I feel guilty for consciously / unconsiously partaking in these two trends after reading the comments:
1. Jumping into a drama just for the leads’ pretty faces and not realising how problematic the subject matter is.
Is incest the newest trend in Kdramas? I don’t care about the morality and social acceptance, but I do care about how power dynamics and consent are poised in a relationship. And in such relationships, they are often dangerously tipping towards one side.
I’m not talking about ‘Tangeum’ since I don’t have enough context for it. But I have something to say about Go Ahead. Since I dropped the drama in the childhood phase, I didn’t realise the gravity of the matter. I just went ahead and watched the clips of the drama. And I’d be lying if I say I didn’t find what happened satisfying. Because the leads mesmerised me and made me ignore the foundation of their relationship. I might have felt things are off, but I didn’t expect a Cdrama FL to have an equal say in a relationship. (Petty of me to negotiate with such low standards.)
Now, I’m tempted to jump into the Korean adaptation for what? Hwang In-youp’s pretty face? Will it make me forget that he’ll be playing a character who wilfully changes a platonic relationship with a younger girl (who looks up to him as an elder family member), into a romantic one without considering her willingness?
2. My other concern with this ‘Prefabricated Family’ only reveals my other double standard.
While, I’m readily doubting Jung Chae-yeon (whom I’ve only seen once), I’m far too assured about Hwang In-youp himself. I’ve seen him twice but in extremely different genres that don’t warrant my confidence in him. And I’m reading he’s been bland in the serious dramatic role he has done. So why leave him out of the ‘doubtful actor’ category? Is it because an actress needs to shoulder the double responsibility of looking good and acting great, while her male counterpart just needs to be an eye candy?
This might feel a little extreme and slightly out of context, but this how a prominent male actor called out a similar double standard :
https://youtube.com/shorts/XEc3rV_Lubg?feature=share
PS: This my personal confession. I respect my fellow beanies’ disagreeing opinions.
