Ching-Chih
Where do I start? I'm reminded of one episode where Old Fu takes Xiaoyu (Deng Lun, main character) to eat out and Deng Lun attempts to explain the meaning of being an actor to him and rationalise why a young man would spend his "best years" (20-30s) pursuing a bitter path called acting.
He says: "Even if the audience looks at me for one minute, just one minute, I need to let them forget everything that makes them unhappy. What my profession does is meaningful"
I remember this episode, remember thinking this was one bull sh*t line. What Deng Lun implies is that we as consumers watch media as our form of escapism, and that the highest form of art an actor could achieve is to perpetuate our escapism, perpetuate our unwillingness to confront what makes us unhappy.
I thought about this line a lot and had a good think about the many other c-dramas I've watched that admittedly simply passed my time and let me forget about the unpleasantries of life. Dramas that made me "happy" in the moment before I had to confront reality again. Is the job of an actor really just that kind of immediate cheap pleasure?
Fastforward to a rainy morning (which are the best for thinking) on a Thursday when I had just finished the last episode, I finally had my answer. I think now that the ultimate, best role an actor/actress can play is not to "let them forget their unhappiness". Anyone can do that simply by performing a lap dance on a table- that's entertainment, is it not? But an entertainer, an actor that can guide an audience to confront reality and acknowledge it, the way a therapist can guide a patient to explore better realities is worth gold, and I feel like that's the highest aspiration one with such a profession could achieve. This drama is by far the best example I've watched of how a cast managed such an amazing feat, and challenged me to critically think of the media I consume daily. Reason 1 I was spellbound by this: it made me think, made me question to be better.
How did it do that? I’m not really meant to say since I don’t want to include spoilers, but part of it comes from the premise/setting of the drama. The characters are realistic people confronted with realistic problems that we could easily face - such as being almost broke, and feeling stagnant and dull despite our busy city lives. Although I have no expertise with acting, a bulk of the drama is emotionally driven - this requires a strong cast to convey the emotions needed when there is not much of a pull by the plot. A stellar performance by the cast, that were able to show me about every colour of the human emotion rainbow in a way that touched me. “Humanity is an ocean, and if a few drops are dirty the ocean does not become dirty” (Ghandi) I think is the main message I understood as characters in the drama reveal all different parts of themselves, not always pretty.
Some people say the story was too long, but I never felt that way. The director gives a portrayal of the struggles of a group of people, and tries to tie all the individual unique problems of each person into the linear narrative structure of a plot that’s main focus is Xiaoyu’s (Deng Lun) acting career. Considering the depth, nuance and exploration the director delves into for each character (even minor ones) I find this a commendable effort already even if there is room for improvement.
The director never shys away from showing the ugly in life or in people - but leaves the drama with an ending worthy of the journey. There’s a very heartfelt message at the end narrated by Deng Lun to the audience of the drama.
Simply because it tore at too many of my heartstrings, I’d have a hard time rewatching this - but yes, this is quality stuff for me.
Overall, absolutely brilliant!
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