Nepeta 22

It's great you saw Mo Dao in a store, however as I said before in addition to anti-China news, there is a culture war against Chinese exports, so dramas that come out of China will get the same sinophobic propaganda to scare people off. This drama, the early comments were "this is propaganda" on and on. "You will be ensnared by the CCP!"

I watched this drama, it's one of the best this year in writing and cinematography. But this would be lost in the world outside China because of the culture wars being controlled by the mainstream media in the west. This includes social media and general pop culture. It's not an accident that China's general image is poor, it's deliberate.

It suits you to "stay on topic" when the comments section escalated outside of that when the word propaganda had been used. Overly patriotic being used. And yes, it is possible for countries to admire and appreciate Chinese patriotism. But generally, whenever I see any drama in China set inside the last 100 years, it's the words boring, propaganda next to it. This is just a long line and comments are very similar.

If you have read all my other comments here, it's the enforcing of one's culture on another country's history. You don't like over-the-top patriotism, that's fine, but also admit that your comment comes from a place of another culture that is not very likely to align with China's history. That would help calm the comments section down.

The reason is many people who don't live in China have been drip fed "subtle" patriotism simply because of their country's past history. A majority of former coloniser countries also involved in the slave trade seldom do dramas or films on the topic. If they do, they typically depict the lone white knight that shines outside of their peers to make it palatable. Patriotism is hidden in computer games and in films like Black Hawk Down to Rambo. Perhaps you are used to that sort of patriotism.

But China's past is nothing like that. They suffered major wars in the last 100 years and inside 40 years, have lifted millions out of poverty. This achievement is very raw and very now. That's a different place to where you may be coming from surrounded by your values and culture. I'm here to remind others of their over-bearing & entitled opinions when it comes to sensitive films/dramas in China in the last 100 years. Also, films and politics often go hand in hand. It's sometimes hard to separate. Happy to talk drama and film plots too, but on this occasion, it does sometimes involve politics.

The post was directed @S_Ellie. But generally for others to read and think about that over usage of the word propaganda against the country China. Seldom have I seen this for other countries like South Korea or even Japan. As for the wider world even less so.

There is a reason for this. Just 17% of the world's population want people around the world to "other" China but not Vietnam. ( We know why and it's got nothing to do with Communism).

It's as if it's a dirty thing to enjoy watching China celebrate and triumph in the last 100 years. That is also propaganda. But I'm seeing very little of others stating this, so I want to make this point to get this topic out and hold the mirror up to some that think they're "independent" in thought.

The issue is, you are in a way enforcing your ideals on another country's culture. It is possible that China and of course many of its film and dramas are in-yer-face patriotic. Why? People who grow up in former coloniser countries will be "fed" films that needs to tread carefully of their unsightly past. Films will hand pick a "White Knight" or one lone warrior that fights against their countries' tricky past and re-spin it to make the aggressor seem a saint.

China's most recent history is nothing like this. It's a former under-dog that rose and won, that's why you will likely see dramas filmed patriotically and openly. Once you get your head around China's past instead of the past that your countries have gone through, you will drop that "propaganda" word because let's face it, using such a word with China means you have swallowed the propaganda that's been drip drip fed to you through various means.

There seems to be a theme on the usage of the word "propaganda". Could be lost in translation since in China, they use this word literally (with no malice) unlike many western countries' hold over the mass view-point.

I must stress the western countries' population only make up just 17% of the world's population, and interestingly enough controls the world narrative through news, social media and of course film and literature. China's suffering during this period is not widely known to the western world. And there is a reason.

What makes it worse is everytime a Chinese drama/movie depicts this period, the word propaganda is used next to it. That I'm afraid is the sign that the western strain of propaganda has worked. Next time you type that word next to Chinese dramas/movies, think of the many things that have seeped into your sub-consciousness when posting. You might not be as smart as you claim to be.

