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The mass entertainment products: a song or TV drama enjoying a large popularity can boil down to the fact that it hits the sentiments or the beliefs of the time. It can be used to justify one of the most successful TV drama or book Nail dwelling recently in Mainland China. Apart from putting finger on the sparking public outcry: Housing problems, specifically, ever-increasing housing price and the overheated estate industry, there are some other issues emerging in contemporary Mainland China the work has deliberated on. It brings the age of value crisis into surface.
Generally, the core of the story can be summarized through the main narrative that a young and beautiful girl from grass root who lives with her boyfriend has an affair with an old, married, corrupt but powerful man who holds a high position in the government. Lots of pressures from this era such as the pressure of fast-paced life, extravagant living cost, and fierce competitiveness can be productive of this kind of relationship and, on another level, can be the “reasonable” justifications of it. The story further problematicizes the issue by shaping the young girl as contrived but not innocent: she vacillates between the two men; as kind but stupid: the intimate and selfless sisterhood between the young girl and her sister which pushes her to be blind in thinking and doing things. More importantly, the young girl and the old official seemingly fall in love with each other.
Will the more opened society nowadays be tolerant of this kind of relationship? In terms of making a judgment, we have to answer some questions first: what is the bottom line? What is right or what is wrong? So, here comes the moral value.
Dating back to at least 10 years ago, there won’t probably have the least hesitation to make a decision. However, with some blossoming liberal values like individualism, freedom and the purging of moral responsibility wrestling with some traditional values existing in the society, our old way of thinking has to be violated or complicated. It could be a sign that the society shows greater tolerance or through another perspective, the old values have been swept away; but the new ones have not formed, or they are underdeveloped. The behavior of the young girl and the situation reflect each other mutually. She desires for the relationship on the one hand, but she needs to find a justifiable reason or excuse for herself to be together with him on the other hand. It could be regarded as self-deception. For example, at least she is not the one who takes initiatives or he loves her. She doesn’t refuse his requirements as she has to repay his previous kindness etc. Ironically, she refuses his money or credit card to show that she has dignity which might have already lost in others’ eyes. What is worth pondering is that whether the nature of love, loyalty, commitment etc. has been changed or the definitions of these have been enlarged. Undeniably, in the process, the young girl has devalues herself into an object of man’s pleasure instead of a person with independence, rationality and dignity distinguished from animals.
The inevitability fact that the society becomes more tolerant does not mean any member of it can do whatever they want to satisfy their own interests. Lots of things have changed recently, but the mechanism of the society remains the same. There must be some sacrifice the young girl has to pay in this relationship to define how tragic the story would be. The novel ends with the man dead and the young girl losing their baby, and her capacity to bear a child. Is it tragic enough for the girl or the persons caring about her and who she has cared about? Maybe some of us have been too numbing to feel. Nevertheless, the acceptance of the truth that the essence of life is placid doesn’t necessarily lead to an unhappy life. The society offers different living forms, the content of which may depend on the quality of every individual !
By the way, there are tons of fabulous contemporary Chinese novels, films or TV drama etc. reflecting popular culture that requires further analysis and enlarged critical modes of thinking.
来自: 豆瓣 |
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雷达卡
发表于 2012-10-23 09:59:34
显身卡