Cultural Differences On Beauty (Continued)

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This is the second half of the post. The first half is here.

Two Different Systems

Many people have two different aesthetic systems in their mind. For me and many other Asians who speak and utilize English as a second language, we have two distinct aesthetic systems, one connected with English and one connected with our own language. I actually don’t know how to describe the differences of the two systems, but I am going to try to do it, just to improve my skills in describing things that are not very clear or obvious or straightforward to me.

I think the one connected with English is more cool-headed and less obsessive. I can deal with a good book in English in a very rational way and read it one or two chapters at a time in a well organized manner, for which–like a book about 250 to 300 pages–I usually finish in one week. The same thing happens to TV series or movies by a certain director or actor. However this cool-headedness is gone if I am watching a kung fu series, a Korean drama of many episodes, or a book of similar content that I enjoy. I can become obsessed and would try to finish the whole thing while staying up all night.

I think the one connected with English has always tried to be smarter and more humorous. And needless to say, due to my inability to be smart or humorous, this system in my mind feels inadequate, insecure, strained and stressed out constantly. Since I have to use English in my work every day, I have learned to live with this awkward existence and understood how to minimize the awkwardness. However one’s native language and habits always perk up at the most inopportune moment to ruin one’s effort and make one look very awkward. I should write a post about this if I can dig up a memory and make a story out of it.

I think the two aesthetic systems laugh at each other from time to time. Case in point. When one is celebrating somebody’s birthday, it is very common, in the place where I grew up, to say some ready made birthday wishes, which includes exaggerated phrases like “wish you live forever and never become old”. And actually one often uses this phrase on the birthday of one’s own grandparents.
And if this is done in English, I bet it will be considered very strange and very impolite and even very sarcastic. An 80-year-old English speaker may interpret it as… Well, I don’t know how he or she will interpret it.

The Korean Wave

The Korean Wave has ushered in more than two decades of androgynous beauty and gender fluidity. Actually I don’t think Koreans invented this since the adoration for beautiful people of indeterminate sex has been an old tradition in many Asian countries. Most have faded out in the past two hundred years, except in Thailand and Laos, where it has always been in vogue. Thanks to the directors and writers of the Korean Wave, the tradition has been revived and gained worldwide acceptance. Most of the fans are women who not only enjoy the beautiful androgynous images, but also want to defy rigid gender assignments in the society.

Recently I watched a K Drama, in which men and women dress in the the clothes of the same style, of the same kind of color, of a very similar hairdo. Women behave more assertively than men, while men become just as easily scared and sad as women. That’s such a wonderful thing. Finally, men don’t have to conceal their feelings and women don’t have to hide their discontent and anger. And the whole thing is so breathtakingly beautiful and utterly believable and more entertaining than anything else I have watched recently.

And I heard (but haven’t watched yet) that K Dramas are having BL and GL series. And I hope K Dramas can go even further on new ideas in the future.

This brings me back to the thought that I have seen many unfair treatment and depiction of androgynous figures in classical literature and well known movies. I want to make another post of it.

(The End)