Oh YAYYYYY! I agree 100% with everything here. Absolutely lovely choice of screencaps. ♥ And excellent song choices. ^___^
The part that bothers me much more is the negative space.
Yeah. A lot goes unmentioned. Not surprising given censorship, as you say, but it's something a viewer has to consider.
Without getting too spoilery, I'll say that season 3 shows some more village reality without directly confronting the policies, system, or history that create the reality. I don't know if any viewer would fail to be struck by the contrast of these attractive young men in their trendy clothes arriving in the village and mingling with and working with the (usually much-older) locals. But also, no one (the show, the locals, the farmboys) pretends the reality is different than what it is. Like, when they're visiting a northern village and everyone's explaining that the young people/whole families have gone to the south to find work, that's the reality.
ETA: I forgot this, though: Season 3 has a lot more direct interviews with the locals about their personal stories and conditions. Again, nothing that confronts the system directly, but realistic about stuff like "there was a project to do x but it didn't help me with y."
The actual farming content is shown in thorough, day-to-day detail.
This continues to be true in season 3 and is, I think, one of several reasons to visit villages: to show in detail other aspects of farm life that the guys haven't experienced on their farm.
Also, it struck me at first as a nice low-key documentary-type thing to watch, fun and soothing, and then I got SO INVESTED that it wasn’t soothing at all, I was so concerned with whether the farmboys’ various endeavors, on and off the farm, would go okay!
THIS! This was me. Exactly the same process! (I regret nothing. :D)
but part of the essential interest of it is getting to know the ten of them in detail, seeing what each one of them is like, how their lives so far have shaped them and how they react to different situations and change (or don’t change) over the series, both individually and in their interactions with one another and with other people
This is a wonderful description. Because I was once deeply fannish about a Kpop group, that's the comparison I often make in my head, and it boils down to this description. Absolute catnip to me.
I wrote once before about the various dialects used by the farmboys, which are always interesting to listen for, especially as they pick up words and accents from one another
I'm very grateful for your talent for hearing the different dialects and accents! At the beginning, the only one I heard as sounding different was Li Hao. Over time (and helped by the teasing of the others!), I could hear that He Haonan pronounced some things differently. And I could tell that Li Gengyun used more 儿, etc. But that's about as far as I've gotten in being able to hear the differences. Although when they visit different regions I usually can tell that the locals have different accents.
全自动穿祸几, fully-automated trouble finding machine
LOL! I love it. Accurate description!
plus he’s a natural salesman, a world-champion sweet-talker who can bowl anyone over with a barrage of flirty chatter, the more effective because he really is interested in the lives of everyone he meets
Li Hao. ♥ I'd add that he develops a surprisingly good business sense, thinking through various ideas to get to the core questions of "why would someone be interested in [event/product/etc.]" and "would the cost of [event/product/etc.] be worthwhile, if not for short-term gain then for long-term business relationships."
I don't think it's spoilery to say that Zhao Xiaotong adds to his repertoire of abilities in season 3! :D
no subject
The part that bothers me much more is the negative space.
Yeah. A lot goes unmentioned. Not surprising given censorship, as you say, but it's something a viewer has to consider.
Without getting too spoilery, I'll say that season 3 shows some more village reality without directly confronting the policies, system, or history that create the reality. I don't know if any viewer would fail to be struck by the contrast of these attractive young men in their trendy clothes arriving in the village and mingling with and working with the (usually much-older) locals. But also, no one (the show, the locals, the farmboys) pretends the reality is different than what it is. Like, when they're visiting a northern village and everyone's explaining that the young people/whole families have gone to the south to find work, that's the reality.
ETA: I forgot this, though: Season 3 has a lot more direct interviews with the locals about their personal stories and conditions. Again, nothing that confronts the system directly, but realistic about stuff like "there was a project to do x but it didn't help me with y."
The actual farming content is shown in thorough, day-to-day detail.
This continues to be true in season 3 and is, I think, one of several reasons to visit villages: to show in detail other aspects of farm life that the guys haven't experienced on their farm.
Also, it struck me at first as a nice low-key documentary-type thing to watch, fun and soothing, and then I got SO INVESTED that it wasn’t soothing at all, I was so concerned with whether the farmboys’ various endeavors, on and off the farm, would go okay!
THIS! This was me. Exactly the same process! (I regret nothing. :D)
but part of the essential interest of it is getting to know the ten of them in detail, seeing what each one of them is like, how their lives so far have shaped them and how they react to different situations and change (or don’t change) over the series, both individually and in their interactions with one another and with other people
This is a wonderful description. Because I was once deeply fannish about a Kpop group, that's the comparison I often make in my head, and it boils down to this description. Absolute catnip to me.
I wrote once before about the various dialects used by the farmboys, which are always interesting to listen for, especially as they pick up words and accents from one another
I'm very grateful for your talent for hearing the different dialects and accents! At the beginning, the only one I heard as sounding different was Li Hao. Over time (and helped by the teasing of the others!), I could hear that He Haonan pronounced some things differently. And I could tell that Li Gengyun used more 儿, etc. But that's about as far as I've gotten in being able to hear the differences. Although when they visit different regions I usually can tell that the locals have different accents.
全自动穿祸几, fully-automated trouble finding machine
LOL! I love it. Accurate description!
plus he’s a natural salesman, a world-champion sweet-talker who can bowl anyone over with a barrage of flirty chatter, the more effective because he really is interested in the lives of everyone he meets
Li Hao. ♥ I'd add that he develops a surprisingly good business sense, thinking through various ideas to get to the core questions of "why would someone be interested in [event/product/etc.]" and "would the cost of [event/product/etc.] be worthwhile, if not for short-term gain then for long-term business relationships."
I don't think it's spoilery to say that Zhao Xiaotong adds to his repertoire of abilities in season 3! :D
这就是一篇做大做强了的文章...
I see what you did there. XD