What Non-Western story do you belong in?
You belong in a soap opera.
What are the ingredients of your story? A dash of romance mixed with stick of jealousy, blended with a mix of rumors, hormones, and bad luck, and you have a soap opera. Yes, even back in ancient China soap operas brought tears and laughter to those fortunate enough to obtain these delicate scrolls.
The story arch of these soap operas looks like an EKG but the climax occurs when the hero or heroine pick one of the two lovers they long to be with.
"The Story of the Stone," or more commonly referred to as "A Dream of Red Mansions," is an ancient Chinese story, written on scrolls. It has a huge cast of characters, including a house full of pretty young maids, and they are all in love with the son of the lord of the house, Baoyu. He in turn is in love with two of the maids, Daiyu, a delicate and beautiful young woman, and Baochai, a voluptuous headstrong young lady.
Modern soap operas can be found in your local high school. But if you want a good example, I recommend "Peach Girl" manga series by Miwa Ueda. It follows Momo, an outcast but strong woman, as she struggles through her feelings with the kind gentleman-like Toji, her childhood crush, and "Wiley-Kiley", the crazy senior boy that all the girls love. Like I said before, bad luck is a huge element in soap operasÂ…
What are the ingredients of your story? A dash of romance mixed with stick of jealousy, blended with a mix of rumors, hormones, and bad luck, and you have a soap opera. Yes, even back in ancient China soap operas brought tears and laughter to those fortunate enough to obtain these delicate scrolls.
The story arch of these soap operas looks like an EKG but the climax occurs when the hero or heroine pick one of the two lovers they long to be with.
"The Story of the Stone," or more commonly referred to as "A Dream of Red Mansions," is an ancient Chinese story, written on scrolls. It has a huge cast of characters, including a house full of pretty young maids, and they are all in love with the son of the lord of the house, Baoyu. He in turn is in love with two of the maids, Daiyu, a delicate and beautiful young woman, and Baochai, a voluptuous headstrong young lady.
Modern soap operas can be found in your local high school. But if you want a good example, I recommend "Peach Girl" manga series by Miwa Ueda. It follows Momo, an outcast but strong woman, as she struggles through her feelings with the kind gentleman-like Toji, her childhood crush, and "Wiley-Kiley", the crazy senior boy that all the girls love. Like I said before, bad luck is a huge element in soap operasÂ…
