My earliest memory of watching TV is a funny but weird one. I remember my dad coming home to my grandma and me crying our eyes out and he was so very worried. On asking what had happened, he was told that we had been watching an Indian movie that was a tear-jerker.
It’s absolutely funny to think about it now but I can imagine how relieved and pissed my dad might have been. Relieved that nothing serious had happened and pissed that it was a movie that had caused his daughter and mother to cry so much that he thought something was wrong in the first place.
Needless to say, he banned us from watching Indian movies but of course, that didn’t stop me. It was already too late. I was hooked. This leads me to the point of the story, which is the fact that my love for Indian movies has been so deep-rooted that I can remember that it was an Indian movie that my grandma and I were watching on this very day. False memory or not, it is a precious one to me.
Fast forward to many years later, I was young, adventurous and fresh out of uni when a friend introduced me to the awesome world of manga and anime. Now in case you do not know what that is, according to Google, manga is a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, typically aimed at adults as well as children while anime is a style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults as well as children. See ehn discovering this was one high point of my life.
Imagine my shock when just a few years ago I was introduced to kdramas and again found myself in love. At this point, I could already see a trend. After my love for Korean dramas was activated, I found Thai dramas. So here I am with a love for Indian, Korean, Japanese and Thai movies and series with a serious conviction that I was born on the wrong continent. I am from Africa, in case you were wondering.
If you ask me if I have a favourite in all of these industries, I would say no. I think for me every one of them has something to offer. I love how kdramas have gentle romances that make me sigh and want to cry and smile like an idiot at the TV alone at midnight. I appreciate the stories and styles and plots of Japanese manga and anime. I love how the protagonists most of the time follow a particular trope but are all so different. I love how Thai dramas opened up a whole new world that I didn’t even realise existed. I enjoy over the top Indian action and romance. I love how I can always listen to the soundtracks from any of the dramas, series or anime that I am watching at the time. I love how I love their music and it makes me happy. I love how I know little phrases and words from their languages because I am one of those people who must watch with the original language and read subtitles. Yes, I hate and loathe English-dubbed material. Most of all, I love how I can escape into a plot or story for hours, days or even weeks (depending on how long I watch or read) and forget the worries that plague me or weigh me down. I can lose myself in their little universe of teenagers that can stretch their limbs and men that travel through time and end up in a queen’s body after a near-death experience. I can grow with a secretary who just wants a better job and a break from her egotistical boss. Did I mention that the men in the entertainment industry are just effing beautiful and that is such a strong point already? I mean let’s not talk about those beautiful people in kdramas. Whew! I love all of that and more.
Are they sometimes over the top? Yes. Are they sometimes unrealistic? Yes. But that’s entertainment for you. There’s already too much of real life in real life, so I don’t mind that my entertainment is most of the time exactly what it should be – entertainment. Anyways I digress. The thing is, I love Asian entertainment (if I can broadly lump all of them together under that tag) and I think I will for a long time to come. So if you meet me and wanna strike up a conversation, kdramas, Bollywood, manga and anime are probably a good place to start. If I sound a bit over-enthusiastic, please excuse me. I can’t help it. It’s one of those things that I can unashamedly dive into with no remorse.
So, here’s to discovering more amazing entertainment genres out of Asia.
All of this is why I do not have a favourite movie or series or TV show or anything like that.
Today I joined a July writing challenge. Yes, I know the date is the tenth, but better late than never, right? Or done is better than perfect.
So in my attempt to start doing instead of always thinking about doing. I am joining the challenge now. Here. Today.
Okay. On that note, let’s get right into it. (in my best YouTube voice)
Today’s prompt – Favourite TV Show is what led to this diary entry.
I look forward to completing the writing challenge.
Real Life Fantasies 