Closing the global gap in entertainment

Viewers look for entertainment abroad as foreign productions gradually restart

Brianna Cheng of international content, especially from Asia, where some of the most populous

With the slowdown of the American countries exist. According to the Wall film industry, plenty of consumers are Street Journal, Netflix has invested $500 turning towards international media, million into the Korean film industry where the industry has not been as af- alone. With Korean content becoming fected by the global pandemic. Some of more accessible to American audiences, the most popular shows being imported people will be able to connect with a into the U.S. have been Asian dramas, whole new culture from the comfort of particularly Korean and Chinese. their home.

One of the biggest proponents of The Chinese film industry has also this cross-cultural exchange is Netflix. been slowly working its way into the According to CNN, Netflix has an- American market. Actors such as Jackie nounced a push towards global content Chan and Bruce Lee brought Chinese in 2021 to capture additional interna- culture into the Hollywood mainstream, tional users. What that means for users albeit in stereotypical roles such as in the U.S. is that there will be an influx kung-fu artists or mystical wisemen. In turn, Hollywood productions have been incorporating Chinese production companies and actors into their franchises, as investments from abroad come rolling in. However, Chinese content itself has never been able to cross the ocean. Limited distribution, spotty subtitling, and differences in culture have made it difficult for Americans to access such content; a lot of the most popular dramas are historical or fantasy, relying on the audience’s knowledge of the culture. Thus, Chinese dramas have been limited in popularity to mainland China, and a few other asian countries. The rise of Korean dramas is only a fraction of the larger importation of Korean culture to the international stage, also known as the Hallyu wave. This wave, starting around the 1980s, has only recently been gaining the attention of major news outlets, with the debut of Korean boy band BTS in America in 2017, and Parasite’s iconic Oscar Best Picture win in 2019. Some notable TV shows to come out of the Hallyu wave include Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016), Descendants of the Sun (2016), and Crash Landing on You (2020).

However, there are signs that this is starting to shift. According to an analysis by Carnegie Mellon University’s Arts Management and Technology Laboratory, the Chinese entertainment industry is expected to shift towards TV shows, as they require less time and preparation to be devoted towards production and distribution; TV shows can be consumed at home, instead of movie theaters which are subject to lockdowns. Japanese news site Nikkei reported that Chinese Netflix equivalent iQiyi was making moves to expand their international reach at the beginning of the year, partnering with other Asian media companies. This comes at an opportune time, as the app had just hit 100 million paid subscribers last year, comparable to Netflix’s 150 million around the same time. Especially during the pandemic where people are searching for new, highly-produced content with engaging stories, a push towards the west during this time might lead to a real foothold for Chinese media.

Now more than ever, it’s important to get exposure to different stories and cultures. There are clearly reservations about engaging with global content, especially from countries where the government has a tight hold on the media. However, the benefits outweigh any “brain-washing” risks. Consuming entertainment does not mean accepting everything their news says is true, and seeing how people are represented in other countries can help us gain a better understanding of where those types of people fit into our own society. If eating Asian cuisine and learning Asian languages have already been normalized within our society, why not broaden our understanding of the world beyond the U.S. through entertainment? With the recent rise of anti-Asian sentiments, it’s more imperative to break down those barriers and showcase a new kind of representation, where Asians are a norm in society.

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay is one of the best Korean dramas available on Netflix, hands down. It follows the story of a self-sacrificing psychiatric caretaker, Moon Gang-tae. His brother, Sang-tae, is autistic and suffers from the trauma of seeing his mother’s muder, leading to Gang-tae’s almost-patronizing care over him. When they move back to their hometown, Gang-tae reconnects with Ko Mun-yeong, a famous children’s book author who he knew as a child. Together, the three unravel the secrets of their childhood and work through the emotional trauma to move forward.

The acting and cinematography were the highlights of the show. Everyone, from the main cast to the supporting characters, was able to inhabit their characters and adapt to the emotion of the scene, switching on a dime from emotionally-charged dialogue to humorous banter. The portrayals are relatable and realistic, with Gang-tae struggling to balance caring for his brother and his own self-identity, and Mun-yeong conflicted with feelings of isolation from childhood emotional abuse and her own disorders. The show incorporates various styles of filming, from second-person perspective, stop-motion sequences, and animation in live-action footage. Each episode is connected with a certain fairy tale, through its themes and the plot. It incorporates well-known fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast, lesser known ones such as Bluebeard, and even features tales especially created for the show, “written” by Mun-yeong. The five stories from Mun-yeong are even available to purchase, a clever addition to the drama. The plot itself does fall into some Korean drama tropes, with a love triangle and and was a bit of a let down at the climax, but the character growth more than makes up for those pitfalls. Even though the drama is marketed as a romance, the emotional healing and family bonds stay at the forefront of the drama, creating an extraordinary complex look into mental health for a piece of entertainment.

Available on Netflix. Brianna Cheng

skate INtO LOve

Skate into Love is a light-hearted romantic comedy (rom-com), a perfect distraction from the stress and boredom of distance learning. Tang Xue, a former speed skating racer, crosses paths with her former elementary school classmate, ice hockey “god” Li Yu Bing, at university. The two must overcome misunderstandings from their pasts and meddling classmates in the present, but they work together to reach their shared dream of skating.

The show is full of rom-com tropes, but avoids becoming stale by putting a unique spin on it through the focus on ice sports. The characters are particularly well-written, for a rom-com. Tang Xue is a strong female protagonist, who doesn’t fall into the trap of “acting masculine because she likes sports.” Her actress showcases her headstrong attitude and caring nature without making the character annoyingly overbearing. At times, the dialogue can be a bit cheesy, and the story does drag a bit to fill the 40 episodes, but it’s not so much as to distract from the overall experience. There are an abundance of side characters and romances, but each character is more developed than the simple one-dimensional “quirky” or “feminine” friend from most rom-coms; both Tang Xue and Yu Bing’s friends have their own motivations and character growths that are clearly shown, although it does get a bit confusing to untangle all the relationships. All in all, it’s a good introduction into Chinese dramas, and a refreshing reminder of when life was normal.