Fantasy Fix

I signed up with a video store, they have this deal where you can rent more than 100 tapes for less than $50 per month. Of course, this is overly-long Chinese melodrama series we're talking about here. An average series runs about 25 episodes at least, so that's $25. But I do need to hear some authentic Chinese being spoken.

It's sad Americans only see Chinese movies with historical settings, preferrably with martial arts scenes or poverty-related suffering. The rest of the world have petty love triangles and materialistic dreams too! I would love a Chinese "The O.C." If you see foreign films shown here, they're all very existential and focused on big life issues. Is that what's being imported or is that what foreign film distributors think Americans want?

Even good Chinese actors are reduced to playing caricature-like roles here. Can a Chinese actor be anything other than a gangster, a tourist, a laundromat/dry cleaner owner, or someone who knows computers well?

Until then, I'll have to get my escape fix from over-acted soaps. Ironic that everything I watched back home were American movies, now I'm watching Chinese soap series like they're being banned soon. However I get my fantasy time, I'm getting them.