#asian drama

[dramashii]

We've always been together.

LOVE NEXT DOOR (2024) | Ep 12

[hughungrybear]

Some blogs really do feel like they love sucking the joy out of the shows that most people watch. I get it - people are free to criticise shows that don't jive with whatever artistic/creative sentiments they have. But some posts by specific blogs really do feel like it was written by a pre-pubescent teenager trying hard to be edgy.

Somehow, I sort of get it. After all, negative reports do sell. It's one of the main reasons why news people rarely broadcast "good" news and if they do, it's highlighted as some type of "special" report. As if good rarely comes in real life. Psychologically speaking, bad reviews do bring the likes and re-blogs that some people seem to crave.

But these blogs fall into a pattern. They would follow which show is currently trending, post some positive reviews at the start, then when they find a following, start nitpicking every small detail and write long essays about it. Afterwards, you will find that most of their writing are just them making mountains of criticisms out of a tiny, microscopic molehill.

So, what am I trying to say here? As an avid watcher of these shows and reader of blogs, you need to be more selective which blogs you follow. It is easy to get swayed when somebody you like and respect (to a certain extent) starts hating the show you are currently enjoying. Suddenly, you start to hate the show too for no good reason other than because you read somewhere that the show is not that good.

Despite the criticisms, I always find Marie Kondo's approach to life to be the most practical — if it stops bringing you joy, DROP IT. Use the 'unfollow' button generously. You don't owe anyone anything.

Now, I'm not saying you should turn a blind eye to any criticism. But you do need to be selective and determine the valid criticisms from fallacious and unjustified ones.

[kateknowsdramas]

Now that she's back, it's going to get chaotic again.

[kimgoeun]

My Sweet Mobster (Ep.2)

[heretherebedork]

They are gonna be dangerous.

[preciousqiqi]

silly babies. who else dares to play with ye zun's hair if not THE zhao yunlan himself? director zhao really is not afraid of the lord of the night.

[nunafilms]

Why can't I do what I want with my life?

Love Next Door 엄마 친구 아들 (2024)

[koreandragon]

LOVE NEXT DOOR (2024) ep.05

[fujunfuren]

THE PRINCESS ROYAL (2024)

Bonus: Jinglan representing us

[cinefiliz]

Go Min Si as Yoo Seong Ha in The Frog (2024)

[dramashii]

The bad thought and deed:

I don't think we should stay here. Why not?

LOVE NEXT DOOR (2024) | Ep 12

[ablazenqueen]

Simp: A simpleton putting his all into being a hopeless romantic. He acts like a chilvarous white knight and would do anything for his partner’s happiness.

[kateknowsdramas]

Just think of it like playing tag. If we get caught, we're dead.

[kimgoeun]

My Sweet Mobster (2024)

[heretherebedork]

True domesticity.

[peridot-tears]

Hey MDZS fandom. I want you guys to be careful interacting with this person.

If you don't already know, Chinese people have had a long history with cultural erasure when it comes to taking on English-language names. It started with imperialism, and continues as a way to "assimilate" and avoid mockery of our language in western countries.

For Chinese diaspora like myself, it's another form of racism we face, to the point where some of us are reclaiming our names in everyday life. Here's an article about this movement happening across Asian diasporas in the United States -- just to name one instance out of many.

The responses to this post reflect that:

You can see that my comment assumed "good faith." However, OP deleted these comments and blocked me. (That didn't stop other people from calling it out as well, though I have to assume that if OP was so offended by my comment, the next few people will receive the same treatment.)

I honestly didn't like whipping up the diaspora statement -- that I wrote with multiple Chinese diaspora fans of MDZS, all of us hailing from multiple different countries and backgrounds, our ancestry coming from completely different regions of China -- because it meant that we were encountering another microaggression.

If you ever wonder why MDZS and danmei fandoms in general seem to be so bereft of Chinese diaspora voices, that's absolutely because of these microaggressions: Someone makes a joke, writes a story, writes some meta, that is culturally ignorant at best, offensive and harmful at worst, and when we gently correct them, explaining why it's racist, the person in question shuts us down, dismisses us, gets defensive, or worse.

Regardless of where you are -- fandom, social media, on the street, at work, at school -- as long as you are interacting with other people, your words matter and affect other people. That includes being racially offensive, even if you didn't intend to be. It's how you respond to the people you've insulted that reveals your character, how willing you are to be complicit in their mistreatment.

My rule of thumb has always been this -- if multiple people, including those of the culture you've just made a microaggressive joke about, find it unfunny, racist, or harmful, then you listen. Dismiss or ignore them, then yes -- you absolutely are racist.