alexandral: (GoT - Dany nauseous)
There is something I have found very interesting whilst reading [livejournal.com profile] shapinglight's LJ. Something I want to ask : what do you think of pairings with big age difference , and by big I mean over 10 years, at least?



For example, Dany, who is 15 (well, at least she is supposed to be 15 in the Game of Thrones HBO) and Jorah who is 49 (I think ) ? I personally love the pairing!

I might be in a complete minority, but the age differences do not bother me in historical (or history-related, like Game of Thrones) fiction. If it was considered old enough for a girl to be married at 13-15 (often to an older man) in the world of the book/show, I accept it, I do not want that world by our standards. In my brain I do the substitution 13-15 = marriageable age in this society.

I think mostly this has to do with the stories my gran used to tell me. She was married at 13 to a guy 10 years her senior. This was the age to get married in Russian villages in 1920s, so she did. It was a happy marriage, they lived happily together until he died in WW2.

I often think why the marriageable age (especially for girls) was quite often a lot lower in the "olden days", and I think this mostly had do with the short life span and high death rate in babies.

This all said, I do not at all approve of a 15-year old having a relationship with someone who is 49 years old in our day and age. I will be the first one to shout "Evil!!!!!!!!!"! I feel there must be a contradiction there , but what can I do.

PS: I thould stop obsessing so much over Game of Thrones, shouldn't I?
alexandral: (Default)
This comes from a comment by [livejournal.com profile] blueocean80 . She mentions an article discussing "Why do non-Asians watch Asian dramas". It seems that the author's opinion is that because non-Asians are not a part of Asian culture, they can detach themselves and don't take everything personally, so they can just ignore stereotypes and clichés and enjoy dramas.

I don't agree with the writer's POV . I can never detach myself from anything I watch, be it Asian or non-Asian shows, I usually get easily deeply involved (obsessive even). I know exactly why I personally like Asian drams:

1) I personally love my stories with a start and a finish and not very long (something I must invest 7 years of my life into = no thank you). Also the format of 10-20 episodes, which is usual in Asian entertainment but not so usual in USA shows (where seasonal shows seem to be prevailing) reminds me of what we used to have in Russia.
Perpetual continuousness and lack of proper endings are my less favourite things about USA shows. A show (take Battlestar Galactica) can start with one set of premises but there is no guarantee that these premises won't be changed willy-nilly along the line (take Battlestar Galactica) and there is no guarantee that the ending won't be horrifyingly idiotic (Take Batterstar galactica). These shows aren't written as one piece, so anything can happen. So all 5 years you invested into watching a show can go to complete waste.

2) I particular enjoy the themes of romantic love, family life and period costume stories. Remind me of any single non-soap-opera or non-multiple-season USA or UK show that is about love and family? I don't remember any. There are soaps, there are multiple-season shows but I don't particular like this format (back to number 1). But there are some good short period dramas in UK, and I love them too.

3) I enjoy the "morals" in Asian dramas, I like people being serious about love, I like people who are committed to their life partners, I like stories about people being non-selfish, I like stories about people wanting to succeed in their work, etc. USA shows: in terms of love they are often about partner swapping, in terms of altruistic/selfish outlook on life there is usually more emphasis on personal achievement than on helping others or on family values.

4) I have been always interested in Asian and European cinema, ever since I was at school and our most fabulous "Culture" teacher exposed us to some of the masterpieces of that time, European and Japanese. I guess - big thanks to him!

What about you? Why do you like Asian dramas?

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January 2012

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