A fascinating read, thanks! It really does sound like the sort of concept that might translate well, it made me…
Hi, thank you for reading my article and responding! I'm assuming you are refering to the ages of Kitty versus Marius and Hugo. It is true that the men are older. In the show their ages are a bit vague (hugo is said to be forty) but it is clear in the series Kitty is somewhat younger than her husband. The actors irl have a difference of 6 and 10 years.
My main focus while casting the female actresses was their ability to successfully capture Kittys character. In the original show Kitty is not only physically younger than her husband but she is also much more childlike in her behaviour. Combined with the character's characteristics desribed in the article there were not many korean actresses (whom I have personally seen in action) that in my opinion could bring her to life. I am sure that there are many great korean actress who would do a fine job in this role, but I had to limit my article to the ones I know and the ones I think could excel.
My all time favourite drama OST has to be "Sori" from Mr. Sunshine sung by AKMU's Suhyun. Her crystal clear voice is enchanting and simply gives me chills!
OMG I can only imagine how watching some dramas feel from a design perspective! I bet you also notice a lot of…
Omg of course! I don't mind at all! (although I'm not working in the tv industry so this is mainly just my personal opinion)
A character's home to me should be a reflection of their personality and should at the least tell you something about their life style. Are they afraid of losing control? so their house is pristinely cleaned and tidied. Are they obsessed with impressing other people and trying climb up in society? Then their house might be filled with expensive designer furniture and art.
Similarly a character's clothing is a usuful tool to give clues to their personality and life style. Do they live a hectic life so they hardly have time to dress up or even clean their clothes? Or are they very fashion forward through their job at an international artsy business?
Styling and design offer so many ways to make your character and their tv world come to life so it's sometimes disappointing to see how unadventurous some drama productions can be.
A problem I often have with kdramas is that they are often overstyled. Meaning the spaces look like ikea showrooms. Everything looks so perfect they don't look like spaces actual humans live anymore. The only theory I have as to why this is so often the case is to do with wanting the spaces to look aspirational to viewers. Or they can be sponsered by an interior brand.
A drama that many people will know and that I think shows off the characters personalities well is My love from another star. The 2 main love interests couldn't be more different from one another and you can clearly see that reflected in their houses and clothes. The FL is a rich, glamorous, selfobsessed, drama queen. Her house is filled with all kinds of colours and prints (2010s trends let's keep in kind) gold framing and, if I remember correctly, a huge self portrait above her bed. She is dressed in all the newest fashions, often trotting around in high heels and huge sunglasses. Whereas the ML (an ammortal alien) is almost exclusively dressed in grey printless clothes and lives in a minimalist perfectly tidied house that looks more like a museum than a home.
Without even having opened their mouths both character have already revealed crucial information about themselfs.
But this in my opinion can also go too far. The FL in It's Okay Not To Be Okay is always dressed in super stylish haute couture clothes. On first glance this fits her eccentric, demanding and delusional character. But to me this styling was too much and became distracting from the story and acting. The bordering abstract outfits sometimes made it hard to take her character seriously and made the show seem more like a fashion show than a serious drama. (It also helps when youre trying to create a character that takes inspiration from Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast at Tifanny's you make her at least somewhat likeable)
This comment is already becoming way too long so I'll stop here. (Maybe I should just write an article lol)
Really interesting article! I love reading mdl articles that focus on the technical and artistic side of dramas. And I'm glad to read I'm not the only one that sometimes stops shows to point out distracting things. As someone who studied styling/design I can't help but cringe sometimes at badly designed sets or overly styled actors/actresses.
As someone likely to be on the autism spectrum I found it difficult to watch the way Sang Tae was depicted as such a burden. A recent drama that to me portrayed a healthy relationship between an autistic person and their family was Move To Heaven. There the ML and his father work together and have a deep relationship build on trust and love. I wish more dramas took notes.
Ps. I hope you write more socially critical articles about dramas in the future.
Not just in the context of this drama but in general: I think we're all here because we want to support and watch…
I agree, we deserve both. As a queer person I find it difficult to form one opinion on the growing popularity of BL tho. On one side the increase in interest will increase the amount of shows that will be made which is nice. But on the other hand this new found popularity will attract opportunist who just wanna profit by re-using the same worn out tropes and concept targeted to one group only; cis-het girls.
I noted that within the attached reference from Section II: Content Guidelines listed BL as a topic to avoid writing…
Hi! I'm afraid I'm a bit confused. Some time ago I also read the Guidelines. But since they posted this new article written by an official editor stating. "As long as the content you write does not incite any hate speech or discrimination against any person or entity, you're more than welcome to choose a topic and write about it, the canvas is yours to paint as you wish." LGBTQ topics are not mentioned.
This article has made me so exited to start writing! I was saddened by the previous rules against LGBTQ articles. So it makes me very glad to read about the rules against discrimination. Can't wait to submit my final draft ♡
Huh so ..All of you are preaching about justice and stuff totally ignoring shows like games of thrones and million…
You are right many other popular shows feature r*ape and s*xual assault. Lets for example take the series "I May Destroy You". Both this show and the Tarntype seasons examine these 2 subjects and how the characters deal with them. A core difference however lies in how the perpetrators and the effects of their actions are portrayed. Mame simply uses these themes to sexualize her story and as a cheap way to create drama and suffering. The perpetrators are either faceless monsters or handsome men that are eventually forgiven. Both are just there to create tension between the 2 main love interest and to ultimately bring them back together. She has no interest in actually telling a story about r*ape, s*xual assault and trauma like "I May Destroy You" does. Yes a writer can write about r*ape. But do not romanticize or glorify it for entertainment.
