Not a TV junkie

It is good to have a break. Finally I have a chance to clean up my DVR, which has been loaded up with episodes after episodes of TV shows that I couldn't watch because of the tense end-of-quarter schedule. Curling up on the couch and watching Nip/Tuck nonstop was not only relaxing but also got me thinking again about the differences between Asian and American TV dramas.

Unlike American shows, Asian dramas tend to be less complicated and more predictable. Sometimes a character might sob for several minutes to reveal his/her inner emotions. Whenever the director pulls the lens and lets the character do this kind of acting, I can't help but fall asleep. I guess I am used to American dramas' fast pace and unforeseen twists. Being fast-paced doesn't mean it is shallow. I remember this line from CBS's Jeiricho, "We were both born on the third base. Don't pretend you hit a triple." Had this line been in an Asian drama, it would have been featured extensively and probably repeated several times. It just flashed by in Jeiricho and I've never heard it again.

Why the dramas are still an ocean apart while the people live more and more similar lives? It is not that Asians aren't fast-paced. People in Hong Kong might seem to run on the streets in the eyes of people in L.A. My theory is that Americans are more advanced in entertainment business, which itself is the product of advanced capitalism. Americans are entertained in various ways. TV dramas have to compete with football games, Nintendo, Hollywood movies, Larry Kings, and even Jerry Springers. If they don't get juiced up, they will be punished severely in terms of viewership. As a consequence, writers(unlike their Asian counterparts, they work in a team) have to squeeze more lines into a single episode. Just compare the reruns of Seinfeld and Friends and you will see the differences.

My fellow Taiwanese are in baseball ecstasy this year. After nearly two decades of professionalization, baseball finally becomes a daily stable of TV programs. Yet, baseball in the U.S. is deemed as a less exciting sport than football or basketball. Good thing is that Asians have begun to taste capitalism. Gradually they will shift from hardware providers to software makers to content creators. Just look how successful Japanese animations are right now. Asian pop culture will some day be as good as Americans', but for the time being, Americans still rule.