There's just something about 90s jdramas - they capture the perfect tone. jdramas seem to be the most withstanding against time in my opinion. Whereas I've always struggled to watch kdramas from the 00s and even the early 10s. But of course, kdramas have some of the biggest budgets that allow them to top the charts since the 2010s. But I do think both jdramas and kdramas have their own uniqueness in each decade. I've always found it a lot harder to really get into cdramas because of the length, unfortunately. Really great article, by the way!!! :)
because this is my first life: Sexism, misogyny, and discrimination against women in the workplacemy little character…
After completing BTIMFL for the second time, I became aware of the reoccurring theme of the treatment of women, especially within the workplace.
The opening scene features a narration of the FL (Ji Ho, played by Jung So Min) explaining how she grew up in a patriarchal household, where she was pretty much ignored and disregarded. Her freedom never came to her until she was much older. In fact, her father only really shows an interest in her when she says she is getting married.
The FL has to go through various situations in which she is treated horribly by her male coworker, which leads to her other coworkers defending him and supporting him, rather than siding with the FL, the victim. This causes her to quit once she realises that they would have just continued to use her and discredit her. She has no voice within her workplace simply due to the fact that she is a woman.
The 2nd FL (Soo Ji), played by Esom, also has to experience similar discrimination with her being a female, along with the fact that she has a stigma around her for her personal choice to be sex-positive and not committed to relationships. The judgment she faces is addressed in a conversation with her romantic partner, in which she explains the hypocrisy of being a woman and the double-edged sword that is constantly pointed at her regardless of the choices she makes.
We also see their mothers who have sacrificed their own happiness for the sake of their daughters, and in turn, their daughters who have been able to have a better life. The FLs are able to realise how much their mothers have done for them, thus making them closer with them as they are able to appreciate them.
Admittedly, the other FL, Ho Rang (played by Kim Ga Eun, was quite annoying during my first watch due to some of her selfish choices. However, upon my rewatch, I can notice and understand her and her actions. To her, the traditional route of becoming a housewife is what she desires. In a scene after a school reunion, we see how she feels less than her school peers who are married with children. Struggling to get by with little money, she aspires to get married and settle down in order to not feel so inferior. Her pride holds onto the idea of one day being able to settle down, and constantly boasts about her long-time boyfriend, yet struggles to be upfront with him and tell him what she wants from their relationship. Hence why some of her decisions come across as selfish and ignorant. Additionally, there are a few scenes in which both she and a coworker are criticised by a male superior, further perpetuating the idea that she is less than and worthless even.
These characters all display how the patriarchy invites hypocrisy and condescending behaviour due to the choices made by women. Whilst these characters are able to be happy in the end, the sexism they face continues. Despite the 20th and 21st centuries showing the change with laws, enabling women to have a bigger presence within the public sphere, attitudes towards women remain the same from a macro perspective. BTIMFL is a great example of this, which is why I highly recommend this drama. The actors all showcase their characters uniquely, showing the different sides to adulthood, the workplace, and romance.
most of the recent comments on here are talking about her wig (which I didn't even realise LMFAO), but after all these years, the only thing i can vividly remember is during the 2nd episode (around 25 mins) when the FL hugs the ML, but because she's on a chair and he's standing, her head is directly on his crotch omfg I can't get over this 😂😂 and they weren't close at all at the time. But ofc the situation she was in was traumatic and he did comfort her
hmm... wonder what roles the people who voted for Lee Joon Gi were.... I've only watched him in a handful of shows but he hasn't disappointed me in any of them
I hope this will be unlike his other dramas. Otherwise he'll just continue to be typecasted as an idol actor who can only do romances because of his looks
This is such a solid adaptation. The details that were changed from the original were done well and made sense to help progress the story. I know some people who are aware of the og don't like this ending, but I do. Older JDramas are pretty famous on MDL for being dark, and if this version went that route, it probably would have cause a lot of backlash.
I really enjoyed watching the Japanese version of A million stars falling from the sky also aka Sora kara furu…
A lot of older Japanese drama tend to be quite dark. It's relatively unusual to come across such a dark and twisted Kdrama. It would have come with a lot of controversy.
Also, regarding how they changed who gave the bracelet. I think that it was done on purpose to prove a point and give a hint. Moo Young has a great memory and the probably wanted to hint at him possibly being the murderer to threw the audience/characters off. I think it was a good change. And I assume they also wanted to emphasise his manipulative nature. That's just my interpretation - to help develop his character.
[15/09/2022 UPDATE] If I ever found out my kid was involved in something like this (God Forbid), i'd.. 1st, call the police , 2nd, I'd order a restraining order on that MF, and then, I'd send my kid to therapy so it doesn't mess them up -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I feel like I'm one of the few people who falls into the did not like category. This, unlike the many other dramas following a student-teacher relationship, felt actually predatory. At the end of the day, despite never condoning this sort of relationship, I will sometimes succumb to watching it in fiction. But this was just awful.
The FL is a character we have seen time and time again (a woman approaching her 30s, which therefore means she is losing the window for marriage and children). and yes, whilst that could've provided a good commentary, the FL was annoying af. She constantly acted like a child and didn't understand why her actions were wrong and hurtful to many people, and on many levels. She also tried to make a VERY selfish choice toward the end and I couldn't help but scoff at her actions.
