Crash Landing on You
I found "Crash Landing on You" when surfing for Japanese shows on Netflix, and it's been my obsession in the past few weeks!
It's the story of South Korean heiress and successful businesswoman Yoon Se-Ri, who accidentally parasails right into the demilitarized zone. Discovered in a tree by Captain Ri Jeong-hyeok, she eventually runs right into North Korea trying to escape his clutches.
As someone who's always been fascinated by stories set in other cultures, especially Asia, "Crash Landing on You" appealed to me immediately. When I lived in Japan, I spent just one winter night in Seoul on my way to Thailand. Seoul looked extremely different in 1987 than it does in this show! (as does most of Asia, actually)
"Crash Landing on You" is the second-highest rated drama in Korean history and it's wildly popular throughout Asia. The final episode actually crashed China's streaming platform because so many people were watching it!
I loved this story of a spunky, independent, and bright young woman of privilege who is transformed through her experience in North Korea. I chuckled a bit at the long, lingering gazes (as opposed to lots of kissing in American love stories), soapy music during any poignant moment, and the constant snow falling at the end of each episode. Even though the show had a spunky female lead and many strong, intelligent women characters (in fact, most of the women were like that), both armies in North and South Korea were exclusively men. At the board meetings of Yoon Se-Ri's and her father's companies, all of the people were men.
Observing this reminded me of two stories from when I visited my sister in China in December 1986. When I arrived in Shanghai by boat from Kobe, Japan, I stayed two nights in Fudan University's dorms. The next morning I caught an extremely crowded bus into downtown in one of the most overwhelming moments in my life...being completely alone in Shanghai, China, the only foreigner in sight. A student found me a seat next to him and proceeded to fill my ears with Chinese propaganda. It was the beginning of the pro-democracy uprisings (hence the overcrowded, delayed buses), and he had quite a story about what was happening, all because of some Americans offending the Chinese, or so he said. He also told me how communism was so much better for women, because women in China have completely equal opportunities to men. Well, we all know that is not true.
Later when I was in Chengdu with my sister, I got into a heated argument with her Korean-American friend Charlie, who thought he was being evolved and feminist by saying that men should have 51% of the power and control in a marriage. He was seriously shocked when I started arguing. He thought I should have been complimenting and thanking him, I guess!
But back to "Crash Landing on You," I highly recommend it! It's a fantastic escape from what's happening in the world right now. It's full of all sorts of competition and cut-throat intrigue, but it's also full of tons of heart. It humanizes North Koreans, while still showing how difficult their lives can be and how brutal the military dictatorship can be.
I was surprised to learn that as with any communist country, Pyongyang has an elite group of people who shop at department stores and eat at fancy restaurants. This seems to run counter to everything North Korea holds dear, so I don't understand it!
I was less enamored of the secondary love story between North Korean rich girl Seo Dan and South Korean con man Alberto Gu, but one of the most endearing things about this show was its supporting cast of North Korean soldiers and housewives in the military village. It's been praised for its realistic portrayal of North Korea (they had a few defectors on the production team), even though some of it is improbable and unrealistic.
Check it out!
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
As a diehard Katharine Hepburn fan (and Sydney Poitier--swoon!), I remember liking this movie when I first saw it as a young Hepburn-obsessed woman. During the shutdown, my family has been watching a lot more movies together. Usually, poor Nick (aged 13) doesn't like the movie choices very much, especially when 17-year-old Kieran chooses them! The other night we watched the dark comedy "The Death of Stalin," which made Mike and Kieran laugh out loud, but Nick was horrified. So I was delighted when the whole family agreed that this was a good choice. Even Nick liked it!
It was the last film Spencer Tracy made, as he died two weeks after filming, and was ailing throughout the production. Yes, it's terribly dated, using the words "Negro" and "colored," but when it came out in 1968 it was groundbreaking and a box office hit, much to the studio's surprise. It also has a stereotypical Black maid who looks down on the interracial romance because she thinks that young Joey (who she'd known since she was a child) is "marrying down." And one scene deeply disturbed me, when Poitier's character accuses his hard-working father of being an Uncle Tom and says that being a man is more important to him than being a Black man. How much more we know now. I imagine Poitier is probably horrified when he thinks back on that scene.
What I loved about this movie--besides Hepburn and Poitier--is that it captures perfectly the problem of the white liberal. It's all well and good for well-meaning white people to talk about equality between the races, but when their daughter comes home with a Black man? It makes them question everything they've ever thought they believed.
Interracial romance and marriage are no longer shocking to most, thank God. But the racist attitudes in the movie are still very much present in our times. Kieran told me that this movie inspired Jordan Peele's "Get Out," which makes a whole lot of sense!
