Actually there is a strong argument to be made that TV/movies are aspirational. It’s not the current reality necessarily, but living the dream life. In India in the 60s, labour issues were a big thing, and of movies were made about the labour force coming together to take down the evil corporation.
The taking down of government corruption / police corruption, “poor” people wearing luxury brands, marrying into chaebol families, those “perfect” boyfriends – imo this is the aspiration/wish of the audience watching the drama.
Agreed. There were also lots of films about low caste people successfully taking down feudal landlords in the 1960s and 1970s in Indian cinema.
Lots of recent Indian movies have dealt with sexual violence and about what women successfully securing justice against their abusers. That is likely because there is growing awareness that the terror inflicted upon South Asian women through sexual assault, sexual harassment, etc. are intolerable. Not surprisingly, there lots of news stories about gang rapes in India. (Although the stories from Pakistan, the country my parents are from, are far scarier; acid attacks, honour killings, forced marriages, etc. Pakistan doesn’t have a functional media ecosystem, though, so there are very few movies about this.)
I remember throughout the 2000s, there were lots of Indian movies about warfare between police and gangs. This, too, is probably a reflection of reality. The reason Mumbai is so much more peaceful today is because the police “encountered” criminals affiliated with gangs throughout the 2000s.
I think I probably need to reflect about South Korean media consumption.
Always reminds me of the drama Signal. It still sickens me to this day how its climax centred on a gang rape case which very much reflected what happened in SK on the gang rape of school girls in one of its countrysides – it became a national news (perhaps international too im not sure), but to this day the assailants only got a slap on on the wrists, the identified victims got the short end of the stick, ended up taking the fall, the public/police/etc argued it was their fault for seducing those boys to perform the act.
Signal ended that part of their story on a high note, bad guys were either thrown in the jail, or killed in the fight, justice prevailed. But reality remains very rotten.
I’m only hoping that nothing gets swept under the rug this time, that nobody gets aways with a slap on the wrist and that life moves on…. I can hope hope.
And on the other hand, there are heartbreaking movies like Do bigha zamin, Pather Panchali etc that do reflect what actually goes on between the powerless & powerful. (this is very far from the topic of discussion but somehow I was reminded of it)
faraway
March 12, 2019 at 7:50 PM
Whatever is happening in South Korea right now is some drama content worthy
Kairoskat 💐
March 12, 2019 at 8:00 PM
Whatever is happening is reminding me of a lot of dramas that I’ve watched. So..dramas can be a reflection of reality? 😱
greenfields
March 12, 2019 at 8:52 PM
Actually there is a strong argument to be made that TV/movies are aspirational. It’s not the current reality necessarily, but living the dream life. In India in the 60s, labour issues were a big thing, and of movies were made about the labour force coming together to take down the evil corporation.
The taking down of government corruption / police corruption, “poor” people wearing luxury brands, marrying into chaebol families, those “perfect” boyfriends – imo this is the aspiration/wish of the audience watching the drama.
Maq
March 12, 2019 at 9:47 PM
Agreed. There were also lots of films about low caste people successfully taking down feudal landlords in the 1960s and 1970s in Indian cinema.
Lots of recent Indian movies have dealt with sexual violence and about what women successfully securing justice against their abusers. That is likely because there is growing awareness that the terror inflicted upon South Asian women through sexual assault, sexual harassment, etc. are intolerable. Not surprisingly, there lots of news stories about gang rapes in India. (Although the stories from Pakistan, the country my parents are from, are far scarier; acid attacks, honour killings, forced marriages, etc. Pakistan doesn’t have a functional media ecosystem, though, so there are very few movies about this.)
I remember throughout the 2000s, there were lots of Indian movies about warfare between police and gangs. This, too, is probably a reflection of reality. The reason Mumbai is so much more peaceful today is because the police “encountered” criminals affiliated with gangs throughout the 2000s.
I think I probably need to reflect about South Korean media consumption.
13infamyss
March 12, 2019 at 10:08 PM
Always reminds me of the drama Signal. It still sickens me to this day how its climax centred on a gang rape case which very much reflected what happened in SK on the gang rape of school girls in one of its countrysides – it became a national news (perhaps international too im not sure), but to this day the assailants only got a slap on on the wrists, the identified victims got the short end of the stick, ended up taking the fall, the public/police/etc argued it was their fault for seducing those boys to perform the act.
Signal ended that part of their story on a high note, bad guys were either thrown in the jail, or killed in the fight, justice prevailed. But reality remains very rotten.
I’m only hoping that nothing gets swept under the rug this time, that nobody gets aways with a slap on the wrist and that life moves on…. I can hope hope.
Fatcat007 (Kitty 💜)
March 13, 2019 at 12:25 AM
And on the other hand, there are heartbreaking movies like Do bigha zamin, Pather Panchali etc that do reflect what actually goes on between the powerless & powerful. (this is very far from the topic of discussion but somehow I was reminded of it)
Currently Living On Planet Earth
March 12, 2019 at 11:05 PM
I know!! It all just sounds like a mess.
HANI
March 13, 2019 at 3:08 AM
It is like an episode from Stranger/Forest of Secret with kpop glittery sprinkle on it