"Perhaps, being lost, one should get loster; being very late for an appointment, it might be best to walk slower, as one of my beloved Russian writers advised."
I only have to show up at the office twice a week. I can choose which days. I usually end up going on Thursday and Friday because I stayed up late the other days and slept in too late to make it worth going to the office.
Eh, I'm late already, may as well not go.
When you do get lost it really is better to stop caring and enjoy exploring a new part of the world.
Getting lost in Beijing isn't too bad because of the Ring Roads. Unless you're way, way out you can walk North, East, South or West and eventually you'll hit a Ring Road and be able to get your bearings.
Still, getting lost in Beijing sucks. I'll write about that nonsense later or I may have already.
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow #2
"Von Trenck ran for eight months on Broadway. I had the attention of the public for nearly a year, and I taught it nothing."
This is something I wrestle with on every project I come across. Is it adding value to the world in some way?
Should people come away from my work feeling like they discovered something new? Should they walk away knowing how to treat others better? Should I care and just give them what they want?
My favorite example of this comes from working in China.
Chinese people hate the Japanese for what happened in Nanking and the lack of an apology that has followed after.
So when it comes to antagonists and evil people it's easy to pick the Japanese. It taps into a deep cultural hatred and gives people an excuse to feed that hatred. Like in the original Star Wars Trilogy, all that German Nazi-ish feel was done on purpose. As a culture we were primed to dislike anything that reminds us of Hitler and the Nazis. So when we see the storm troopers all lined up and hear guys talking about blowing up innocent planets with the voice of the reich, we already know what to feel. It's sneaky and it's good story telling.
Which is why defaulting to Japanese villains seems like an easy choice.
But there was always something niggling in the back of my head wondering if we had the responsibility to help make that hatred go away.
Should I push for sympathetic Japanese characters that will make people question why they hate Japanese people who had nothing to do with Nanking? Is that my responsibility at all? As a story developer and writer how much of that is my responsibility?
It's easy to say "Hollywood needs to be more responsible" but the truth is there are hundreds if not thousands of people who make those projects come to fruition. Which one has the most responsibility? The producers? The investors? The actors? Directors? Writers? None of them have final say but all of them have a part. If one of them tries to start making moral statements the other ones are likely to shut it down for countless valid reasons. So where does the buck stop?
There is nowhere to actually pin it. Too much changes from day to day.
This is something I wrestle with on every project I come across. Is it adding value to the world in some way?
Should people come away from my work feeling like they discovered something new? Should they walk away knowing how to treat others better? Should I care and just give them what they want?
My favorite example of this comes from working in China.
Chinese people hate the Japanese for what happened in Nanking and the lack of an apology that has followed after.
So when it comes to antagonists and evil people it's easy to pick the Japanese. It taps into a deep cultural hatred and gives people an excuse to feed that hatred. Like in the original Star Wars Trilogy, all that German Nazi-ish feel was done on purpose. As a culture we were primed to dislike anything that reminds us of Hitler and the Nazis. So when we see the storm troopers all lined up and hear guys talking about blowing up innocent planets with the voice of the reich, we already know what to feel. It's sneaky and it's good story telling.
Which is why defaulting to Japanese villains seems like an easy choice.
But there was always something niggling in the back of my head wondering if we had the responsibility to help make that hatred go away.
Should I push for sympathetic Japanese characters that will make people question why they hate Japanese people who had nothing to do with Nanking? Is that my responsibility at all? As a story developer and writer how much of that is my responsibility?
It's easy to say "Hollywood needs to be more responsible" but the truth is there are hundreds if not thousands of people who make those projects come to fruition. Which one has the most responsibility? The producers? The investors? The actors? Directors? Writers? None of them have final say but all of them have a part. If one of them tries to start making moral statements the other ones are likely to shut it down for countless valid reasons. So where does the buck stop?
There is nowhere to actually pin it. Too much changes from day to day.
Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow #3
"A hit B? B hit C?—we have not enough alphabet to cover the condition. A brave man will try to make the evil stop with him."
I believe this is the job of any parent or future parent. Be a little better than your parents were, even if it a slight improvement.
Leave better kids behind to make the world a little bit more awesome.
I'm always amazed by people who break the cycles of whatever plagues their families. Good for them.
Children in China have it rough. Their whole culture is geared around them making their parents happy, which far too often leaves them miserable. Until they have kids and they can inflict the same curse upon them. Everyone is living vicariously through their children and it's crippling.
I know it's not unique only to China, but it's more pervasive here.
I was speaking with a girl who is a lesbian. Her parents knew her orientation but they were trying to marry her off to a military guy anyway, and he didn't know. The girl was too scared to tell him because it might upset her parents. And she also knew this guy wasn't going to be gentle.
She was quietly devastated and didn't know what to do.
I asked her if it would be worth it, to make her parents happy even if it ruined her entire life. She said, "Yes."
Fortunately for her, her parents finally changed their minds and didn't make her get married. That's a more drastic example but it's not unusual for kids to hide their own happiness or pain to make sure their parents are happy. But the parents insist they only want what's best for their offspring and only they know what that is.
Cheating spouses are rampant in China. It makes Don Draper look faithful. But it's slowly starting to make sense to me. The more I get to know married people and hear the horror stories they tell the more and more I understand it.
Parents are to marriages what termites are to a log cabin. It's impossible to have a private life that isn't under Mr. and Mrs. Geller-Upon-Monica like scrutiny. The only way to have a relationship without the involvement of Mom and Dad is to have a relationship they don't know about.
(Yeah I made a Friends reference)
No, that isn't the only reason people in China cheat, but I'm starting to see how it has certain advantages.
I believe this is the job of any parent or future parent. Be a little better than your parents were, even if it a slight improvement.
Leave better kids behind to make the world a little bit more awesome.
I'm always amazed by people who break the cycles of whatever plagues their families. Good for them.
Children in China have it rough. Their whole culture is geared around them making their parents happy, which far too often leaves them miserable. Until they have kids and they can inflict the same curse upon them. Everyone is living vicariously through their children and it's crippling.
I know it's not unique only to China, but it's more pervasive here.
I was speaking with a girl who is a lesbian. Her parents knew her orientation but they were trying to marry her off to a military guy anyway, and he didn't know. The girl was too scared to tell him because it might upset her parents. And she also knew this guy wasn't going to be gentle.
She was quietly devastated and didn't know what to do.
I asked her if it would be worth it, to make her parents happy even if it ruined her entire life. She said, "Yes."
Fortunately for her, her parents finally changed their minds and didn't make her get married. That's a more drastic example but it's not unusual for kids to hide their own happiness or pain to make sure their parents are happy. But the parents insist they only want what's best for their offspring and only they know what that is.
Cheating spouses are rampant in China. It makes Don Draper look faithful. But it's slowly starting to make sense to me. The more I get to know married people and hear the horror stories they tell the more and more I understand it.
Parents are to marriages what termites are to a log cabin. It's impossible to have a private life that isn't under Mr. and Mrs. Geller-Upon-Monica like scrutiny. The only way to have a relationship without the involvement of Mom and Dad is to have a relationship they don't know about.
(Yeah I made a Friends reference)
No, that isn't the only reason people in China cheat, but I'm starting to see how it has certain advantages.