It's been a while since I wrote about anything TVB related, but watching TITS2 really got me fired up again. As you all know, or have figured out by now, I like Ron Ng's presence in my TVB dramas even if he's not a very good actor. Additionally, I loved the first installment, and I loved Francis' character, and on top of all of that there's Chi Lam in this sequel. So, when it was released, I was ecstatic and I immediately watched it when English subtitles were available, hence, I'm actually right on top of this series and I'm loving it.
It's been a long time since I've seen all of these actors and actresses together, and it's been a long time that I've seen a TVB drama with decent chemistry between the actors and actresses. The only thing about this drama that I'm not so fond of is all the media attention that this series is getting, especially the criticisms from 'netizens.'
So, when I get into a drama, I'm interested about what others have to say about it, because for some reason I enjoy hearing others' opinions.Thus, when there were translated articles that were related to this drama, I checked them out, and funny enough the articles were mostly in regards to complaints that the viewers had about the series. The complaint that seemed most unreasonable was the complaint about the actor's poor English. My thought on this issue is that this is a TVB series, and these actors are Cantonese speaking actors, hence, having a very high expectation for their English is silly. Now, I'm not trying to make fun of these actors, what I'm trying to say is that how is it that I a non-Chinese/non-Cantonese speaking individual understand their English and these Hong Kong viewers can't? It just doesn't make any sense.
Honestly, a lot of people have very thick accents, and a lot of the time those people work as professionals including doctors, lawyers, engineers, pilots, nurses, professors, etc. Yes, it is difficult to understand when an individual speaks in a heavy accent, however, if you choose to listen then you will understand. I've had professors and teachers with very very thick accents (European, Indian, Cantonese) and I was capable of understanding them. Particularly, my piano teacher is originally from Hong Kong and she has quite an accent, but I understand her fine, and funny enough when she accidentally speaks to me in Cantonese, I can still comprehend her. So, my point is simply, the complaints are silly.
Oh, another point I wanted to add was that I've been on airplanes for a total of 10 times (5 trips), and I don't recall having the chance to hear the pilot speak, I only heard the cabin crew people speak. On my trip to Vietnam, three years ago, we stopped in Hong Kong to transfer flights, and I remember the cabin crew people speaking in English and Cantonese? on the flight, and the English wasn't wonderful, but surely understandable, similar to what TVB had their actors and actresses sound like. Anyways, I don't think it's fair that these netizens complain about these actors' English, not to sound ignorant, are they really that English proficient?
A story about accents. When I went to Vietnam, my sister and I would speak to each other in English, because that's how we normally communicate, and once when we got into an argument, we spoke super fast. None of our relatives who reside in Vietnam were able to comprehend what we were saying. Later, when I asked one of my second cousins if she understood my English, she told me that she was able to understand a few words only when I spoke slowly. She then told me how my 'accent' was much easier to comprehend then other people's accents, and mind you, I'm Canadian (I didn't know I had an accent). So, when I asked her what she meant, she told me about the European accents, to which my response was in English and in a British/Australian accent confused her. What I learned from that experience was that different places teach English differently, leading to a variety of interesting and often times inaccurate pronunciation (I tried to interact with the sales people in English while in Vietnam, and they didn't know what I was talking about because they weren't used to my correct pronunciation of a few words/never heard of the words I used - I sound like a total arrogant jerk, but that was a true story).
Actually, I have a ton of stories with regards to people's accents and when they speak English, and if you're interested I could write an entire post dedicated to that, but I doubt that actually interests you. So, I'll get back to my thoughts on TITS2.
- I love the chemistry between Sam and Isaac
- I love the chemistry between Jayden and Isaac
- Why can't Isaac and Coco be a pair? I love seeing Nancy and Ron together
- Why does Myolie's Summer seem to have the Linda Chung 'I am constipated' look?
- How did Roy become such a player? I swear he was shy in the first installment
Randomness...OUT!!!
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