Liebster Award – When a Hero is His Own Pygmalion

This week, I am answering questions from museofmanymasks, whose ideas for alternate K-dramas, like method actors/actresses stuck in their roles and a prosecutor mistakenly believing he is on the dark side after losing his memories) intrigue me. How much of a person’s personality is shaped by the label he attaches to himself by habit or by chance? How do you help someone rip off a label and escape some negative self-fulfilling prophecy?

Again, I am largely following the rules used by CapriquariusMei, who first nominated me:

• Each nominee must have under 200 followers
• Thank and link to the nominating blog
• Answer their 10 questions and propose 10 new ones for your nominees
• Nominate 10 blogs and tell them that they’ve been nominated
• Write a post containing the questions
• Include these rules in the post

museofmanymasks’ questions:

1. What is your favorite post you’ve written to date and why?

An Inaudible Chorus of Howls. Hopefully, it has matched Edvard Munch’s emotional honesty with intellectual honesty.

Evening on Karl Johan (1892) by Edvard Munch

2. Favorite drama ensemble?

The Jalgeum Quartet.

3. Too many ___ not enough ___.

Posts for the first blank and time for the second blank. There’s a ginormous amount of stuff I want to put up on WordPress, new topics that emerge with new dramas, and new blogs I want to launch. 

4. Which ineffectual villain would you be the minion of and why?

Almost all Asian drama villains crash out at the end, so you can argue that there’s really hardly any effectual villain around. And since there’s no fun working for a habitually ineffectual villain or even, to put on my evil hat, taking advantage of him while pretending to work for him, I’ll just choose the most powerful among the habitually effectual ones who fail in the end: Lady Mishil. *Raises one eyebrow meaningfully* *Lowers veil, swishes skirt and goes back to … erm … polishing her crystal glasses*

5. What are you listening to?

A phone buzzing, the keyboard clanking, air blowing. Those and Jung Il-woo’s song.

6. Unpopular opinion: what drama do most people seem to hate but you love and vice versa?

Drama viewing is indeed a very personal activity. People watch dramas for very different reasons and thus are gravitated to different kinds of dramas. Although I dislike clichéd dramas, I have come to accept their fans, who may find in them some familiar comfort. Also, sometimes a drama is extremely flawed in many aspects but just happens to be the one drama that offers something to someone somewhere that no other drama offers. Moreover, I agree with iKurate that there is no perfect drama and no worthless drama. So if you like an unpopular drama and want to try it out, do not be deterred by the critics, me included.

For me, unpopular dramas I like include “Hermione’s Game” and “The Knight of the Night,” while popular dramas I dislike include Boys Over Flowers and “Archimedes’ Gold.” =D ^^ There are actually quite a number of dramas I can name for both categories, but I think it’s best that anyone who has not watched them go form his own opinion.

7. Least offensive trope: truck of doom, undead significant other, or amnesia?

The truck of doom. It at least does not involve an emotionally draining trip back to square one. Unless the accident brings on amnesia. Or the truck driver turns out to be the undead significant other. Ack. 

8. What’s for dinner?

Sardines. 

9. Dream casting?

Park Bo-young and Song Joong-ki in a drama.

10. Pick any non-Korean form of entertainment you want a Korean version of and explain why.

Fresh Off the Boat. I am not particularly impressed by the script but I think it is worth exploring the lives of new immigrants and minority groups in Korea and presenting them in a drama format. Japan has already made a slightly similar attempt in that direction with Massan.

11. When evaluating a performer, what matters most to you? Real or reel?

It depends on which real attributes (character, demeanor, opinions, interests, etc.) you are thinking of and how real we can know them to be. If it’s someone unrepentant of the assault or harassment he committed, I do not even feel inclined to watch or evaluate his works no matter how competent he is as an entertainer. But if I really have to judge his technical competence, I will go strictly by his onscreen performance and not distort the evaluation process to dish out “poetic justice.” 

My next nominees are:

3. Tuciona Creations (“A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.” – Elsa Schiaparelli)

4. klawguru.com (The title speaks for itself.)

I am posing the same questions to all nominees, so there is no surprise here:

1. A golden sunset, the starry heavens, or a starless night sky?

2. Which literary or screen figures have been most like sunlight to you?

3. Which real-life figures have been most like sunlight to you?

4. What is the first word someone says to you in the morning and what is the first word you utter in the morning? (This is a question I’ve asked before, but since I’m quite curious about the answer, I’m posing it again.)

5. A small glint of golden light is emitting from a window at the top of a tall tower. Another is peeking out from underneath a pebble. Yet another comes from the iris of a woman’s eye. One more beckons to you from the bottom of a lagoon. A final one zips past you from the glittery feathers of a swallow darting by. If you must follow one, which source of light do you go after?

6. If there is a novel or drama titled That Autumn, The Sun Slept, what do you imagine it to be about? (And for drama lovers, who do you hope will be the leads?)

7. Do you prefer serving your blog sunny-side up, over light, over medium, over well or over hard?

8. The times of sunrise and sunset can be calculated through the following equation:

cos(ω_o) = -tan(φ)×tan(δ)

where ω_o is the hour angle at either sunrise (negative value) or sunset (positive value), φ is the latitude, and δ is the sun declination. All variables are in degrees.

If success or a significant other were a sun, what do you think the equation for the start and end of a challenge or relationship would be like?

9. What is the greatest source of hope you see in the current global conflicts?

10. Who has been the greatest influence behind your blog?

While I’m interested to know what you think, there is no pressure to answer the questions or in any way respond to the nominations. If a question is too time-consuming, you are welcome to skip it!

Next week, I shall address junny’s questions. Sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long.

[Published on April 15, 2015.]