[Weekly Update] July 19th, 2020

Hi, everyone! Hope you are doing well.

Unfortunately, Accented Cinema is still running on battery saving mode right now. My insomnia has gotten better, but it is still making me tired constantly, so I'm taking things slower than usual.

As a result, expect some delay for our next video as well. It's unlikely it'll come out this Thursday, but I think Sunday should be fine.

Sorry for the situation. I'm trying to take care of my while, and hopefully, you are taking care of yours as well. Stay safe!

ABOUT THE CHANNEL

• Since our video was delayed last week, I never made an update. That was my bad. I hope you like our video on Shadow!
• It was a film I wanted to talk about for a while. In my opinion, it is so far the best Zhang Yimou movie. The maturity he exhibits in both style and story has finally reached a point, where I can confidently call him a master. It was an exciting project for me. I hope you enjoy it as well.
• The video is doing better than I expected. It is a film that most people don't seem to have interests in, and the topic itself isn't very mainstream, so I wasn't expecting much. Still, those who watched the film appears to have strong opinions of it. Many expressed their love for the film, others think the story is too simple and predictable. Although pretty much everyone agrees that this movie looks incredible.
• Anyway, I have something very different planned for our next video. I'm currently still doing research and gathering materials. I have no idea how it'll come out, but It should be a fun experiment.
• I also decided to postpone the Godzilla video. I might save it for Halloween. Or I might talk about Noroi instead (If I can find a HD copy).
• And finally, for this month's bonus video, I'm thinking of talking about why I dislike Ready Number One... Yeah.

ABOUT MEDIA

• So out of curiosity, I started watching a Chinese TV show, called The Bad Kids.
• Terrible English title. The original Chinese title is "The Invisible Corner".
• The premise of the film revolves around three kids, who, on a trip to the mountains, accidentally recorded a murder.
• I'm only one episode in, and I realize how good the TV show is, especially for its budget. It certainly feels very different from your average Chinese TV.
• As the Chinese title suggests, it focuses on the invisible corners of urban areas, about people who don't often get featured on TV: Working class people, not quite rural farmers, but not middle class either.
• The problem is... I have a lot of trouble watching TV shows. Watching this show reminded why I'm not a TV person.
• After I went to film school, watching anything that's is produced puts me in an analytical mindset. Every movie is a homework. The better a piece of media is, the more I impulsively wants to analyze it.
• It is an exhausting process. Movies, with their usually fast pace plot, tends to be easier for me to watch. For most Hollywood productions, characters are introduced in the first 10 minutes, along with a satisfying set piece in the opening. The main hook of the story comes in in the 30 minute mark, and the rest of the film moves along smoothly.
• For this TV show, however...
• It opens similar to a movie, with the murder in progress. It shocks you with its opening, entice you into keep watching.
• But then for the next 70 minutes, it does nothing but establishes 4 different storylines, with 5 different characters. At the end of the first episode, only 2 of the 4 storylines intersect.
• Also, it is only at the very end of the first episode, 70 minutes into it, that the hook finally appears: The kids discovered that they accidentally recorded a murder.
• TV, by its nature, is not designed to be viewed so closely. Especially not viewed closely by people like me. Its primary target audience are stay home people, who may be doing chores while watching the show. They are designed to be good background shows.
• For this reason, they are designed to be viewed very casually. You can go away for 10 minutes, come back, and still be able to piece things together.
• That becomes a very tedious and boring experience for people like me, who scrutinize it frame by frame.
• It is such a good show. But I can't bring myself to enjoy it.
• Maybe it'll be better if I play some animal crossing while watch it.
• Do you have the same problem as me? Or am I just a total weirdo?

Anyway, this is all the update I have for you. Once again, sorry for the delay and absence. I'll do my best to finish the video this week. I'll see you then!