TV Tuesday: Cultural Immersion

[yourlibrarian]

If you're watching non-English shows (Asian, Scandinavian, etc.), what attracted you to them? Was it the genre, the settings, the actors, or something else that appealed to you?

Comments

[tarlanx]

I'm really enjoying Asian dramas and movies at the moment.

I've always been a fan of mythology and martial arts/action but never got drawn into watching until I saw The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity on Netflix. I love all the high fantasy in shows like 'Eternal Love', 'Till The End of the Moon', 'Ashes of Love', 'The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion' etc. I am fascinated by all the gorgeous costumes, the scenery and the magic element.

I love all the cultivation and martial arts in shows like 'Word of Honor' and 'The Untamed', which had the added advantage of being gay under the disguise of bromance. Again, the costumes, the culture, and all the action and adventure and romance.

Of course, I do tend to check out other works by actors I enjoyed so I've watched a few modern Chinese dramas too that have been very good like 'Advance Bravely' and 'Everyone Wants to Meet You'

I was also drawn to some of the Japanese and Thai BL (boy love) dramas such as the wonderful 'A Tale of a Thousand Stars', and to all the incredible horror/supernatural dramas coming out of South Korea like 'Mystic Pop-up Bar', Hellbound, 'Sweet Home', 'Tale of the Nine-tailed' etc.

In general though I have no problems with watching ANY non-English TV or movie no matter which country produced it, if it falls into my favorite genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror, action... as well as (gay-)romance!

[yourlibrarian]

Are there differences between the Asian horror dramas and U.S. ones? It's not a genre I tend to watch so I'm curious.

[tarlanx]

To be honest, some of the horror series coming out of the US recently, such as The Last of Us and even The Walking Dead are equally as good as the South Korean horror but there are far fewer US shows in that genre. What I like a little more about the Korean horror is that it is often more imaginative and more tightly edited. There are fewer (if any!) filler episodes and in some ways that gives the quieter moments - of character bonding/romance - more impact.