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Post by Maalii on Dec 19, 2004 19:42:11 GMT -5
Well, we in our tortured SF market have now progressed through Episode 7 without the channel going off the air or having any other difficulty. I am enjoying the drama immensely. It satisfies in a much different way than AOW. I thought the transition episode 5 from the end to the beginning, was very well done. As I figured, I have now come to see the value of starting at the end before shifting to the beginning. I think it works quite well.
Here's one for ID: I am struck by the similarity in the level and practice of corruption portrayed here and in Outlaws of the Marsh (for non OOTM fans, this is a Chinese novel set in Song Dynasty times about 1000 years ago). In Outlaws we Song Jiang and his band of outlaws who initially fight corrupt officials, eventually get amnestied, lead successful military campaigns for the Emperor, and the leaders eventually get betrayed by corrupt ministers and poisoned after they have been given important government posts as rewards for their heroic actions. Corruption is pervasive throughout the story. Every civil action is greased with bribes, and by the end of the novel, nothing has changed, for the influence of the corrupt ministers over the emperor remains. Now, SJ and his band of colorful and spectacular warrior-bandits may not compare Yi Soon Shin's greatness (although they are seriously entertaining characters), but the background of the times seems so similar. The framing of Soon Shin's older brother is so similar to many similar events described in Outlaws. Yi Soon Shin's grandfather and father both stayed true to their ideals and hoped to spark reform, but, even as of Yi Soon Shin's death nothing has changed.
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Post by Eowyn on Dec 20, 2004 20:16:08 GMT -5
The corruption is so FRUSTRATING!! No wonder Soon-shin's father wanted to keep his boys out of government service and remain as farmers, etc.
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