War & Beauty
Been very engrossed watching Hong Kong’s award-winning drama War and Beauty this weekend.
No idea what that is? It’s like Survivor set in the Forbidden City.
Still “HUH-ing” away? It’s basically a situation where you find yourself stuck in a place with a couple of other people. You try your very best to emerge the SOLE winner. Along the way, you make friend(s). Erm. Maybe friends isn’t the most correct term to use here, cos 2 days later, you might be squeezing your genitals for calling that arsehole your friend. Similarly, people might be squeezing their private parts and call you an arsehole. Yup, we certainly shouldn’t distort the actual definition of a FRIEND.
Sometimes, you may find yourself to be the most outstanding one. Beware! Cos there might be several others plotting to knock you down. Yeap, being the smartest in class may gain you brownie points and bring you to greater heights.. Being the know-it-all elsewhere, may make people in the game jealous and you may find yourself saying a premature goodbye. Worst of all, you find that the eventual winner is a complete idiot.
金枝欲孽 is set in the Qing Dynasty. The series opens with a group of girls reporting to the Forbidden City for what I’d like to call a beauty pageant. Unlike the Miss Universe/ Miss World/ Miss Chinatown we’re more familiar with, this pageant promises much more. The number of judges is dramatically reduced. Only one! The Emperor. The girls don’t have to strut around in swimwear. Equally sad, is the fact that they don’t get to make a fool out of themselves in the Q&A segment either. The girls in ancient China depend on their looks, coupled with their equivalent of concealer, lipstick and SKII. If they’re selected, they get more than a tiara and a title that expires after a year! They are promised a lifetime of luxury, according to ancient propaganda and belief. I’m guessing they sit around all day, using public money for extravagant leisure purposes and perhaps, according to their appeal, gets called in at night (maybe not always at night) to erm, service the Emperor. It’s not just a pageant. It’s an entire career!
Sorry about the part of idling, there are of course exceptions. 武则天 and 慈禧 were obviously not contented with doing nothing constructive and waiting for their turn to have sex. They took control of the country and made a name for themselves. There were others, such as 王昭君 who sacrificed her soul and body, in exchange for peace. And 西施 who allegedly contributed to the downfall of 吴国 by bewitching the ham sup 吴王。
The majority of the women back then didn’t have such ambitions… So many gorgeous women in the palace… So little things and so much time. It’s the perfect setting for bitching and catfights. Acknowledging the sad fact ancient women didn’t have easy access to education, their way of survival was to make sure they were the Most Popular.
Women new to the scene had to vie for the Emperor’s attention. Not easy, considering you couldn’t bare your assets in public or get a boob job. Jaded veterans who hadn’t quite made it, had to face new competition every now and then. And yeah, I supposed they don’t get Long Service Awards either. Meanwhile, the hot babes at the top might find themselves not so in anymore, with the constant emergence of wannabes, each equipped with stronger skills after conscientiously going through the relevant 10year series. Sigh, there wasn’t anyone to constantly remind them of the importance of upgrading. Lucky us.
What we have here in 金枝欲孽 is a captivating lesson on politics. A big hand to the people behind the show. You guys absolutely deserve the awards.
It could be a horror show for those who used to see the world through rosy tinted shades (NAIVE, if you ask me). Worse than Sadako climbing out of that TV set. On the other hand, it could be like a documentary kind of thing for those who’ve been there, done that.. It could even bring smiles and fond memories… “Yeah! I tried that one!/ How can she fall for that oldest trick in the book?! / How come I didn’t think of that?”
I’m not asking you to major in “BackStabbing” here… Just be careful of the dagger that could strike you anytime. And you might wanna check out the correct definition of FRIENDS, before actually using that label.
K, I’m going back to Episode 6 of 30.
Have fun this week. I trust you’ll be very careful yeah?
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