kabocha

NARRATIVE-OBSESSED NERD:  I’ve been hyperfocusing on books, movies, and tv since I was little. I’m from the U.S. English is my first language. I speak Spanish and Portuguese and some execrable French. Whether I’m watching television or movies, I’d always rather watch something that's not in English.

DRAMA HOPPER:  Dramas float back and forth between my Currently Watching and my On Hold, and sometimes even return from Dropped to the land of the living. What can I say — I have the executive function of a lava lamp.

SUBJECTIVE RATINGS:  My ratings take the medium into account. I refuse to rob a perfect tv drama of a star just because it’ll never make it into the Criterion Collection. 

I rate dramas based mostly on writing, acting, and directing. I'm absorbed by art direction, composition and visuals, but have to make an effort to pay attention to soundtracks. High moments for me are original takes on people and society.

• Epic stereotypes. Benevolent elders, nobly dead dads, sunshiny Cinderellas, grumpy CEOs, evil mothers-in-law, etc. New dramas build on what came before. Actors add their own personal stamp.

• Amnesia. Without amnesia, I Hear Your Voice's Park Soo Ha in the rain would not have the same sad puppy power!

• Talking with Dead People. Deceased family members show up to chat with the living, giving me a sense of what it is to live in a society that honors ancestors. 

• Time skips, loops. and travels; multiverse hopping, reincarnation. Myriad ways to explore karma.

• Red threads and tangled coincidences. When the childhood connection is revealed, when the karmic dominos spill: that's when I feel  wondering and grateful

• Breakups and separations in later episodes. How did I ever put up with Hollywood endings where the couple suddenly pivot to happy ever after? Down with that. The relationship must be tested. Only a major separation can prove the couple has what it takes to last. (Although if I'm being honest, these were an adjustment!)

3. The casual hitting. The forehead flicks. Those angry/affectionate slaps. It's not that I disapprove. I just can't stop being aware that in my culture, that behavior would not fly

• International English aka Globish. It’s cool how English as a second language users use English/Globish to communicate among themselves and with speakers of other languages. Heads up for any of you English speakers who complain English isn’t spoken the way you like: you are not the intended audience.

• Theatrical acting styles. Western acting is all about realism (probably because the origins of Western theater are so drab compared to traditional Chinese opera / xìqǔ). In contrast, Asian performance styles include not only realism, but also broad and theatrical acting. And when a script goes big, the performers take it to 11 - I love watching that.