|
“Meteor Garden” attracts
youths
The pop TV drama
“Meteor Garden” has become so controversial since its
airing that it was banned from broadcast on TV stations
across the Chinese mainland this week as a result of
strong protests by parents and educators.
While the 18-episode
love story captured the hearts of many teens and young
adults with its good-looking cast and Cinderella-style
plot, parents were upset over its campus violence and
the excessive lifestyle of the heroes. They worried that
dream-like descriptions in the drama could lead their
children away from real-life
responsibilities.
According to Beijing
Youth Daily, the banning order issued by the State
Administration of Radio film and Television reads:
“Meteor Garden” introduced by Harbin Television Station,
is prohibited from broadcast because of its tendency to
mislead teenagers.
The made-in-Taiwan
series is set in an elite prep school for affluent
students. When a new, spirited girl from a middle-class
family enters the campus, the four most popular and
affluent boys, the F4 (meaning The Flower Four), soon
develop a love-hate relationship with her.
With candy-eye
casts, sentimental storylines and catchy theme songs,
the romantic series appeals to local audiences looking
for an alternative to Hollywood. F4, namely Jerry Yen
Cheng-hsu, Vic Zhou, Vanness Wu and Ken Zhu, already
have shot from total unknowns to pinup idols. Their
debut album “Meteor Rain” has sold over 180,000 copies
in Taiwan alone.
A university student
who gave her name as Ding watched the drama by
downloading every episode from the Internet.
The story revolves
around school life, so I can relate to it. I like to
watch love stories in which the guy and girl have to
overcome lots of barriers. And the show’s rally funny"
she said.
Not surprisingly,
parents and teachers see something different in the idol
drama based on a Japanese cartoon “Hana Yori Dango”(HYD,
literally Boys Prettier Than Flowers).
“The iron is that
there is nothing really extraordinary about them, apart
from the fact that they are all lanky (1.8m) and
good-looking,” said a man whose daughter is keen on
F4.
Dressed in brand
names, they drive sports cars, live in luxurious houses
and terrified the students at their exclusive preschool.
They don’t have to worry about studying. Is that
real?
Ni Xueli, a teacher
from Beijing Broadcasting Institute, said the story
caters to the young who want release from the pressures
of study. But “life in ‘Meteor Garden ” is just too
perfect. I warn that young viewers could get addicted to
luxurious consumption and feel unfit for real
life.
Even among the young
audience, there are those who seem to be clear-minded.”
Meteor Garden ”is a beautiful garden filled with
temptations which are hard to resist. It’s just too nice
to be true. Longing for nice things is the nature of
human beings. But we cannot live in a world of fantasy,”
said a netizen at Sina.com.
Researcher Ming Lefu
from the Beijing Education Institute agrees. Ming
believes that a too-perfect description of life could
make young people dissatisfied with their real
lives.
“They could blame
their parents for not being able to create for them the
kind of environment shown in the drama while ignoring
the fact that it’s their responsibility to create
comfortable things for themselves through their own
efforts,” Ming said.
“Life without
longing is tedious. But it is impractical to live all
the time in dreams which cannot come true.”
Ming warned that
young people, especially youngsters whole lack a deep
understanding of the significance of work, already
harbor a strong sense of enjoyment combined with the
desire for nice consumption.
“Artistic works
should create more spiritual nutrition in line with
reality and youth’s needs,” he suggested. |
流星花园风靡青少年
《流星花园》自风传因为家长和教育工作者的反对而被大陆电视台禁播后，一直是一个争议性话题。
尽管这部18集的爱情连续剧以它外表出众的主角和灰姑娘的故事情节俘获了许多青少年的心，可是父母们因为片中的校园暴力和主角奢华的生活方式而感到不安。他们担心梦幻般的剧情会让自己的孩子无法承担现实中所需背负的责任。
据《北京青年报》报导：国家广播电影电视总局颁布的禁令明确指出由哈尔滨电视台引进的《流星花园》是由于起了误导青少年的作用而被禁播的。
这部台湾产连续剧背景是一家专为培养富家子弟而设的贵族学校。说的是一个来自中产阶级的非常有个性女孩在进入这个学校后与F4（学校里最受欢迎最有钱的四个男生）之间产生的一系列爱恨纠葛。
有亮眼的主角，感性的情节和动人的主题曲，这部浪漫的连续剧成为了内地观众继好莱坞之后的又一选择。F4已经从当初的无名小卒成为了偶像明星。他们的首本写真《流星雨》仅在台湾就卖出了18万本。
据一大学生介绍，她是从网上一集一集下载的《流星花园》。“整个故事围绕学校生活，可以和自己联系起来，而且我喜欢看男生和女生克服重重困难后在一起的爱情故事，再说它也很有意思。”她说。
然而毫无疑问，父母和老师从这部偶像部里看到了一些不同的东西。
一位女儿迷恋F4的父亲说：“可笑的是这些男生（指F4）除个子高，长的好看，简直一无是处。”
“穿名牌，开跑车，住洋房，吓唬同学，他们不用担心学业上的问题，这真实吗？”
北京广播学院的一位老师说这部偶像部可以让学生释放学习中的压力，但是《流星花园》中的生活太完美了。他警告说年轻的观众可能会因此对奢侈消费上瘾和对现实生活不满。
即使在年轻人中间，也有一些头脑清醒的。“《流星花园》是一个充满了让人无法抗拒的诱惑的花园。美好可不真实。人总是向往美好的事物，但是我们不能生活在虚幻的世界里。”新浪网的一网民说。
北京教育学院的一学者也认为过于美好的生活会使年轻人产生对生活不满的情绪。他告诫年轻人，特别是那些对工作的意义缺乏深刻认识崇尚享乐和高消费的年轻人：“他们会抱怨自己的父母不能给他们剧中那样的环境，而忽略他们应该凭自己的努力去创造美好的生活。人生没有希望是无趣的，但总是活在虚幻的世界里是不真实的。艺术作品应该创造更多的适和年轻人需要和现实相关的精神食粮”
|
