- Registrado
- 9 de Oct, 2023
I was kind of surprised that there didn't seem to be a thread about this yet, since I feel like women love these shows. Or maybe it's just the ones in my circle. My mom loves them and they're pretty much all she watches (same for both her sisters), so I sometimes half-watch them with her while I'm working.
My opinion that Asian dramas have exploded in popularity is evidenced by how many of them are sweeping streaming services now, K-dramas in particular, probably helped by the fact that Korean "pop culture" in general is the West's new favorite thing (no matter how many disgusting, egregious scandals come out of Korea's entertainment industries). As someone who writes, I have learned to laugh at K-dramas, because every single one of them follows a checklist of tropes, and you'll be damned if they don't check all the boxes:
An added fun thing about this drama is that it contains more overt birth-more-kids-for-Korea advertising than I've ever seen before. There are joyful little kids running around in pretty much every episode. The FL's fiance tells her that he wants to break the world record for having the most kids ever (??). The FL herself is devastated when she learns that she'll never be able to have kids because "since she didn't have a mother, she wanted to become a mother herself" (great way to pass on generational trauma, btw). And the ML's dad, who froze his sperm in order to have him, did so before undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer, because he "cared more about having kids than beating the cancer" and "was willing to risk his existence" (his words) "to have a family". I'm sure Korean watchers will love the message!
Kill me now.
Anyway, do any kiwisisters unironically watch dramas and enjoy them. Please tell me which ones. I promise I won't be mad (but I might judge a little).
My opinion that Asian dramas have exploded in popularity is evidenced by how many of them are sweeping streaming services now, K-dramas in particular, probably helped by the fact that Korean "pop culture" in general is the West's new favorite thing (no matter how many disgusting, egregious scandals come out of Korea's entertainment industries). As someone who writes, I have learned to laugh at K-dramas, because every single one of them follows a checklist of tropes, and you'll be damned if they don't check all the boxes:
- The female lead (FL), for some retarded reason, ends up in front of a speeding car. The male lead (ML) saves her from certain death by grabbing her and pulling her out of the way for a cute forced hug. Bonus points if the vehicle threatening the FL's life is a motorcycle instead.
- In a similar vein, the FL's parents will both have died in a car accident (because you can't find love unless you're an orphan, I guess). Bonus points if the ML's parents have also died in the same way. Extra bonus points if one of the leads talks out loud to their deceased parents at some point, usually to ask for advice as their relationship progresses.
- The FL is too short to reach something on a shelf, so--naturally--the ML must get up directly behind her to retrieve it. As a side note, the lead actresses in these shows are always short, even though the men are all over 6 feet tall? Come on, Korea, I know you have some tall women on hand. There's no need for the main couple to look like a man babysitting a little girl when they stand next to each other.
- At some point between episodes 10 and 12 (out of 16), some random woman from the ML's life, usually an ex, will spontaneously materialize, and even though the ML makes it obvious that there's no chance of a relationship between him and her, she herself (or her mere presence) somehow convinces the FL to break off the relationship for the sake of angst.
- Often there's also a scene where the FL sinks into an infinite body of water. It doesn't matter if she just tripped and fell into a river or something--they will shoot it in a way where it looks like she dropped into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The FL is always unable to swim. She sinks like 10 meters below the surface before the ML jumps in to pull her out.
- Often, one of them ends up on the brink of death at some point (because what more natural plot device is there to create tension?) Bonus points if some amnesia bullshit is involved. If it's the ML, it's usually a terminal illness; if it's the FL, it's usually a bad injury/accident. (If you haven't noticed, these women are very accident-prone.)
An added fun thing about this drama is that it contains more overt birth-more-kids-for-Korea advertising than I've ever seen before. There are joyful little kids running around in pretty much every episode. The FL's fiance tells her that he wants to break the world record for having the most kids ever (??). The FL herself is devastated when she learns that she'll never be able to have kids because "since she didn't have a mother, she wanted to become a mother herself" (great way to pass on generational trauma, btw). And the ML's dad, who froze his sperm in order to have him, did so before undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer, because he "cared more about having kids than beating the cancer" and "was willing to risk his existence" (his words) "to have a family". I'm sure Korean watchers will love the message!
Kill me now.
Anyway, do any kiwisisters unironically watch dramas and enjoy them. Please tell me which ones. I promise I won't be mad (but I might judge a little).
