Joanna and Katherine P's Group Discussion
jbay
October 03, 2008, 01:23 PM posted in General DiscussionKatherine ! I printed out the full script for the eight dialogues today- what a soap opera! Quite sad that Zhang Liang and Lili couldn't work things out, it seems both were making alot of rash statement, particularly generalising about the opposite sex! Definatley some spiteful tones there. The dialogues were even more dramatic than last semester, and I didn't think that was possible, but highly entertaining. Some new vocab to understand, but most of the grammar structures were easy enough. I also notes the prevalence of sound effects, some new such as 'heng' (first tone- meaning 'humph') and some older ones like hahaha.
Just to clarify because I can't remember, are we doing The Breakup and It's Over, or It's Over (Again)- I forgot to write them down.
Should definately get together sometime next week to rehearse, I'm looking forward to it!
kpas
October 04, 2008, 05:38 AMHey again Jo!
I've been listening closely to our 2 dialogues and I have noticed a few things we should discuss!
One thing I noticed was all the different ways to say "finally". In class we learnt 最后 (zuìhòu) but in the 2 dialogues they use both 终于 (zhōngyú) and 总算 (zǒngsuàn). So many ways to say one thing!
Focusing on "The Breakup" it's good to learn how to say 发短信 (fa duanxin - to send text messages). There's some contemporary knowledge for us!
I also notice alot of use of 过 to indicate past experience, such as "我说过" . It is interesting to note is it also used in "你应该跟他去过好日子" as the verb "to spend".
Coming to "It's Over" I found it very amusing that in the background they play "Memory" by Andrew Loyd Webber....enough to draw a tear! Haha :) It really helps to set the scene though as they sit down to what is almost a repeat of their first date, but with a very different mood. This is much more serious. But after "The Breakup" it's good to see them in a peaceful encounter!
It's good to see "没想到" in practise. I like the grammatical pattern they introduce here too: "只发生在小说里". I think that could be quite useful.
From the use of "老样子" they teach us to use "老地方", "老时间" which equates to the English use of "the usual place/time"which is also very useful.
In the final sentence of this dialoque I noticed the phrase "这里有我的家人". I think this is a good example of typical Chinese sentence structure in terms of the position of the subject.
What are your thoughts on the character development? I think Lili is portrayed as quite petty really, believing Zhang Liang was two-timing her based on very little evidence. Then she just goes off with Liu Xiang!
I sympathise with Zhang Liang. He seems to get victimised by Lili who can't forget her suspicion that he is two-timing her. We always hear about Zhang Liang working overtime and in "It's Over" he really does seem to be stuck in the past, in his memories of Lili (hence the music) and love that could have been, "有缘无分" (destined to meet but not meant to be). It seems that Lili has moved on and has a bright future ahead of her...whatever will happen to Zhang Liang?
jbay
October 05, 2008, 08:39 AMI agree that Lili is portrayed in a more negative light, I get the vibe that she thinks she is too good, and that she can't be bothered with any sort of conflict in a relationship, so yes very petty traits, it seems whoever portrays her should have a sort of arrogance about them.
Speaking of we are yet to assign characters? Shall we continue with the roles of last semester, you played Lili, and since Jay is no longer with us I'll take on poor old Zhang Liang. I think his character is a good mixture of assertive and vulnerable, he seems to be rather confused with his feelings. Are you free on Tuesday before the lecture for a run through?
kpas
October 08, 2008, 04:59 AMHey Jo,
I'm happy to be Lili again if you're happy with Zhang Liang! Sorry I couldn't meet you before the lecture on Tuesday. Are you free on Thursday afternoon at all?
I was also thinking about what the dialogues can teach us about Chinese culture...the thing that stuck out most was the importance of communication in a relationship being universal! That's not uniquely Chinese though.
Did you notice anything in particular?
Katherine
kpas
October 09, 2008, 04:50 AMHey Jo,
I think our meeting this afternoon went really well! Now we have established who will play who, we can go and focus on our individual parts and meet again next week to try and put it together.
I've had a few ideas for costume/staging that I'd like to talk about too.
Looking forward to being Lili again!
kpas
October 04, 2008, 02:15 AMHey Jo, I've finally listened to all the dialogues too. What a drama! It's actually sad to see our good friends Zhang Liang and Lili be so unpleasant to each other after last semester's romantic courtship!
So, just a brief summary of what is going on this semester.
The Other Woman & Confiding In a Conniving Friend - Lili tries contacting Zhang Liang at work while he's working overtime (as usual) and is upset to discover him in the company of a female co-worker and accuses him of flirting with her! She discusses this with Chen Jing and jumps to some rather nasty conclusions.
The Break Up - Lili and Zhang Liang break up...they both seem angry with each other...so sad :(
A Dad give advice to a broken-hearted son - Zhang Liang doesn't seem to welcoming of his father's advice, but it's interesting to note the universality of love and heart break we can see in this story. Poor Zhang Liang...
Seeking Comfort - Liu Xiang comes on pretty strong to Lili considering she just broke up with Zhang Liang! Is this fair? Considering she is "on the rebound". The comment about Lili normally being a "pistachio" is rather funny. In the extended dialogue Jenny says it's old-fashioned, but that in Chinese, a happy person is a happy nut. So cute!
Uncomfortable encounter in a bar - The insults fly back and forth when Zhang Liang runs into Lili and Liu Xiang at a bar. How could their previous love come to this?
It's Over - Lili drops a bombshell on poor Zhang Liang - she's engaged and moving to Australia! Poor Zhang Liang seems to have lost all hope for love and life!
It's Over (Again) - Poor Zhang Liang is clutching to the dwindling hope of love with Lili. She’s not very nice to him though, comparing him to the success of Liu Xiang.
What has happened to the innocent young lovers we met in Semester 1 Jo?
As for the clarification, I wrote down that we are doing "The Breakup" and "It's Over" but I think we should confirm that with An Laoshi.
I'm going to focus more now on those two dialogues so we can analyse them more closely.
Then we can choose and roles and start rehearsals! So exciting!