“I think I’m turning Japanese, Chinese, Korean…”
It’s a natural progression... liking anime then taking the leap into going for movies from our neighboring Asian countries. Or so I tell myself. After all, I don’t see too many guys who like Meteor Garden though they like Gundam Wing. Hehe. Well, I never did try to justify myself too much. I do something because it’s worth doing and that definitely extends to jumping to the chinovela bandwagon and liking Korean and Taiwanese pop. I’ve always liked listening to anime themes and J-pop stars like Ayumi Hamasaki so liking music with lyrics I don’t understand but a melody that I could hum to wasn’t too much of an effort for me. So far, I watch Taiwanese soaps like “Meteor Garden”, “Poor Prince”, “Lavender” and Koreans soaps like “My Love Cindy”, “Secretly in Love” and “Endless Love”. The one thing I noticed is that they all have simple yet intriguing stories and the cinematography, scoring and acting are pretty good that even I, who one could consider as media literate since I am a Mass Comm. Graduate, can’t complain. Every episode is worth watching because it contains important points essential to the story and character development.
What is a chinovela? Simply put, it’s a drama series from Taiwan or South Korea. Well, so far it is. Maybe soon it’ll start coming from Singapore, Japan and the like. Come to think of it, why couldn’t we get drama series from other non-Chinese looking peopled countries like Thailand, Burma or Indonesia? Or even India! And why haven’t Bollywood movies gotten much support from Filipinos? Maybe it’s because of our colonial mentality. It’s a wonder that it has taken this long for Japanese horror films and Hong Kong action films like “Hero” to be shown commercially in our country considering Kris Aquino starred in “Happy Ghost” way back when I was in grade school and Cynthia Luster already made a movie with Vic Sotto and Lito Lapid. I mean, we should be part of the Hong Kong movie loop by now. Instead of hoping for that big Hollywood break for our local artists like Billy Crawford, G Toengi and who else why couldn’t we all just have learned Cantonese and plotted to take over the world thru the silver screen? Maybe it’s because we already know how to speak English? Duh. There I’ve answered my own question. Hehe. But it’s worth thinking isn’t it? Not too late to do something about it, future film directors who are reading this! Films from Hong Kong, Japan and even South Korea are the ones Hollywood are trying to rip off… Case in point, “Ringu” and “The Eye” from Japan, “My Wife is a Gangster” and “My Sassy Girl” from Korea. The stories are simple yet very effective, proof that Hollywood doesn’t have the premium on good movies. I very much think that Filipinos could also and have done as good. It’s all a matter of distribution and making the films ready for the international market. And of making more films of good quality with original and memorable stories, disregarding formula and the so-called “masa” penchance for melodrama, slapstick and skin flicks. It’s not a bad thing but then it does get tired after all. If only audiences were presented with alternatives then perhaps it would grow on them. At least I hope so. Maybe it’s my optimism and naivete showing through.
The whole point is taking a cue from our Asian neighbors. The huge Meteor Garden craze in the Philippines is actually a source of inspiration since that much fervor wasn’t sparked by A1 or N’Sync, it was by a group of Taiwanese boys who could pass for Filipinos and who sang songs in Mandarin, a treat for the Tsinoy community. Tsinoy or not, it was amazing how everyone knew the lyrics to “Qing Fei Di Yi”, more popularly known as the Meteor Garden Opening Song which I chalk that up to great memorization skills. But then it is a step to the right direction. Asian TV and movies are now coming into the fore in our country and that is a good thing because it means we are growing past looking at Americans as role models and have actually welcomed Asians like ourselves, who I think are as talented as their Western counterparts and who deserve the attention. Even though we don’t understand what they are singing about, the sentiment is there and music is universal, we can feel the meaning even without the lyrics, really. If you insist on it, you could always look up what the lyrics mean over the Internet, can’t you?
My interest in Asian TV has even extended to cable channels like Arirang and WINS. I just love watching Ellen Fujiwara, I think, on Channel 56 go around Japan, showing the sights and tasting the food, all while converting how much it all costs “sa pera natin”. Do you know that crispy pata in some Filipino restaurant costs around P1,000.00 an order? Shocking! But then that’s how much food costs in Japan, she explained. You know how hosts always eat food and pretend it tastes good even though it doesn’t? Hehehe. Television is so amusing. I think WINS also has a Japanese counterpart for Ellen, that Filipina who now lives in Japan. The TV host also goes around the Philippines explaining how much things cost to viewers back home. I love watching Arirang mainly because of “The Contenders” and “New Nonstop”. The former is a game show like Jeopardy done entirely in English and I must say that I admire the hostess for her accent and diction… every opinion she makes sounds so educated partly because of her modulation. Idol talaga! Hehehe! She’s also so pretty and polished. I don’t know her name, sorry. You would just have to catch an episode of “The Contenders” to see her. “New Nonstop” is a sit-com about life in a college dorm. The stories every week are light but you can also count on learning a thing or two about friendship, love and everything in between. I definitely think that these TV shows are must-sees. Who knows? You might even like them more than I do.
