MyLangyaList

Asian work culture tends to be more toxic compared to the West in general, and the issues depicted in the drama are not unusual. This and Fake It Till You Make It have very realistic work depictions unlike the typical idol CEO romance dramas, even if there's some dramatization as with all shows.

Yep, loving this drama. More people need to check this one out.

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It's pretty realistic unfortunately.

I haven't seen her in enough shows to have a staunch opinion. So thanks to idol dramas for setting my expectations on acting so low, she doesn't seem that bad.

But she does seem to star in quite a few serious and proper dramas, and by those standards, her acting would be far more lacking.

She's not a terrible actress, but seems to suffer from 表演痕迹 and there's too much unwarranted overlap between her characters. And she's outclassed here among the other characters/actors that just fits the setting and story so well.

It's similar to the Guo Qilin problem in Trilateral Slopes. Whereas that show has enough action and other characters to carry, here ZRY's impact is even bigger as the show is a fine painting to be carefully appreciated.

You are probably better served watching without my gripes in mind, as many people didn't have an issue with her character. My criticisms are more for those who have already seen it and come to their own conclusions.

It may be like one of those reversible figures, where it's difficult to unsee the blemish once being attuned to a certain perspective. Even my own impression of the drama has continued to decline as I write the review and spend more time focusing on the problems. It's like a black hole that feeds on your attention, the more you think about it, the bigger the black hole becomes.

Maybe LX could have found a way to return sooner, of LX's mom recover in China, but Ling Dad going would have been almost impossible. He can't leave his job as cop, he can't get a job in Singapore or even get a visa there (LX Mom got there through marriage). LX's Dad is the last person his Mom wants to see, for a variety of reasons.

The most reasonable would be for LX's mom to recover in China where relatives can help out. But she's not the type of considerate person to do that. Orange's study, better medical treatment in Singapore, and being closer to in-laws are some reasons. But the biggest reason is she's too proud to recover in China and face all the relatives and others who know her.

I see a fan to anti-fan ratio of 5 or 10 to 1, I rest my case.

You mean the fanatics pumped up the ratings to the moon just based on a few episodes. The crazy fans are mostly real, the crazy anti-fans mostly just exist in the fans' imagination.

Check out Tomorrow Will Be Sunny. Group of youth friends, found family, adaptation of Red Band Society. Not sure about subs though. https://kisskh.at/761011-hong-wan-dai-ju-le-bu

I think the crying was closer to a nervous breakdown the enormous stress day after day they are under. Their target is akin to going from failing to A student in a year, given the performance deficit they were trying to make up. Since high schoolers would be cramming for 12+ hrs a day under normal circumstances, these students would be pushed to their limit. Ms. Zhang's recognition was also natural, and so are her conflicted response. On the one hand, she and may others recognize the problems with such educational approach. On the other hand, the girls from such impoverished backgrounds are hardly in the position to change the system. Life isn't fair, especially for these girls, and will continue to be unfair even if they excel on the exam. That's the type of harsh reality that people in China readily internalize, and one the show doesn't shy away from.

Their stress relief technique, Ms. Zhang's approach and temperament may certainly be outdated or flawed, and certainly quite different from Western methods. But I found it realistic, especially for some of the practices you'd expect for that era in the backward part of the country. In a way, I'm glad they didn't shy away from the harsh and unfair circumstances the students had to overcome, or the flaws in Ms. Zhang and the parents to give us a feel-good story. Though I think certain parts of the presentation could be refined so it's easier for audiences to understand their context. This would be especially helpful for intl audiences.

Thank you commissar, for continuing to misunderstand and witch-hunt the show with all the ideological fervor. Like I said, you'd make a natural Red Guard.

And what did my comment say? I could count the totality of instances from all 23 episodes in one hand. They are issues only someone who doesn't understand the situation get triggered about.

You seem to miss the part about how they were truly struggling financially and resource wise, and she did not blame the teachers who left, or portray them in a bad light. It was just a reflection of the extraordinary sacrifices required to keep the school running. And even the teachers who remained, continued to battle the same problems, with impact on their health, marriage, etc. She appealed to their idealism and duty, which is also realistic and expected as why wouldn't she use all tools necessary.

The difference is that every time something about the party comes in you have a giant allergic reaction and ignores how it's just a peripheral and realistic part of their lives. The core of the story and reality is that they are all people, struggling with tough circumstances and task, against material, institutional, and cultural hindrances, and working to do something humane and noble.

As someone who would not enjoy the film or the speech myself, because my circumstances are different, I still have no problem that they have it in the show. In fact, if it was realistic to the situation, I think it's better they include it. Because why should they change the story just to please my sensibilities? Anyone in China would see this show as a celebration of the real life heroes, the courage of the girls, and reflection of progress but also the problems that existed and still remains. Whatever imagined propaganda would have laughably no impact on them. It's only foreigners who seem to get really worked up, and typically the less they know, the more worked up they get.

