drama so much fun! yes, kdramas also have found family arcs, but a lot of times, the characters are purely used for comical purposes and have no back stories! they are mostly just used to fill screetime! whether it's the untamed or the starry love, the found family arc would make my heart go so soft cause all those characters have back stories and depth and i am so in love with all of them and even losing one of them can make me go feral and that's exactly why i adore cdramas!!!!!!
shortcomings of cdramas:-
a) the re-dubbing in cdarams- as you all know that China re-dubs their drama, and that can be annoying cause it's always the same va!!
b) the chinese censorship is so strict, and a lot of times, some scenes don't make it into the final cut which can be frustrating or a lot of time even getting past the censorship can be impossible!!
c) i feel that fans seem to be more critical towards cdramas! people behind the scenes put way too much effort so that we can watch their work, but how the drama changes after the censorship is not in their control! they try their best, and adapting novels is not easy!! yet the fans are less understanding towards them! i just wish the audience was a little more understanding!!
d) another problem that's persistent with most cdramas are the poorly translated subtitles! sometimes, the subtitles can be very unclear, or the translation is not accurate at and that can create a disconnect with the international fans in general!!
this is just my opinion! im not saying that cdramas are better than kdramas. i adore them both a lot! im just saying that i PREFER cdramas more! please be understanding and try to be polite when interacting with this post!! that being said, feel free to leave recommendations cause i WILL check em out ;))
51 notes
·
View notes
🌙 The Last Quarter of the Moon by Chi Zijian (trans. Bruce Humes)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
“A long-time confidante of the rain and snow, I am ninety years old. The rain and snow have weathered me, and I too have weathered them.”
At the end of the 20th-century an old woman sits among nature and reflects on the joys and tragedies that have fallen on her people: the Evenki tribe of north-eastern China. In the 1930’s, the intimate, and secluded world of the tribe is shattered when the Japanese army invaded China.
I’ve been reading this book since the summer. At a modest 360-pages, it is not a terribly long book but I felt that I had to take my time with it and embrace all that it had to share. I can see why the Penguin Vintage Earth collection included this book as it is surrounded by a deep respect and love for nature around us. It’s beautiful and tragic. It’s heartwarming and heart wrenching.
I highly recommend this book.
“My tale must come to an end, but not everyone gets an epilogue.”
44 notes
·
View notes
I know there are many similarities between me and this Mo Yan, but many contradictions as well. I’m a hermit crab, and Mo Yan is the shell I’m occupying. Mo Yan is the raingear that protects me from storms, a dog hide to ward off the chilled winds, a mask I wear to seduce girls from good families. There are times when I feel that this Mo Yan is a heavy burden, but I can’t seem to cast it off, just as a hermit crab cannot rid itself of its shell. I can be free of it in the darkness, at least for a while.
Mo Yan, The Republic of Wine
1 note
·
View note