I guess you are the only one who hates it because we are completely loving it
We are neither all "loving"or "hating" it cause it's neither rated a 1 or a 10. What it does however have is the lowest score of a history series since the first season. That says something.
Dropped after 6 eps. Not one character that I liked. Some really useless dialogue and entire scenes that revealed…
(Comment meant for user HollisAL who blocked me for trying to have a adult conversation about letting people post negative opinions about shows on this website. Sorry to FrankIncese for the many notifications)
How can you surmise a person has a "unhealthy obsession with things they don't like" based on one comment? Let alone that they are not a healthy minded individual? ( I'm assuming you're being sarcastic in the later half of your last sentence). If this particular person had been spamming the commenting platforms for this drama with hate I might agree they have a unhealthy interest. But so far this person just seems like someone who disliked the show and left a comment voicing that. I kindly advice you to take up a less judgemental attitude towards people who post negative reviews/opinions.
You say you dropped it and yet you're still here commenting. Why waste your energy on something you obviously…
Their opinions about the episodes they watched are still valid. Also it shouldn't matter if you decide to post your opinions directly after viewing or later. Lastly I believe many people who are deciding whether or not to watch a show visit the general comment section (aka where we are now) to see peoples opinions. Therefor this is a appropriate place to voice positive or negative opinions on the show.
You say you dropped it and yet you're still here commenting. Why waste your energy on something you obviously…
To share their opinion? Imagine if the only people rating and commenting on this website were people who loved everything. Then non of the ratings would accurately reflect how shows/films are being received by the viewers. It defeat the whole point of this website.
My main focus while casting the female actresses was their ability to successfully capture Kittys character. In the original show Kitty is not only physically younger than her husband but she is also much more childlike in her behaviour. Combined with the character's characteristics desribed in the article there were not many korean actresses (whom I have personally seen in action) that in my opinion could bring her to life. I am sure that there are many great korean actress who would do a fine job in this role, but I had to limit my article to the ones I know and the ones I think could excel.
Her crystal clear voice is enchanting and simply gives me chills!
A character's home to me should be a reflection of their personality and should at the least tell you something about their life style. Are they afraid of losing control? so their house is pristinely cleaned and tidied. Are they obsessed with impressing other people and trying climb up in society? Then their house might be filled with expensive designer furniture and art.
Similarly a character's clothing is a usuful tool to give clues to their personality and life style. Do they live a hectic life so they hardly have time to dress up or even clean their clothes? Or are they very fashion forward through their job at an international artsy business?
Styling and design offer so many ways to make your character and their tv world come to life so it's sometimes disappointing to see how unadventurous some drama productions can be.
A problem I often have with kdramas is that they are often overstyled. Meaning the spaces look like ikea showrooms. Everything looks so perfect they don't look like spaces actual humans live anymore. The only theory I have as to why this is so often the case is to do with wanting the spaces to look aspirational to viewers. Or they can be sponsered by an interior brand.
A drama that many people will know and that I think shows off the characters personalities well is My love from another star. The 2 main love interests couldn't be more different from one another and you can clearly see that reflected in their houses and clothes. The FL is a rich, glamorous, selfobsessed, drama queen. Her house is filled with all kinds of colours and prints (2010s trends let's keep in kind) gold framing and, if I remember correctly, a huge self portrait above her bed. She is dressed in all the newest fashions, often trotting around in high heels and huge sunglasses. Whereas the ML (an ammortal alien) is almost exclusively dressed in grey printless clothes and lives in a minimalist perfectly tidied house that looks more like a museum than a home.
Without even having opened their mouths both character have already revealed crucial information about themselfs.
But this in my opinion can also go too far. The FL in It's Okay Not To Be Okay is always dressed in super stylish haute couture clothes. On first glance this fits her eccentric, demanding and delusional character. But to me this styling was too much and became distracting from the story and acting. The bordering abstract outfits sometimes made it hard to take her character seriously and made the show seem more like a fashion show than a serious drama. (It also helps when youre trying to create a character that takes inspiration from Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast at Tifanny's you make her at least somewhat likeable)
This comment is already becoming way too long so I'll stop here. (Maybe I should just write an article lol)
XxMar
As someone likely to be on the autism spectrum I found it difficult to watch the way Sang Tae was depicted as such a burden. A recent drama that to me portrayed a healthy relationship between an autistic person and their family was Move To Heaven. There the ML and his father work together and have a deep relationship build on trust and love. I wish more dramas took notes.
Ps. I hope you write more socially critical articles about dramas in the future.
Lets for example take the series "I May Destroy You". Both this show and the Tarntype seasons examine these 2 subjects and how the characters deal with them. A core difference however lies in how the perpetrators and the effects of their actions are portrayed. Mame simply uses these themes to sexualize her story and as a cheap way to create drama and suffering. The perpetrators are either faceless monsters or handsome men that are eventually forgiven. Both are just there to create tension between the 2 main love interest and to ultimately bring them back together. She has no interest in actually telling a story about r*ape, s*xual assault and trauma like "I May Destroy You" does.
Yes a writer can write about r*ape. But do not romanticize or glorify it for entertainment.
How can you surmise a person has a "unhealthy obsession with things they don't like" based on one comment? Let alone that they are not a healthy minded individual? ( I'm assuming you're being sarcastic in the later half of your last sentence). If this particular person had been spamming the commenting platforms for this drama with hate I might agree they have a unhealthy interest. But so far this person just seems like someone who disliked the show and left a comment voicing that. I kindly advice you to take up a less judgemental attitude towards people who post negative reviews/opinions.