I guess I owe an apology to the "real" Anonymouses out there. #15 Anon, as any
regular inmate who was tricked into reading that guff will surely have guessed, was
none other than the trenchant, always concisely to the point, totally spam-free Gramps.

Despite appearances, I wasn't actually feigning anonymity to circumvent the defences of the sensible folk who have killfiled my contributions. It was just that my son was home, which means (a) I get to play on his super-duper corporate-issue laptop (b) he cooks the dinner while his Ma and I hit the bottle. Hence alcohol-assisted posting from a machine without the "Gramps" cookie in the jar.

On this "actiness" matter, I have to yield to people who've not only watched more Kdramas than I have, but who also really know the language properly (including the non-verbal cultural languages), as I most certainly don't, or don't yet.

But not without one last shift of tactics.

I'm not the first to remark that Ibsen was a great dramatist. But his dramas are full of things that simply can't be played "off the page" to a 21st century audience.

SOLNESS: ... Some day the younger generation will come knocking at my door.
[There is a knock on the door. He starts] What's that?
DR. HERDAL: It's someone knocking
SOLNESS: Come in! [HILDE WANGEL comes in by the door to the hall]

Enough to bring the house down for all the wrong reasons. But not in 1892. The reason modern audiences are liable to scoff at such "waving with a lamppost", as Germans call it, is because Ibsen and Chekhov, and the new school of directors who developed ensemble playing, have in the meantime thoroughly schooled us in much more perceptive ways of watching drama than the average late 19th theatregoer was used to. If it looks silly to us on the page (and massively implausible if performed exactly as written) that's because the tools that once serviceably did a valuable job got battered in the process and now strike us as hopelessly outmoded.

What the @!*@ has this to do with Insoon? Well, I still think that the 'actiness' of Kim Min Joon’s performance is actually part of that performance, not a defect of it. Yes, I take thunderbolt's point, it's there even in his posture and expressions when he's all by himself, but San Woo is a poser, even when no-one, camera aside, is looking. Not a hypocrite (which is why he's potentially reformable, as may well turn out to happen later). Hypocrites are malicious and know what they're doing. San Woo hasn't sufficient guts to be malicious, and he deceives himself as much as he tries to deceive others. He (San Woo, not KMJ) is trying to act the part of the KDrama Hero whom Fate has just reunited with his Lost Childhood Sweetheart, only to reveal that there is Something That Will Keep Them Apart, and hence calls for much Furrowed Brow Automobile Driving, and Tormented Lying on Rumpled Beds. Oh, and like everyone in Kdrama Korea, he sleeps with the light on so we can all clearly see how much he's suffering through the lonely nights.

So I shift my ground to claim instead that if there is a problem with the acting and/or directing here, it's that the 'stageiness' is being badly, but all the same intentionally, highlighted in the performances. I think the idea is to get the viewers to see that they are watching people (mis)cast themselves in conventional KDrama roles, which don't actually fit their situations. Maybe that way there's some common ground between the perceptions of those who judge it as an unfortunate defect and my view that it's a deliberate ploy, but one which may have been overdone, and indeed has been if such experienced drama watchers react to it with unease rather than approval.

...I normally don't go around leaving random comments on stranger's blogs, I swear. But the fact that I spent the last few minutes laughing hysterically, to myself, alone, at 2am...Well. Anyway.

Fantastic summary, even if this comment is really late based on when this was posted. Honestly, you have a really good sense of humour. I'm looking forward to reading more of your entries (without that coming off as sounding strange D: Ha...ha.). Viva K-dramas?

Great job!

^ That's interesting...

I thought the Lolita Complex dealt with the desire for something that's taboo. So the "lust" isn't simply based on youth, but rather something forbidden by society.

In Chinese culture (and I'm pretty sure other Asian cultures as well) these relationships aren't looked upon like they are in the US.

Even a "legal adult" isn't really considered an adult by society because most people live with their parents until they're almost 30. No one is really considered an "adult" until they have kids of their own.

So these relationships are missing the "taboo"-factor.

(Also, just for the record, Chinese teens are often discouraged from dating, period. So it's not like this is a common thing. It's just that if a teen was dating someone older, their parents would be more upset by the fact they're dating rather than the age of the partner.)

Marzy I saw Becoming Jane and it's okay...I guess I'm just a sucker for happy endings and that ruined the movie for me.(oopps! too much info?)

I can't believe that a lot of people like Pride and Prejudice as well! I was so excited when they started showing the trailer and LOVED it as soon as I saw it in the theatre. Matthew McFadyen is the ULTIMATE Mr. Darcy for me. I disagree with Da Vinci Code though. I thought it was really interesting when I first read it but its popularity kind of ruined it for me. A lot of similar books came out and in the end I kind of got sick of it.
As for good books right now, I like the Devil and Miss Prym by Coelho and I heard Middlesex and Kiterunner is really good. I am reading The other Boleyn Girl which is a cross between history and drama. I just thought it interesting that King Henry VIII took an interest to Anne Boleyn's sister first before he married her. Anyway, it's pretty good so far.
On a different note, I can relate to being drawn to watching Gossip Girl despite its "Mean Girls" tendencies. The actresses that play Serena and Blair are really not that credible as high school students. They look more like working girls but I am really drawn to the lifestyle of the rich and famous...not to mention the things that they wear in the show! Wow! I'd just have to say, I love Blair's fashion sense more than Serena's...

"The “Lolita Complex” seems to be a very Western thing though…"

I don't know about that. Maybe it's not a strange thing in Chinese culture but it's not considered appropriate or acceptable in Korean. 16 yr olds aren't adults in Korea and the relationship with an adult would be illegal. So maybe some cultures definitely stress it more or less than others but it's not just a western thing.

I've always been rather disturbed by Wonder Girls and their dance routines. One of the things I noticed about Wonder Girls popularity was how willing people were to embrace their sexy images. Being around the same age as these girls and living in a rather liberal nation like Australia, I find it really wrong that they exploit their sexuality like that. Is it just a passing phase or something that will continue on for many generations? Can't help but wonder if we're crying wolf over nothing or if it's something that requires urgent attention. But still, the whole Lolita thing scares me.

The "Lolita Complex" seems to be a very Western thing though...

I know in Chinese society (both Taiwan and the Mainland) no one bats an eye when a 26 year old guy is dating a 16 year old girl (now the reverse would be shocking because well, male privilege is universal ^_^

Of course people will definitely frown upon this if the guy is in his 30s or 40s but it's not the same type of condemnation you see in the US, i.e. it's not a "he's a pedophile"-type of issue, but rather a "what a loser"-type thing.

After I saw a Wonder Girls video, I wanted to see how old they were because they looked pretty young. I was actually stunned at their youth. They do have talent, but that's not what got me. What I was so taken aback by was their extraordinarily sexual dance and dress. I really don't think that's healthy for anybody, whether it's the girls or their adult fans. Heck, even their young fans.

she's definitely not fluent, and it's most obvious when she's singing "He smiled so I got up and’ asked for his name" it's her pronunciation that bugs me. it's weird when she pronounce words like "asked". i love her acting much much much more than her singing. her voice itself is a little too nasal. my korean classmate speaks much better english.