In a nutshell, you a making mountains out of an anthill. You are missing an opportunity to better understand the realities of the people and country, to go on rants that's effectively self-sabotaging, but that's your choice. All I can say is that if you knew the people and country better, this would be a non-issue and a really bizarre hill to die on, regardless of what you think of their government.

It's 5-10 minutes of one episode in a 23 episode drama. I watched the whole thing and I could count in one hand the totality of the scenes that can be classified as laudatory of the party, including this one.

Such scenes would not at all be out of place or unrealistic, given the setting and the real-life person who is a committed member but spent her life doing good. Again, vast majority of the people in China would be unaffected by that scene as far as brainwashing goes, and would enjoy the story, which doesn't really promote the party if you had a more nuanced understanding of the country and how people perceive things.

Because the live in the country and deal with these things and the nuances and complexities of the realities there. The 'brainwashing' component and effect of this is extremely trivial. I understand it's natural for people to fear what they don't know, especially something that's potentially problematic. So the less you know, the more you on are alert and put everything in big boxes of good/bad.

You original comment construes the main character as basically a brainwasher, and the reason she's celebrated. This is so disrespectful and divorced from reality of how things work there.

Way to go on a rant about a show you didn't watch, based on the life of someone you know nothing about, from a country you seem to have a very distorted impression of, out of concern for people you understand too little to truly care about.

If anything, your post is far more effective propaganda for the Chinese government. All they have to do point to foreigners whose opinionatedness far outstrips their understanding, and how despite a free system, the outcome remains full of brainwashing and emotional agitations. And they would use posts like yours to discredit others pushing for more effective change, through a genuine understanding of the realities, concerns, values, and limits of the people and country. The cosmic irony is that the communist and anti-communist zealots are just two sides of the same coin in temperament and approach. If you were born in the Cultural Revolution, you would have made a really fanatical Red Guard, persecuting others with passion because you clearly has all the knowledge and moral high ground you need.

So if you want to really go after those promoting CCP propaganda, perhaps start with yourself.

Has it occurred to you that the 'party' is effectively the government there, and what it does is overwhelmingly just regular government stuff? And that there are actually many decent, hardworking human beings like the protagonist in the government and in the party? Has it occurred to you that people in China may see things in hundreds of varying shades and contexts, much more than the good/evil binaries you seem to harbor? Has it occurred to you that by completely dismissing the life, work, and story a real-life hero and the thousands of impoverished girls, you are embodying the same type of ideological fervor and lack of empathy that you presumably find loathsome in the evil governments and ideologies you criticize?

I could go on and on about why almost no one in China would take such an alarmist view as yourself and the high Douban rating is a genuine reflection of how they feel about the show and the heroic story of the real-life person. And that includes people who would be critical of the government and party, because they understand that even if you want change, it's counterproductive and immoral to make everything into a crusade against some reductive caricature of evil.

If you are looking for what to watch, I do keep lists like this one https://kisskh.at/list/1VKGvgmL.

There are very few romance dramas in the lists though, and good subs may not always be available. And sadly, the number of quality historical dramas have been scarce in recent years, though there are some interesting modern dramas.

Yeah I'm super grateful for her the novels and the two adaptations and have my fingers crossed that NiF3 will grace us soon. It was supposed to be next year, but they've been saying that for a few years now.

There's very little info about her as she's kept a super low profile. Apparently she was really into Chinese history and literature growing up, which makes sense. And funnily enough chose English as her college major because she wanted something more practical with better job prospects (this is actually true, as funny as it may be in the US context). But nonetheless she ended in an unremarkable day job, probably making less than $20k/yr and wrote NiF on the side. I really respect her determination to stick to her principles and who she is and avoid leveraging her fame, which is even harder in China where explosive economic growth produced opportunities and mentality akin to America's Gilded Age. At the same time, I lament the fact that she's probably foregoing millions of dollars by being so humble and private while mediocre writers are chasing the money by polluting the book and TV scene with their junk food cookie cutter romance novels.

Unfortunately, the quality of TV and film in China is also rapidly declining, as is the case in US and Korea. But luckily for you, there's still a lot to scrape before you get to the bottom of the barrel especially if you are willing to watch shows from previous years, and outside of the romance genre.

It's 50 years after S1, so it's pretty much its own show, with some delicious callbacks and references to S1 sprinkled in. Xiao Tingsheng, Prince Qi's son adopted by Lin Shu carries on the legacy of Lin Shu's family. S2 is about Tingsheng and his sons, their heroics, loyalty to the throne, and love for the people.

I really like what another user said above, that ML Pingjing would be the closest to Lin Shu, had his family never been betrayed and him sent on exile. So there's a delicious what-if angle presented here.

It has a different flavor than S1, and it's best to go in with a blank slate and not compare the two. NiF1 is unparalleled in certain aspects, but S2 actually have some elements where it does better, and a good portion of the viewers actually enjoy s2 more than s1.