I love the blue sky

Friday, September 07, 2007
On Drama Serials And Life

It's been a while since I last blogged. I've been drowning myself in drama serials for the entire week, watching late into the wee hours of the morning. ;p I have got so many lined up that I simply can't finish them! Once this holiday is over, I must stop and can only hold my drama marathons during the year-end holidays.

The first two serials I watched were Korean - Full House and A Witch In Love (aka Witch Amusement or Yuhee, the Witch). The former is a lot funnier, with two very cute and good-looking lead characters, Song Hye Kyo and Rain (see above). The latter serial isn't exactly fantastic, but - my oh my - I was simply in love with the FOOD, in this case the French cuisine. HAHA!

And speaking of which, I watched Ratatouille with Mel on Wednesday night. It was good because of the food - and humour. It certainly is one of the funniest animated movies produced ever. I must say animated movies these days have very realistic graphics. I remember seeing this scene in the movie where there were buildings in the background and the rat was walking on the pavement, basking in the morning sun. The buildings, trees and even sunlight looked so real. If not for the features of the rat and cartoon-looking vehicles, I would have thought this was a scene created on a real set! =O

Right now, I'm into the last ten instalments of a high-rating TVB drama serial Heart of Greed or 溏心風暴. I've been wanting to watch this serial since the beginning of this year, when I first heard of it, because of this TVB actor Raymond Lam. Haha. Apparently, he's only one of the supporting cast. But I do enjoy such Hong Kong serials featuring big, traditional families because of their storyline and huge cast (read: many eye candies!).

This particular serial teaches the audience a lot of moral values - kudos to the mother played by veteran actress, 李司棋. She is the rock of the family, so much so that when she passes away, the rest of the family cannot handle the waves of problems created by the second wife, a green-eyed and ungrateful character, who is hungry for the family wealth.

Not many TVB serials can tug my heart strings, but this one has made me tear more than usual - something which happens only when I watch Korean dramas. There were also hilarious moments when the four grown-up children and their father tease one another to make their mother, who suffers from cancer, happy. The plot is typical of any TVB family-feuding serials, but the lessons learnt here are timeless and valuable.

Watching this serial made me realise why I've stopped watching local drama productions in recent years, despite the improvements made over the decades. Somehow, the newer ones don't evoke as much emotions in me and I find their storylines unpalatable. The better ones are actually those set in colonial Singapore, particularly during the Japanese Occupation.

I'm not sure if it's the teacher in me that is speaking here, but I feel serials or movies which portray the struggles of life actually teach us important principles and values, which - once challenged - cause us to think and feel deeper. How many hilarious shows have we watched and forgotten? And yet, I still remember one of the oldest local productions in the 80s, The Awakening or 雾锁南洋 and how much history and life lessons I'd learnt as a child watching the drama serial. It was my first exposure to LIFE.

It's sad that people (myself included - sometimes) watch serials and movies for entertainment nowadays. But I guess it can't be helped. After all, we are already facing a lot of pressure in our own lives and we don't need to drown ourselves with more sadness by watching tear-jerkers all the time. Still, I feel it's how the mind chooses to perceive the situation. There's always a silver lining in every cloud. More often than not, we do pick up valuable lessons (which we can apply in our own lives) simply by watching the life experiences of a character in a drama.

jOyZ blogged at 1:14 PM

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