One scene I found especially poignant: Poitier's Dr. John Prentiss saying to Tracy's Matt Drayton that Joey, his fiancee, believes their children will become president. He laughs at that (imagine! a biracial person becoming president!) and says he'll settle for secretary of state. Of course, Barack Obama was a small child around the time this movie was made. And in "Get Out," the presumably white liberal parents and their friends believe they are not racist because they voted for Obama. Nice circle back, Jordan Peele.
"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" is streaming on Amazon Prime. Watch it! I want to go back and watch all the movies of Katharine Hepburn and Sydney Poitier (still alive at 93). And if you haven't seen it, definitely watch the updated version, "Get Out."
I found "Crash Landing on You" when surfing for Japanese shows on Netflix, and it's been my obsession in the past few weeks!
It's the story of South Korean heiress and successful businesswoman Yoon Se-Ri, who accidentally parasails right into the demilitarized zone. Discovered in a tree by Captain Ri Jeong-hyeok, she eventually runs right into North Korea trying to escape his clutches.
As someone who's always been fascinated by stories set in other cultures, especially Asia, "Crash Landing on You" appealed to me immediately. When I lived in Japan, I spent just one winter night in Seoul on my way to Thailand. Seoul looked extremely different in 1987 than it does in this show! (as does most of Asia, actually)
"Crash Landing on You" is the second-highest rated drama in Korean history and it's wildly popular throughout Asia. The final episode actually crashed China's streaming platform because so many people were watching it!
Observing this reminded me of two stories from when I visited my sister in China in December 1986. When I arrived in Shanghai by boat from Kobe, Japan, I stayed two nights in Fudan University's dorms. The next morning I caught an extremely crowded bus into downtown in one of the most overwhelming moments in my life...being completely alone in Shanghai, China, the only foreigner in sight. A student found me a seat next to him and proceeded to fill my ears with Chinese propaganda. It was the beginning of the pro-democracy uprisings (hence the overcrowded, delayed buses), and he had quite a story about what was happening, all because of some Americans offending the Chinese, or so he said. He also told me how communism was so much better for women, because women in China have completely equal opportunities to men. Well, we all know that is not true.Later when I was in Chengdu with my sister, I got into a heated argument with her Korean-American friend Charlie, who thought he was being evolved and feminist by saying that men should have 51% of the power and control in a marriage. He was seriously shocked when I started arguing. He thought I should have been complimenting and thanking him, I guess!
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| The wonderful supporting characters! |
I was surprised to learn that as with any communist country, Pyongyang has an elite group of people who shop at department stores and eat at fancy restaurants. This seems to run counter to everything North Korea holds dear, so I don't understand it!
I was less enamored of the secondary love story between North Korean rich girl Seo Dan and South Korean con man Alberto Gu, but one of the most endearing things about this show was its supporting cast of North Korean soldiers and housewives in the military village. It's been praised for its realistic portrayal of North Korea (they had a few defectors on the production team), even though some of it is improbable and unrealistic.
Check it out!
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
As a diehard Katharine Hepburn fan (and Sydney Poitier--swoon!), I remember liking this movie when I first saw it as a young Hepburn-obsessed woman. During the shutdown, my family has been watching a lot more movies together. Usually, poor Nick (aged 13) doesn't like the movie choices very much, especially when 17-year-old Kieran chooses them! The other night we watched the dark comedy "The Death of Stalin," which made Mike and Kieran laugh out loud, but Nick was horrified. So I was delighted when the whole family agreed that this was a good choice. Even Nick liked it!
It was the last film Spencer Tracy made, as he died two weeks after filming, and was ailing throughout the production. Yes, it's terribly dated, using the words "Negro" and "colored," but when it came out in 1968 it was groundbreaking and a box office hit, much to the studio's surprise. It also has a stereotypical Black maid who looks down on the interracial romance because she thinks that young Joey (who she'd known since she was a child) is "marrying down." And one scene deeply disturbed me, when Poitier's character accuses his hard-working father of being an Uncle Tom and says that being a man is more important to him than being a Black man. How much more we know now. I imagine Poitier is probably horrified when he thinks back on that scene.
Interracial romance and marriage are no longer shocking to most, thank God. But the racist attitudes in the movie are still very much present in our times. Kieran told me that this movie inspired Jordan Peele's "Get Out," which makes a whole lot of sense!
"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" is streaming on Amazon Prime. Watch it! I want to go back and watch all the movies of Katharine Hepburn and Sydney Poitier (still alive at 93). And if you haven't seen it, definitely watch the updated version, "Get Out."
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