Asian Beth…not…but really.
Hello, my name is Beth Carlin and I have an Asian infatuation.This infatuation consists of an enduring love that focuses on Far East Asia but is not limited to it as Bollywood is Broadway made better by the “wicked” rhythm and dance moves.
Get it girls!
When I married my amazing husband and we planned to move abroad to Thailand I felt like I was getting the better end of the deal. We had both been planning to move abroad to teach but I was the one who had focused on Asia while his love of Brazilian music called him down South. So, we put Brazil on hold and set off for the East.
Going the Thai way.
My love of Asian culture was awakened when I discovered the channel AZN in 8th grade. AZN provided Asian news, soaps and entertainment shows with English subtitles and inevitably provided me with an earthly heaven. I watched my first Korean soap opera, “Phoenix”, with dedicated viewing pleasure every Wednesday afternoon following track practice. I then continued to consume more Asian dramas once I found online streaming videos.
My love for Asian culture was thus born with a wink and simultaneous peace sign. As my free time was consumed by perpetual viewing of dramas and movies.
The peace sign is apparent but the wink is M.I.A.
This love is re-born at least once a year with some new Asian obsession. My current obsession involves PSY’s “Gangnam Style” and about this time last year it was T-ara’s (pronounced “tiara”) “Bo-Peep”. It may appear to be seasonal but it always comes back fierce with a series of repeated plays and research sessions of the most popular trends in Asia. I am a strange Amurrican.
Word.
One may ask why I have this strange love when there is plenty of American pop culture to go around. Well, to be honest I didn’t understand it myself at first. The dramas can be very cheesy, include very predictable plots that incorporate some strange love triangle, a hospital visit and then a fairy tale ending. The Japanese movies always have someone dying or cured of cancer but hiding it to save face. While, the Taiwanese dramas tend to be absurdly long. They don’t sound appealing when stripped bare like that and the roughly translated lyrics from the Asian pop songs don’t strengthen my argument.
This drama is called “Wonderful Life.” It contains a love triangle, a contract marriage and of course cancer. Cheese fest and I have only read reviews of this one as too much cheese is bad for you just like anything in excess.
BUT…Asian dramas are max 26 episodes long not 10 years like some American TV series (Silly FRIENDS. How long did the infinite Seinfeld run for again?). So, they act more like extended movies. (Hi, my name is Beth Carlin and I also am a cinema fanatic.) If you’re lucky a second season may be born out of the popularity of the first set of episodes. These are rare occasions and should be cherished. The rare moments mean that the drama was worth watching. This was not true for many Taiwanese dramas I watched. There is also the chance that another Far East Asian country may make a cover. For example:
A Japanese manga (graphic novel) told the tale of four wealthy pretty boys called F4 who ruled their high school. A plain looking girl caught the leaders eye and a chain of events ensues that tests their love and love triangle (I bet you didn’t see that coming!).
Manga.
The Taiwanese (C-drama) were first to turn this manga into a live action drama called, “Meteor Garden”. This series had two seasons and was absurdly long. It was not bad but took some major self-discipline to complete.
Taiwan. Two seasons that could have equalled four. It was too much of a good thing.
The Japanese (J-drama) were next and produced “Hana Yori Dango” which received rave reviews. Many girls went swooning after the Japanese members of F4. They were ranked as heartthrobs beyond heartthrob measure. The acting provided by the leads was believable and the chemistry was great.
Japan. Two seasons and a final movie.
The Koreans gave it a go next but in my humble opinion “Boys Over Flowers” (which means “pretty boys”) couldn’t meet the level that Hana Yori Dango had set acting and chemistry wise. This is hard for me to admit, as I am usually the strongest supporter of Korean dramas (a.k.a. K-dramas). Yes, I thought the boys were better looking but looks don’t override acting skills, sorry!
Korea. Two seasons.
The cherry on top of all the Asian movies and dramas is their tendency to be part of the Romantic-Comedy genre. I am a huge fan of a good Rom-Com. So, my Asian fascination continues on strong with my love of comedic, well, love.
The popular Asian songs also tend to be happy pop mixes that you can’t help but dance around to in a giddy way (view links above located in 4th paragraph.)
I know that if these were American actors or pop stars I would be repulsed but the Asian factor gets me every time. I LOVE ASIAN CULTURE! Some how the sweet swagger of the stars, the language barrier and the dance moves make it all better. I can look past all the silliness because I love the cultures that they are derived from. I learn some of the basic greetings, manners, history and cultural trends from the movies and dramas. I develop a slight better rhythm with each play of a trendy Asian song and learn a bit more about the language as I translate the lyrics. Yeah, some of my first Korean words may have been curses but I learned something. Which is more than I can say for the show FRIENDS. All I learned from that show was the song “Smelly Cat,” that they are yelling at you by spelling out FRIENDS in all caps and that Joey’s character is stupid, poor Joey.
Learn some quick Korean.
So, when I say jokingly that I got the better deal when Jay and I moved to Thailand I am not exaggerating. I really did get the better deal. He loves it here but his heart is devoted to Brazilian culture. I guess when it’s time to move to Brazil I will have to re-awaken my South American culture craze phase. Yes, I did have one of those phases too. ^_^
[To set the record straight, people do NOT speak Spanish in Brazil. People in Brazil speak Portuguese. I thought I should get that out there before the assumption was made that I plan on using the intermediate level of Spanish I know in Brazil. New language learning here I come!]