If you were horrified by the first episodes of Perfume please go listen to the latest from Drama Over Flowers. Spoilers abound, but so does an explanation of what those episodes really were about. It really is a much more nuanced drama than it initially appears, and know that its messaging is very positive and proactive when dealing with both body image and mental health.

Thanks Drama Over Flowers and guest for this because you’re right, the very people that were most upset by the first episode are the very ones that would be most satisfied with how it ends.

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    I still don’t really get why anyone was so angry about those eps. I liked them but later didn’t care for the rest of the show.

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      The graphic depiction of attempted suicide, and Ha Jae-suk in a fat suit and made to look as unattractive as possible were very upsetting. There was nothing in the directing to show us that what we were seeing on the screen wasn’t yet another instance of fat-shaming and the use of suicide for seeming comedic purposes.

      If the director had given more of a hint that what we were seeing was Min Jae-hee’s own image of herself, and not what the world at large saw, perhaps it would not have been quite so shocking.

      However, I do understand what the production was attempting to do, and I applaud them for their message. I just wish more people had stuck around to see it.

      Perfume is not a perfect drama, but then none are.

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        Perfume was a long time ago and I forgot most of it because the later eps were ordinary for me. The things I did like about the first ep were the realistic way they showed how people sometimes act towards fat people, there was no fat-shaming, she felt like so many others do. There were some dark comedy elements but none of them were directed at the FL’s appearance, it was about her messy relationship with her husband.

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        I feel like there either had to be a better way to go about indicating this or showing what was really happening sooner. Or, simply less. Less of having the FL literally busting out of her clothes every other scene. For me, my last scene was watching her sit there as her button snapped and she watched in horror–with her fake belly flapping around—as the button ricocheted all over the room. And also, I dont think I’ve ever seen a fat person in a lead role in a drama–and for them to decide to showcase her the way that they did? Wasnt ok for me. You shouldnt need a series of experts to explain entertainment. It should be able to stand on its own. Even with an explanation I think that they failed in basic storytelling. They refused to tell a compelling story—instead going to the well of busted buttons and the trope of fat person=clumsy person and oh look at her asking for food the second she wakes up from being knocked out. BECAUSE SHES FAT, GET IT? GET IT? SHES FAT! Chuckle. Chuckle. Snort.

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