1. It's rather neat to see Jun Pyo growing up in this latest ep. Since Ji Hoo is already a grown-up, that will bring the total of grown-ups in F4 to two. Heh
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I have PLENTY of thoughts about your sidenotes. A lot of them boil down to the fact that modern things just go with the status quo and don't really think much about how they're writing and portraying women because, being set in modern times, well of course they'll automatically being writing them as strong and equal and blah blah blah. But something (or at least, something decent) in a historical setting is usually aware that they're operating in a setting where there's a huge power and social imbalance, and so they take conscious steps to make sure the women don't fade into the background or be treated as secondary. Like, I don't think Dae Jang Geum is particularly feminist or anything, but part of what makes it interesting (though probably not for you) is that it deliberately takes a setting where the plot would normally be all about men with beards and hats sitting around and plotting and makes the focus all about the unimportant "domestic" roles of women.
But that's a large part of why I'm largely drawn to things in a real or fictional historical setting. (Which, if you think about it, is somewhat sad.)
I plan to check out the new Iljimae, at least partly because I try to check out as many sageuks as I can, though I still need to check out Capital Scandal, Hong Gil Dong, Kingdom of the Winds, Strongest Chil Woo, Yi San, Seo Dong Yo, The King and I, The Painter in the Wind and the other Iljimae. And then the rest of Dae Jang Geum, not to mention that I have but have yet to watch Hansungbyulbok and the first set of Jumong. (Not watching many dramas last year set me back a lot.)
If you watch Hansungbyulbok, let me know how it is - it's short and I heard such excellent things about it.
One of the things I love the most about women in period kdramas is that the strength comes in all kinds - you can have women warriors like the heroine of Damo or Sujini from Legend, but you can also have women who are strong in other ways: power of their conviction and strength of character (Capital Scandal) or their intellectualism and smarts (like Iljimae's OTP in this version or the heroine of Emperor of the Sea, which I need to finish) or their skills (like heroine of DJG it seems like or the doctor heroine of KOTW), or even pure strength of character (like Iljimae's mother). There isn't a 'one mold fits all' approach.
One of the things I like about EOTS is that, as the series evolves, Jung Hwa's relationship and eventual rivalry (that you can be powerful and successful without being corrupt) with Lady Jami, the woman who raised her, becomes just as important as Bogo and Yum Moon's plot.
There seems to be a much better understanding in sageuks that not everyone is the same and you don't have to code exactly one way to be strong. Now for other things to catch on to that.
I have PLENTY of thoughts about your sidenotes. A lot of them boil down to the fact that modern things just go with the status quo and don't really think much about how they're writing and portraying women because, being set in modern times, well of course they'll automatically being writing them as strong and equal and blah blah blah. But something (or at least, something decent) in a historical setting is usually aware that they're operating in a setting where there's a huge power and social imbalance, and so they take conscious steps to make sure the women don't fade into the background or be treated as secondary. Like, I don't think Dae Jang Geum is particularly feminist or anything, but part of what makes it interesting (though probably not for you) is that it deliberately takes a setting where the plot would normally be all about men with beards and hats sitting around and plotting and makes the focus all about the unimportant "domestic" roles of women.
But that's a large part of why I'm largely drawn to things in a real or fictional historical setting. (Which, if you think about it, is somewhat sad.)
I plan to check out the new Iljimae, at least partly because I try to check out as many sageuks as I can, though I still need to check out Capital Scandal, Hong Gil Dong, Kingdom of the Winds, Strongest Chil Woo, Yi San, Seo Dong Yo, The King and I, The Painter in the Wind and the other Iljimae. And then the rest of Dae Jang Geum, not to mention that I have but have yet to watch Hansungbyulbok and the first set of Jumong. (Not watching many dramas last year set me back a lot.)
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One of the things I love the most about women in period kdramas is that the strength comes in all kinds - you can have women warriors like the heroine of Damo or Sujini from Legend, but you can also have women who are strong in other ways: power of their conviction and strength of character (Capital Scandal) or their intellectualism and smarts (like Iljimae's OTP in this version or the heroine of Emperor of the Sea, which I need to finish) or their skills (like heroine of DJG it seems like or the doctor heroine of KOTW), or even pure strength of character (like Iljimae's mother). There isn't a 'one mold fits all' approach.
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There seems to be a much better understanding in sageuks that not everyone is the same and you don't have to code exactly one way to be strong. Now for other things to catch on to that.
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