Watching dramas from different industries for a long time has made me conscious of their unique merits and demerits, attachment to particular tropes, and the ways they endorse and normalize certain behaviors. I find it interesting how producers play with diverse ideas and sometimes try things out of the box. For me, Korean and Chinese dramas are among the most well-produced. They tend to go above and beyond to create the perfect, cushy dramas for certain demographics. You can often tell how many people from different departments worked day and night to bring what we are watching to life.
However, K-dramas and C-dramas often stick to familiar tropes like the rich, good-looking male lead and maintain high beauty standards. Sometimes, there's a hesitation to try out new ideas. On the other hand, J-drama producers seem to have a lot of independence, allowing them to work on peculiar and sometimes ridiculous ideas, delving deeply into particular concepts. especially on slice of life category which is really refreshing to see. While their production quality has improved in recent years, there’s still room for more polishing. Not to mention gazillions of terminal illness trope and forgettable romance and poorly produced live action series and abrupt endings.
I haven't fully explored other territories of drama yet, so I can't comment on those. What do you think about these observations? What is your take on different drama industries? Are there any other drama industries you'd recommend exploring for their unique qualities?