I felt really bad for the ML because he was only a child with parental issues, and this teacher became a safe space for him.
To the sporting pros watching this, I'm curious, are they well casted? I'm not an expert or anything but I'm pretty sure both weightlifting and swimming would require way more muscle/weight. Don't swimmers normally have broad shoulders with a lot of muscle? Whereas NSH has more lean muscle. And the same goes for LSK. Wouldn't a female weightlifter of that height need to weigh around 70kg? I'm no expert. I'm just very curious and I can't stop thinking about it
this was one of the first japanese films that i ever watched, and i watched it around the same time i watched brain man. and even know, i'm haunted by the face of the white guy that showed up when the teacher went a little crazy. i'm still petrified. Also, it's cool to see the cast and see that there's so many faces that I recognise now. I might have to re watch this soon
i remember being hella mad when no one did anything when the fl was abused. i do think haru might have said something but not even her friends tried to get her to break up with him. it was so stupid.
the whole storyline with her so-called "fiance" was just annoying. would have been better if there reason why she never heard from him was because he had passed away. at least it would have been tragic and would have caused friction between the leads
The opening scene features a narration of the FL (Ji Ho, played by Jung So Min) explaining how she grew up in a patriarchal household, where she was pretty much ignored and disregarded. Her freedom never came to her until she was much older. In fact, her father only really shows an interest in her when she says she is getting married.
The FL has to go through various situations in which she is treated horribly by her male coworker, which leads to her other coworkers defending him and supporting him, rather than siding with the FL, the victim. This causes her to quit once she realises that they would have just continued to use her and discredit her. She has no voice within her workplace simply due to the fact that she is a woman.
The 2nd FL (Soo Ji), played by Esom, also has to experience similar discrimination with her being a female, along with the fact that she has a stigma around her for her personal choice to be sex-positive and not committed to relationships. The judgment she faces is addressed in a conversation with her romantic partner, in which she explains the hypocrisy of being a woman and the double-edged sword that is constantly pointed at her regardless of the choices she makes.
We also see their mothers who have sacrificed their own happiness for the sake of their daughters, and in turn, their daughters who have been able to have a better life. The FLs are able to realise how much their mothers have done for them, thus making them closer with them as they are able to appreciate them.
Admittedly, the other FL, Ho Rang (played by Kim Ga Eun, was quite annoying during my first watch due to some of her selfish choices. However, upon my rewatch, I can notice and understand her and her actions. To her, the traditional route of becoming a housewife is what she desires. In a scene after a school reunion, we see how she feels less than her school peers who are married with children. Struggling to get by with little money, she aspires to get married and settle down in order to not feel so inferior. Her pride holds onto the idea of one day being able to settle down, and constantly boasts about her long-time boyfriend, yet struggles to be upfront with him and tell him what she wants from their relationship. Hence why some of her decisions come across as selfish and ignorant. Additionally, there are a few scenes in which both she and a coworker are criticised by a male superior, further perpetuating the idea that she is less than and worthless even.
These characters all display how the patriarchy invites hypocrisy and condescending behaviour due to the choices made by women. Whilst these characters are able to be happy in the end, the sexism they face continues. Despite the 20th and 21st centuries showing the change with laws, enabling women to have a bigger presence within the public sphere, attitudes towards women remain the same from a macro perspective. BTIMFL is a great example of this, which is why I highly recommend this drama. The actors all showcase their characters uniquely, showing the different sides to adulthood, the workplace, and romance.
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my little character analysis
Also, regarding how they changed who gave the bracelet. I think that it was done on purpose to prove a point and give a hint. Moo Young has a great memory and the probably wanted to hint at him possibly being the murderer to threw the audience/characters off. I think it was a good change. And I assume they also wanted to emphasise his manipulative nature. That's just my interpretation - to help develop his character.
If I ever found out my kid was involved in something like this (God Forbid), i'd..
1st, call the police , 2nd, I'd order a restraining order on that MF, and then, I'd send my kid to therapy so it doesn't mess them up
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I feel like I'm one of the few people who falls into the did not like category. This, unlike the many other dramas following a student-teacher relationship, felt actually predatory. At the end of the day, despite never condoning this sort of relationship, I will sometimes succumb to watching it in fiction. But this was just awful.
The FL is a character we have seen time and time again (a woman approaching her 30s, which therefore means she is losing the window for marriage and children). and yes, whilst that could've provided a good commentary, the FL was annoying af. She constantly acted like a child and didn't understand why her actions were wrong and hurtful to many people, and on many levels. She also tried to make a VERY selfish choice toward the end and I couldn't help but scoff at her actions.
I felt really bad for the ML because he was only a child with parental issues, and this teacher became a safe space for him.
Also, it's cool to see the cast and see that there's so many faces that I recognise now. I might have to re watch this soon
the whole storyline with her so-called "fiance" was just annoying. would have been better if there reason why she never heard from him was because he had passed away. at least it would have been tragic and would have caused friction between the leads