The whole show is a meme. On the first day of the show’s launch, I happened to take a walk to Times Square with my friends. I saw the huge screen advertisement of this show. I told my friend at the time, “It looks like a Downton Abbey-style show. "Hahaha, I couldn't be more wrong.
The show has been online for a long time when I first watched it, so I have already got some reviews for it-good reviews. Obviously, my American classmates like it very much. In a few classes/club activities/dorm activities, someone asked what a good show you watched recently. The number of nominations for this show is basically tied with the Mandalorian. So I finally clicked on the first episode this weekend. When Thank you next appeared in the background music, I planned to watch it as a comedy. It's so funny, the motivation of each character is funny, and it is even more funny with the serious expression of the person in the play. Although this series is a stupid batch, I have no opinion on stupid dramas. I like a lot of stupid chick flicks. Anyway, I'm just seek entertainment. This drama enters me from another angle.
I finished watching the show in three days. At first I watched it while doing homework, and then I watched it while knitting. When I saw the middle episodes, I started to put down what I was holding and watch it carefully. Of course it’s not because the drama has become better. In the later stage of the drama, there is nothing to watch except for the beautiful body of the male protagonist. The main reason is that one of my big doubts has been answered: Why are there black nobles? In the middle few episodes, the play finally gave an explanation: because the king of England fell in love with blacks, he made the blacks who were all untouchables also have nobles. Not to mention that the king in the play looks at most 50 years old. Even if he became a king at the age of 10 and married a black queen at the age of 15, why there have been many generations of black aristocratic families, such as the Hastings family, which is confusing. This explanation made me feel very, very angry .
You know that one of the major selling points of this play is to make blacks become aristocrats. I always thought it was a utopian setting. People of all races in the Garden of Eden can be masters. In the end, it still depends on the white people's charity? ? ? In the play, justify what "love can conquer everything" is nothing but shit. Let me review the story of this king: what should I do if I fall in love with the untouchables? It’s okay, I’m the king, I can do whatever the fuck I want! Watch me come and give them a noble title, it's over~ My mother, I can't think of a more offensive plot. In fact, even without this absurd explanation, I already feel that the setting is very offensive. This bad explanation directly kills the game.
Let us pretend that this explanation does not exist and then consider the setting of this play (because if we consider this disgusting explanation, there is no need for discussion). This is a question I have been struggling with in the first few episodes: assuming this is an Eden setting, is it reasonable? This is a puzzle I have always had, from "Black Panther" and "Hamilton" to this show: Knowing the history, dress the once oppressed races in the clothes of oppressors and let the minorities Actors acting as slave owners and even colonizers are anti-racism or are they racially insensitive?
From the great success of "Black Panther", it can be seen that North American audiences are very fond of this set. They are willing to dream of having a super-advanced black civilization in Africa. "Success is a product of political correctness. I don't think so. People who push "zzzq" everywhere are inherently stupid. But is it beneficial to be immersed in such dreams? When "Black Panther" came out, I didn't think there was anything, but when "Golden Romance" came out, I thought about "Black Panther" again, and I began to wonder if it was Orientalism in the new era? I believe that there are a group of extremely wealthy people (extremely developed civilization) in the far East (Africa). This is simply a copy of the Shangri-La fantasy. It is the alienation of foreign things from the white perspective. Even the positive alienation is still alienation. The old Orientalism is to believe that the ancient Eastern civilization has a special and mysterious way of drawing circles to curse you. The new Orientalism is to believe that Asia has a group of hidden riches/Africa has a bunch of extraterrestrial vibrating gold. But at the time, my suspicion was persuaded. One of the views I saw at the time was: Can't ethnic minorities have their own romantic comedies? Is it true that the narrative of Asian-African descent can only be deeply bitter? I think it makes sense, so I gave up my doubts.
