One universal rule about television worldwide is that audiences are drawn to stories about two types of people: police officers and medical professionals. The daily routine for TV cops is always action-packed and prone to some kind of barely-explained mayhem. Television doctors engage in an on-going battle to save lives. It is no different on television in mainland China. And just to show you they have a sense of humor about these things, law enforcement and hospital work is regularly lampooned in the familiar two-man stage comedy routines known in China as er ren zhuan.
A lot of foreigners hate television in China, but in fact, it is no worse than anywhere else. You will find the familiar staples: the formulaic reality shows, documentary programs, sitcoms, historic dramas, and multi-part romantic sagas. I am fascinated by what I see on the air over here. There is, for example, a lot of gunplay in the police and war dramas. The Chinese are never shy about presenting a violent resolution to a gripping story of corruption or conflict, and it's not just on TV. One of the most recent popular theatrical movies goes by the none-too-subtle English title "Let the Bullets Fly." Medical TV dramas are infused with the most overwrought cliches: a patient (typically a young girl) is brought to the hospital in a coma, and does not recover until the all other family members come to recognize the faults in their lives. Then she wakes up and everyone lives happily ever after.
That's not to say mainland Chinese viewers do not enjoy imported television programs. One channel shows a foreign film (although not usually an American movie) almost every day. And romantic comedies or dramas from South Korea are extremely popular in China and throughout Asia. Some years ago, South Korean TV producers took the Latin-style telenovela and pushed it to another level of emotional, angst-laden hysteria: families in generational conflict, unrequited love issues, terminal illnesses that strike without reason or warning. "The Koreans have no mercy," said my tearful wife after watching one such episode. "Everyone knows this."
Sure, it doesn't have any real connection to real life, but that's what television drama is meant to be about, right? And in modern China, escapist fare ought to have a special appeal, considering true escape from reality is unlikely anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment