I Don't Know How to Feel
Jul. 24th, 2019 08:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluewinged_songbirdNetflix is telling me that there's an Australian series based on Journey to the West and frankly I have conflicting feelings about it. I realise that it's... irrational since I've only seen its trailer, which isn't enough to judge a show. Just, with the exception of the Monkey King, most of the main cast, the directors, and the writers are white? Journey to the West is already a story that I barely trust in Chinese hands, because it is so difficult to get the Monkey King's characterization right. SO DIFFICULT.
I've seen many adaptations of Journey to the West in Mandarin and Cantonese, but I've only ever liked Dicky Cheung as the Monkey King. Most versions focus on either the action or the comedy, but none have been quite as monkey-like as Dicky Cheung. Sure they all have better special effects and looked more like monkeys, but I find his portrayal to be the most convincing. Like he's a monkey that conveniently looks more human.
I also think he does excellent work on the comedic scenes as well as the dramatic scenes, so his portrayal has been a bit hard to dethrone in my heart. Maybe I'm just too picky???
On a similar note, I also do not know how to feel about the upcoming Mulan live-action adaptation! On the one hand, MULAN! I loved that movie as a kid, warts and all. On the other hand, it's not exactly the same as the cartoon version so there are plenty of chances for them to muck it up!
Mulan is also apparently Hakka now??? Will that part be acknowledged at all? Or did they only want cool architecture? See, I won't be spiraling into such thoughts if they'd kept her house the same as in the cartoon. That's a very generic design that you can find in many parts of China. A tulou (that round communal home in the trailers) is highly specific to the Hakka and now has a specific cultural context that will bug me throughout.
For everyone's sake I hope both of these are decent adaptations. I want to stop feeling this dread.
I've seen many adaptations of Journey to the West in Mandarin and Cantonese, but I've only ever liked Dicky Cheung as the Monkey King. Most versions focus on either the action or the comedy, but none have been quite as monkey-like as Dicky Cheung. Sure they all have better special effects and looked more like monkeys, but I find his portrayal to be the most convincing. Like he's a monkey that conveniently looks more human.
I also think he does excellent work on the comedic scenes as well as the dramatic scenes, so his portrayal has been a bit hard to dethrone in my heart. Maybe I'm just too picky???
On a similar note, I also do not know how to feel about the upcoming Mulan live-action adaptation! On the one hand, MULAN! I loved that movie as a kid, warts and all. On the other hand, it's not exactly the same as the cartoon version so there are plenty of chances for them to muck it up!
Mulan is also apparently Hakka now??? Will that part be acknowledged at all? Or did they only want cool architecture? See, I won't be spiraling into such thoughts if they'd kept her house the same as in the cartoon. That's a very generic design that you can find in many parts of China. A tulou (that round communal home in the trailers) is highly specific to the Hakka and now has a specific cultural context that will bug me throughout.
For everyone's sake I hope both of these are decent adaptations. I want to stop feeling this dread.