It’s a natural progression... liking anime then taking the leap into going for movies from our neighboring Asian countries. Or so I tell myself. After all, I don’t see too many guys who like Meteor Garden though they like Gundam Wing. Hehe. Well, I never did try to justify myself too much. I do something because it’s worth doing and that definitely extends to jumping to the chinovela bandwagon and liking Korean and Taiwanese pop. I’ve always liked listening to anime themes and J-pop stars like Ayumi Hamasaki so liking music with lyrics I don’t understand but a melody that I could hum to wasn’t too much of an effort for me. So far, I watch Taiwanese soaps like “Meteor Garden”, “Poor Prince”, “Lavender” and Koreans soaps like “My Love Cindy”, “Secretly in Love” and “Endless Love”. The one thing I noticed is that they all have simple yet intriguing stories and the cinematography, scoring and acting are pretty good that even I, who one could consider as media literate since I am a Mass Comm. Graduate, can’t complain. Every episode is worth watching because it contains important points essential to the story and character development.
What is a chinovela? Simply put, it’s a drama series from Taiwan or South Korea. Well, so far it is. Maybe soon it’ll start coming from Singapore, Japan and the like. Come to think of it, why couldn’t we get drama series from other non-Chinese looking peopled countries like Thailand, Burma or Indonesia? Or even India! And why haven’t Bollywood movies gotten much support from Filipinos? Maybe it’s because of our colonial mentality. It’s a wonder that it has taken this long for Japanese horror films and Hong Kong action films like “Hero” to be shown commercially in our country considering Kris Aquino starred in “Happy Ghost” way back when I was in grade school and Cynthia Luster already made a movie with Vic Sotto and Lito Lapid. I mean, we should be part of the Hong Kong movie loop by now. Instead of hoping for that big Hollywood break for our local artists like Billy Crawford, G Toengi and who else why couldn’t we all just have learned Cantonese and plotted to take over the world thru the silver screen? Maybe it’s because we already know how to speak English? Duh. There I’ve answered my own question. Hehe. But it’s worth thinking isn’t it? Not too late to do something about it, future film directors who are reading this! Films from Hong Kong, Japan and even South Korea are the ones Hollywood are trying to rip off… Case in point, “Ringu” and “The Eye” from Japan, “My Wife is a Gangster” and “My Sassy Girl” from Korea. The stories are simple yet very effective, proof that Hollywood doesn’t have the premium on good movies. I very much think that Filipinos could also and have done as good. It’s all a matter of distribution and making the films ready for the international market. And of making more films of good quality with original and memorable stories, disregarding formula and the so-called “masa” penchance for melodrama, slapstick and skin flicks. It’s not a bad thing but then it does get tired after all. If only audiences were presented with alternatives then perhaps it would grow on them. At least I hope so. Maybe it’s my optimism and naivete showing through.
The whole point is taking a cue from our Asian neighbors. The huge Meteor Garden craze in the Philippines is actually a source of inspiration since that much fervor wasn’t sparked by A1 or N’Sync, it was by a group of Taiwanese boys who could pass for Filipinos and who sang songs in Mandarin, a treat for the Tsinoy community. Tsinoy or not, it was amazing how everyone knew the lyrics to “Qing Fei Di Yi”, more popularly known as the Meteor Garden Opening Song which I chalk that up to great memorization skills. But then it is a step to the right direction. Asian TV and movies are now coming into the fore in our country and that is a good thing because it means we are growing past looking at Americans as role models and have actually welcomed Asians like ourselves, who I think are as talented as their Western counterparts and who deserve the attention. Even though we don’t understand what they are singing about, the sentiment is there and music is universal, we can feel the meaning even without the lyrics, really. If you insist on it, you could always look up what the lyrics mean over the Internet, can’t you?
My interest in Asian TV has even extended to cable channels like Arirang and WINS. I just love watching Ellen Fujiwara, I think, on Channel 56 go around Japan, showing the sights and tasting the food, all while converting how much it all costs “sa pera natin”. Do you know that crispy pata in some Filipino restaurant costs around P1,000.00 an order? Shocking! But then that’s how much food costs in Japan, she explained. You know how hosts always eat food and pretend it tastes good even though it doesn’t? Hehehe. Television is so amusing. I think WINS also has a Japanese counterpart for Ellen, that Filipina who now lives in Japan. The TV host also goes around the Philippines explaining how much things cost to viewers back home. I love watching Arirang mainly because of “The Contenders” and “New Nonstop”. The former is a game show like Jeopardy done entirely in English and I must say that I admire the hostess for her accent and diction… every opinion she makes sounds so educated partly because of her modulation. Idol talaga! Hehehe! She’s also so pretty and polished. I don’t know her name, sorry. You would just have to catch an episode of “The Contenders” to see her. “New Nonstop” is a sit-com about life in a college dorm. The stories every week are light but you can also count on learning a thing or two about friendship, love and everything in between. I definitely think that these TV shows are must-sees. Who knows? You might even like them more than I do.
posted by glitchy at
2:36 AM