But in recent years, I have seen more and more examples of this. The facts have proved that North American audiences have a strong sense of identification with this narrative. Especially when it comes to "Hamilton", things have become more and more strange. I like "Hamilton" very much, I think it is a very good musical, but I also admit that it is so popular that part of the reason is that it is politicized. It has become a symbol of the Obama era. In fact, it also has a lot in common with the Obama era, including their problems. When the United States had the first black president, many racial issues were covered up, and the scarred skin had not been debrided, so a huge band-aid was taken. So there was inflammation and pus underneath, but it didn't matter, because I couldn't see it anymore. The same goes for "Hamilton". When I was immersed in the musical, I didn't care about letting African-American actors play Aaron Burr. I didn't care about letting African-American actors play Thomas Jefferson. I didn't care about letting African-American actors play George Washington. But what about when you calm down after reading it? Washington was a master slave owner, Jefferson even slept with black slaves (mostly not voluntarily) to give birth to children, and these African-American actors? Perhaps the elders a few generations ago were still slaves. Let the child of the slave play the role of the slave owner. I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing. From the response, everyone feels that this is positive progress. Letting black actors play the role of slave owners will not change history. I even think this is very offensive, and it feels like "this is it?" You enslave me, you oppressed me for more than a hundred years, and finally you let my grandson put on the clothes of a slave owner, and said: "It's okay, it's okay, now you come to experience the feeling of being an oppressor. Have you experienced it? Then? We are even." Are we even? Of course, I’m serious. I believe that the main creator’s intention is good, but even if we take a step back, at best, he just took the band-aid.
"Hamilton" at least justify a lot of problems because of its high quality, and there is nowhere to hide this bad show. It does not have the advantages of Hamilton, and it has carried forward its problems. It was set in the regent’s period. Regent George IV was the uncle of Queen Victoria. The regent’s period was followed by the Victorian era, which was the beginning of the global colonial era of the empire that never sets. Good guy, let the black people be nobles in the UK during the regent, I just call good guys, where are the black guys? You haven’t gone to Africa and sold them to Europe and America on a large scale. Except for the very few Africans who floated in the great voyage era (most of them were brought as slaves by white merchants), where are you black men from London? ? Of course, if you say that you are overhead history, there is no way to pursue this. But this is still very offensive? ! The slave owner is at least the end of the triangle trade. You are the starting point, you are a colonizer, and the source of all suffering in Africa! Two hundred years of oppression, two hundred years of suffering, two hundred years later, your descendants wake up, and your descendants said: "We want racial equality!" So they went to the UK to film such a romantic comedy: "Look, This time the overbearing president is you blacks~ Come and experience the feeling of wearing colonial clothes. Have you experienced it? Then we are even." According to the setting of this show, before the beginning of the colonial era, the blacks were already Became an aristocrat in England. Then I can only believe that according to the development of such a plot, the colonial era will not begin, so the suffering of the colonists has been erased, and more importantly, the sins of the colonists have been erased.
Of course, the overhead view of history can be set any way. If you treat it as a huge beautiful idea (what if there is no colonial era?), it may not be so disgusting to think about it this way. However, what makes me angry is not only the show itself, but also the praise and welcome it has received. In the end, it is still a matter of the right to speak. For example, it is also a show of wealth. Cardi b shows off her nails. Everyone will say "It's great. The girl who has struggled from the bottom of society has achieved such a success", but Ariana Grande will be questioned when showing off her wig. cultural appropriation. It may be unfair. It is indeed identity politics, but I think it is very reasonable. Black hair is not easy to take care of, but wigs are very expensive. Having wigs is a goal that many black women have to struggle for a long, long time to achieve. You are a pampered white girl who sings "my hair? Just bought it" so lightly, of course you You can choose to write words like this, and of course others can be upset about it.
The same is true for this drama. You can choose to set it like this and create freedom, but you also have to be prepared to face backlash. but? Without blacklash, the play was blown to the sky. "Hamilton" is at least a good show, and "Black Panther" is at least a black cast of the black team. It also invited so many black singers to create such a good soundtrack. What about this show? 4 directors, 3 whites, and 20 roles with the most playing time, up to 3 blacks. Among them, the male protagonist with the most plays is still the light skin... I know that I watched a romantic comedy and it seemed very sb to go online, but this The drama was boasted as "a step forward for racial equality" and I was so speechless. I watched it when the meme show was opened, and I finally found out that it was a fucking shit show.
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