So, I have fallen for KDrama :-D.
I happened to see the trailer for "Marry him if you dare"...
I thought the idea of a woman going back in time to stop herself from marrying a guy was fascinating, and the first episode was funny and engaged me enough to want to know more about these people.
Also, the show gave me a view to a culture and mindset that was totally new to me, but in a very easy and comfortable manner.
As the show developed... well... it developed. It revealed layers more than in an onion, layers and colors and tones and notes... and I fell in love with the Korean culture.
The layers of politeness, complex rules of etiquette and respect of age, so very, very pleasing to me.
Then followed "The Prime Minister and I"
Watching that show I became very aware of how... unsophisticated we Europeans are. How rude, vulgar, shallow, brutish we must appear to the Koreans... but also... there are things in the Korean culture that to me seem very cold, insensitive and inconsiderate... the... feudalism of values and how the complicated courtesy, politeness, respect rules made it fully acceptable to be a total ass to the ones below you on the matrix.
On the other hand... that was what we had 200 years ago. And that thought makes me less ashamed of our brutishness. Perhaps it's not that after all? ;-) Perhaps we are not that uncivilized, but our civilization is different?
Another thing that was very apparent in this series was the food and eating. "Hunger" is almost synonymical to "sadness" and "lack" in every area of life. Food is extremely important and works as symbol for... everything. By feeding you I take care of you and I say you and your wellbeing, not just the physical, but the emotional as well, is important to me.
Then I tried to watch "Cinderella's Stepsister".
I managed 2/3, then I went to look for a synopsis for the last episode and decided not to watch the rest of it. Very emotional, very irritating, rather confusing and very boring.
But it taught me things as well. It confirmed some of the points from the previous two shows, pointed out a couple of things I hadn't noticed in them, and made me aware of some new things.
How the rank system and etiquette are also a support and sort of a guarantee of rights, even to the lowest ones. How is it that you can do seemingly horrible things to people and it's still OK, while then some "minor" things can be totally unacceptable. (It reminded me of Upstairs, Downstairs, and the relationship between the staff and the masters... how treating your "inferiors" as equals can be very inconsiderate, even insulting in effect... and about the European cultural elitism, imperialism, colonialism, orientalism... how we are expressing our prejudices and "racism" in things we do in all wellmeaning and kindness... I was thinking about European feminists going to Africa being all sisterly and trampling on our "sisters" by simply assuming "sisterhood" means the same to them as to us... We are all asking why "they" aren't eating cake in our ignorance.
Any way, I want to learn Korean, of course.
And I want to have Korean food as I watch these shows.
But, now I am learning Korean. The pronunciation is a huge problem for me. I can't hear what sound D or N is. And the elusive Asian R. It's really not an R at all.
I happened to see the trailer for "Marry him if you dare"...
I thought the idea of a woman going back in time to stop herself from marrying a guy was fascinating, and the first episode was funny and engaged me enough to want to know more about these people.
Also, the show gave me a view to a culture and mindset that was totally new to me, but in a very easy and comfortable manner.
As the show developed... well... it developed. It revealed layers more than in an onion, layers and colors and tones and notes... and I fell in love with the Korean culture.
The layers of politeness, complex rules of etiquette and respect of age, so very, very pleasing to me.
Then followed "The Prime Minister and I"
Watching that show I became very aware of how... unsophisticated we Europeans are. How rude, vulgar, shallow, brutish we must appear to the Koreans... but also... there are things in the Korean culture that to me seem very cold, insensitive and inconsiderate... the... feudalism of values and how the complicated courtesy, politeness, respect rules made it fully acceptable to be a total ass to the ones below you on the matrix.
On the other hand... that was what we had 200 years ago. And that thought makes me less ashamed of our brutishness. Perhaps it's not that after all? ;-) Perhaps we are not that uncivilized, but our civilization is different?
Another thing that was very apparent in this series was the food and eating. "Hunger" is almost synonymical to "sadness" and "lack" in every area of life. Food is extremely important and works as symbol for... everything. By feeding you I take care of you and I say you and your wellbeing, not just the physical, but the emotional as well, is important to me.
Then I tried to watch "Cinderella's Stepsister".
I managed 2/3, then I went to look for a synopsis for the last episode and decided not to watch the rest of it. Very emotional, very irritating, rather confusing and very boring.
But it taught me things as well. It confirmed some of the points from the previous two shows, pointed out a couple of things I hadn't noticed in them, and made me aware of some new things.
How the rank system and etiquette are also a support and sort of a guarantee of rights, even to the lowest ones. How is it that you can do seemingly horrible things to people and it's still OK, while then some "minor" things can be totally unacceptable. (It reminded me of Upstairs, Downstairs, and the relationship between the staff and the masters... how treating your "inferiors" as equals can be very inconsiderate, even insulting in effect... and about the European cultural elitism, imperialism, colonialism, orientalism... how we are expressing our prejudices and "racism" in things we do in all wellmeaning and kindness... I was thinking about European feminists going to Africa being all sisterly and trampling on our "sisters" by simply assuming "sisterhood" means the same to them as to us... We are all asking why "they" aren't eating cake in our ignorance.
Any way, I want to learn Korean, of course.
And I want to have Korean food as I watch these shows.
But, now I am learning Korean. The pronunciation is a huge problem for me. I can't hear what sound D or N is. And the elusive Asian R. It's really not an R at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment