nycfoodie

Hi, remember me because I didn't forget your post; something unexpected came up this weekend.

It's not much of a theory yet & I'd be interested in your thoughts, but here goes.

Some (international) viewers seem to think that the criticisms of female actors (or their characters) come from misogyny, right?

I don't doubt that it's a contributing factor but it can't be the primary one because rarely, if ever, do I see that kind of negative scrutiny for female figures in Victorian/Gothic Era Romance novels or 19th century Russian Lit as well as BBC/PBS period pieces.


This tells me that cultural misunderstanding & insensitivity (if not imperialism) are the driving forces behind the criticisms. It also explains why Chinese (& other East Asian actresses) get repeatedly mocked for their "childish," high-pitched voices, while Western (especially American) women fully escape any criticism for their habit of "uptalking."

By "uptalk," I mean the phenomenon of phrasing statements as if they were questions (usually by raising the pitch of the last syllables of those statements).

In NYC where I am currently, it's not unusual to see middle-aged professional women (in a formal setting, no less) "uptalk" every other sentence and sound like 10 or 12 year old "valley" girls. But you never hear a peep about it.

I'm not sure where you're from or if "uptalking" is a widespread phenomenon there. But there are plenty of academic books & journals about it, if you wish to look it up.

So what do you think?

And by your silence on the issue, should I take that as your implied confession that you know little to nothing about China or Chinese language, history, & culture?

I didn't take what you said as an "attack." Did you take what I said as an "attack?"

Because I meant it as a free & educational lesson. You're welcome, by the way!

China has a nearly one-and-half billion population, so literally hundreds & hundreds of millions of people in the domestic fanbase.

The "haters" posting number in the hundreds, maybe thousands at most. Critics (especially more extremist ones) tend to very much more vocal (just check out any MDL comments section for C-dramas, for example).

Haters definitely don't outnumber fans; it only seems so due to "availability bias." If you watch the news without any context, you'd mis-assume that most people are criminals committing crimes at most times in most places.

I guess what I'm saying is that your good intentions are commendable, but Chen FeiYu is perfectly fine & will be fine. Not to mention, he grew up in the Chinese entertainment industry (his father a famous director, his mother a famous actress), so he know what comes with the territory when it comes to fame & fortune.

Last but not least, Chinese is a very, very idiomatic (& poetic) language. Because Google will provide only literal (as opposed to figurative) language, it's not necessarily reliable. If someone is being sarcastic or saying something in jest, you may make the mistake of taking them completely seriously. Or worse, think they're saying the opposite of what they're saying.

There exist very compelling reasons for those "crazy" restrictions. But I can see why someone's who's probably never stepped foot in China, let alone know much (if any) Chinese language, history, culture, etc. would think they were in a sufficiently competent position to judge.

He was born & attended high school in the US. But in (at least most of) the intervening years, he was raised in China, which explains why he speaks good (standard) Mandarin.

CFY was born in the US, BUT he grew up mostly in China (while possibly going back & forth between the two countries, which would not be uncommon). Then he attended prep school in Massachusetts before returning to China where he subsequently renounced his US citizenship for Chinese citizenship.

A modern sounding song that at the same time somehow evokes nostalgia...

I have a theory, if you're interested.

Uh, I was trying to be nice because I (intentionally) wasn't very tactful in my original response to you. It's just the constant criticism of the (usually voice-related) "annoying-ness" of Chinese (& other East Asian) actresses, I think, comes from cultural misunderstanding, possibly ethnocentrism.

I'm not going to get on my soapbox here & now (but perhaps another time & place instead) because I doubt you're interested.

But I was trying to give you kind & genuine advice. I often want, if not need, to take a step back to re-evaluate things. If I'm annoyed by something, I try not to immediately react to the situation & ask myself why it's annoying me. Is it just annoying me here & now? Will I be annoyed by this tomorrow? Next week? Next year? And so on.

By reflecting, I frequently find the deeper source for my annoyance than what's transparent on the surface. This helps me figure what to do about this particular situation, but more importantly, how to handle this situation in general when I may encounter it in a different time & place. I honestly meant my advice as a gesture of goodwill, although I can see more clearly now how over the internet without sufficient contextual cues & clues, it came across as sarcastic.

As for the "exclusive company" joke, it was my attempt at humor. I guess you didn't find it funny. Which kinda explains why you don't care for the FL's comedy.

I share her sense of humor & and find her character portrayal to be hilarious, whereas you found her really annoying, not to mention, untalented.

Take what I said however you please. I cannot prove my sincere intentions ( esp given my original response). Nor would I. At the end of day, you're going to believe whatever you wish to believe. But I wanted the opportunity to correct any further misunderstandings.

I didn't know about the former (pre-1965) political ties between Singapore and Malaysia. I got the impression that Malaysia has had closer (historical) connections to Indonesia, for example. Will do some research out of curiosity...

(Self-) learning Mandarin Chinese. Understand some Cantonese (partly by osmosis from proximity to NYC Chinatown). Studied a little Spanish, but
remember even less than the Latin from my middle & high school classes.

Interesting that you know Malay because one of my best friends from college (an electrical engineering major) hung out with a Malaysian engineering student who, in turn, hung out with a couple of Singaporean engineering students whose scholarship was sponsored by the Singaporean President & government. I wonder if there are close cultural ties between Singapore & Malaysia beyond geography.

Do you speak Cantonese or Mandarin? Both or neither?

You're a good sport. Put the drama on hold for now; come back to it when you're in a different mood. You may see the FL in a new light. If not, you could tell your friends & familly that you're in very exclusive company.

Isn't it something like three out of four Singaporean citizens can trace some Chinese ancestry? That would help explain the relative popularity of C-dramas in Singapore.

Thanks for the recommendation! I haven't seen it (yet), though I do remember hearing of it.

No need to apologize for (what you call) your "inferior" brain & its lack of comprehension.

For now, try working on your poor trolling skills. Competent trolls are generally better at playing dumb, but maybe you're not playing...

This C-drama has thirty-something episodes.

Do you think "really sloppy" one-year-old babies will grow up to be sloppy toddlers, kids, teens or adults? Why or why not??

The FL's acting couldn't get any better, because it's already on point.

I don't personally find her really (or even fake-ly) annoying. Nor do, apparently, 99%+ of people watching this drama. But if you're in that tiny fraction of one percent, feel free to quit while (you imagine) you're still ahead!

It wasn't "literal molestation," or any other kind of "molestation," for that matter.

The current concept of "consent" that you unconsciously take as a given cultural norm only fully emerged in late 20th century or early 21st century America & Western Europe. Guess what this means?

It means that a whole lot of your ancestors "molested" other people (including some of your other ancestors) by YOUR VERY OWN contemporary Western (& Westernized) cultural standards. Will you judge your REAL ancestors from 500 years ago as quickly & harshly as you judge FICTIONAL, FANTASTICAL 500-year-old non-human entities from a distant time, place & culture? Why or why not?


If yes, you are holier-than-thou, (& according to you) "holier" than even your very own ethnic/cultural, linguistic, & historical family tree of ancestors. If no, you are a hypocritical cultural imperialist of the highest order, LITERALLY suffering from ethnocentrism, if not xenophobia. So which is it? I'm guessing both!!