简体中文
APD Writer Zeng Xinlan
An online TV series named Women in Beijing has recently gone viral on Chinese social media.
The popular TV opera was adapted from the Japanese drama Women in Tokyo that was published on December, 2016. Like its predecessor, Women in Beijing tells the story of Chen Keyi (starred by Qi Wei), a fresh graduate from southwest China’s Sichuan Province. After graduation in 2008, she came to Beijing alone to chase her dream of looking for a decent life in the metropolis. After 10 years’ efforts, Chen has finally realized her dream. She can enjoy the city’s bustling night scenes from her apartment in the city center.
The 20-episode show tells Chen’s six periods of life marked by six boyfriends she dated with. These six men all have an impact on her life to some extent: her first love Yang Dahe, former classmate Wang Tao, her sugar daddy Wu Hao, her superior Zhang Chao, her boss Gao Fei and a young man from a rich family named Yu Yang. After each breakup with her boyfriend, she may be heartbreaking at first but always got something more like designer dresses, luxurious bags or a better job in return. Coincidence or not, the whole career of the young lady is dependent on these lovers’ help.
With 400 million hit on the video website youku.com for the first four days along, Women in Beijing has obviously drawn great attention and comments among internet users. Carrying the title of women career with feminist spirit, Women in Beijing, again, is still trapped in a dilemma that a woman’s successful career is dependent on men’s salvation, just like the previous TV series “The First Half of My Life”.
However, if one is serious about female’s strength and power, it should be all about women themselves because they are perfectly capable of making decent life on their owns, fulfill their dreams both materially and mentally by themselve instead of relying on others’ mercies.
There seems to be a popular idea that women need to be saved by men. Stereotype, such as traditional fairy, delicate and sentimental woman images, is still accepted by many Chinese people.
The truth is, no matter how poorly the story tells Chen’s courage and strength as a young woman, it’s still all about men’s salvation and how she managed to manipulate these stepping stones when it comes to the end.
However awkward and clumsy these attempts may be, the silver line is, however, the awakening of feminist spirits is already on the way in the country.
(AISA PACIFIC DAILY)