I could be wrong, but someone on the discussions earlier mentioned Shanghai dialect.

OK, thanks for the quick reply.

Thanks for that. Do you know why there is a dispute? Was the old agency still signed with him in at some point in 2018 & they got him the lead role in Love & Redemption?

I heard about Cheng Yi's ex agents and the court case. I can't find the information. Does anyone know what year he actually signed with H & R Century?

Thanks for that. I thought the same, but was not sure. Anyway, her character certainly adds to a tiny bit of light relief.

Going a bit off topic. Anyone know what Niu Chun Miao has around her neck? Looks like a silver metal hoop. Is that some kind of jewellery piece?

I know what you mean. When they do the flashback, you do need to keep note of names of at least with 6-7 people as they will be mentioned in the present day. The plot is very intricate and tightly woven, and they do deliberately try to confuse us to hide the culprit. It depends on what you're into. When you find out who is the culprit is at the end, & you go back to the previous episodes, the answer was there right in front of your eyes. It was well done. I loved it.

I'm afraid it's still not subbed, and it looks like it won't be as there seems to be no demand for the international audiences. The storyline is very similar set up to this drama except it was set around 1948-9 which is a very interesting time and also shows how normal people to some extent living very normal lives with no big interest in politics after all, they have just suffered greatly after the second Japanese Sino War. Very memorable.

Fearless Whispers - no English Subs I'm afraid. I managed to watch it using Baidu episodes guide. Fearless Blood a short drama that uses black humour to tell the story from bottom up. Nice to see what it's like in the small villages instead of the big cities at the time.

He is a well established actor and have played many roles. His performance in Under the Microscope and Echo show case his range.

I'm only on episode 4 and looking forward to future episodes, which is a good sign. I also picked up on the less skin smoothing, which fits in with the feel of the drama.

Every country will tell their story, especially during the World War 2 era. The US & UK are no different. This is China's modern history, and there is no escaping the Japanese invasion, the civil war with KMT & the ending of feudalism/warlords, this is their recent history & this is made for their domestic audience.

I'm in the west, when I watch dramas here I'm used to it here. I've only just started this drama, so hope this is a good story and not done in a clunky way.

What you see is tunnel vision of one fandom driven by hormones and not reality, especially in China. Very unfortunate your response seems to have undone your fake respect for Li Qin. Of course, blame IQIYI if you must for the limited information. Reality is, WYB is the junior actor here, and actors like Wang Yang and Li Qin are buffeting his position, so he's less exposed to negativity. Regarding BL, it's pretty obvious that WYB gained fame from Untamed. Without that, we could argue today's landscape of male actors might look a lot different. In other words, his success may not be down to his acting skills.

You don't for sure, which is why you made a comment earlier stating it's a male centric drama. You said "Because it’s a male centric drama. What's fl job isn't matter much". Now that just about sums up the ignorance of "some" WYB fans. They either only watch because of WYB regardless, or the assume the FL's character actually has no relevant storyline.

BTW, in China to passerbys, Li Qin is a far more experienced, recognised and respected actress compared with WYB who rose to fame due to the short lived BL wave which then created a series of lazy writing and imagination before action was taken to stop the descend into poor standard dramas using BL just to grab temporary attention.

I think your comments are not really putting into account the strong western propaganda that's been going on for decades. Don't assume S.Korea pushes hard to get themselves known. Their placement is due to geo-politics. No amount of what China does on the entertainment circuit will get to be mainstream because most western countries are tied together in keeping China out and alienating the whole nation. Your comments come from a tiny group that believes it will grow. Unfortunately, it won't be now even if it was growing around 2010 onwards. Even TikTok is controversial. Basically, anything from China is seen as scary and untrustworthy. The entertainment industry/film industry will see less exposure internationally right now compared to 15 years ago. This is just the way things are. China markets are not trying to court the international community either. Their thinking is more, if you like what they do, you go to them, you learn the language.