Three Things About Food in Guardian
Apr. 27th, 2019 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forestofglorySo I spent a long time obsessing over food in Guardian. I think the show really does an excellent job of using food to highlight its characters and their relationships. Here are a few points I want to highlight in a bit more detail about food in the drama.
**Mild spoilers through episode 15**
*One of the things I adore about Shen Wei is how fiercely he feeds Zhao Yunlan. He’s so intense about it. Often times domestic labor in our society is associated with women and is seen as lesser work. But Shen Wei cooking for Zhao Yunlan never feels subservient. I get the impression he does it for the joy of seeing his loved one eat well. And that’s an aspect of his character that I really identify with. I love feeding my friends and family, there's just something so satisfying about people eating food you made for then. I mean I’m always going to identify a bit with any character who is biologist, but this is the first time I’ve seen this particular aspect of myself reflected in fictional character, and it brings me joy to watch it.
*There’s really well done parallel use of tea in episodes 12 and 14. These episodes feature Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei talking about Shen Wei’s secret identity. Zhao Yunlan has figured it out for himself at the end of episode 11 and in the episode 12 scene he’s trying to get Shen Wei to fess up. This scene takes place in Shen Wei’s office at Dragon City University, and the very 1st thing that happens is Shen Wei pours a single cup of tea, and places it in front of Zhao Yunlan, who never even touches it. Throughout the scene Shen Wei never admins to his identity as the Black Cloaked Envoy.
Contrast this to the scene in episode 14. Here Shen Wei has revealed his identity in episode 13 to protect Zhao Yunlan so it's not a secret. This scene takes place in Shen Wei’s apartment -- so a more intimate space than his office. Here Shen Wei has a tea set in front of him and he pours a cup and hands that to Zhao Yunlan, then pours himself a cup. This is the first time that Shen Wei prepares something for both of them on screen and they both partake. I just find that this little gesture really highlights how their relationship has changed over the last few episodes.
*I love how consistently the Shen Wei is shown not drinking alcohol, except that one time to spare Zhao Yunlan’s stomach. Every other time people are drinking She Wei has a clearly different vessel. Like for example when they have dinner with Uncle Guo everyone else has wine glass but Shen Wei has a tea cup. When Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei share a toast they make point of mentioning that its not wine. This seems like something that would be easy to overlook so it's nice that care was taken to get this right.
Maybe I spend too much time thinking about food it fiction -- but this show just uses it really well and that makes me happy.
**Mild spoilers through episode 15**
*One of the things I adore about Shen Wei is how fiercely he feeds Zhao Yunlan. He’s so intense about it. Often times domestic labor in our society is associated with women and is seen as lesser work. But Shen Wei cooking for Zhao Yunlan never feels subservient. I get the impression he does it for the joy of seeing his loved one eat well. And that’s an aspect of his character that I really identify with. I love feeding my friends and family, there's just something so satisfying about people eating food you made for then. I mean I’m always going to identify a bit with any character who is biologist, but this is the first time I’ve seen this particular aspect of myself reflected in fictional character, and it brings me joy to watch it.
*There’s really well done parallel use of tea in episodes 12 and 14. These episodes feature Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei talking about Shen Wei’s secret identity. Zhao Yunlan has figured it out for himself at the end of episode 11 and in the episode 12 scene he’s trying to get Shen Wei to fess up. This scene takes place in Shen Wei’s office at Dragon City University, and the very 1st thing that happens is Shen Wei pours a single cup of tea, and places it in front of Zhao Yunlan, who never even touches it. Throughout the scene Shen Wei never admins to his identity as the Black Cloaked Envoy.
Contrast this to the scene in episode 14. Here Shen Wei has revealed his identity in episode 13 to protect Zhao Yunlan so it's not a secret. This scene takes place in Shen Wei’s apartment -- so a more intimate space than his office. Here Shen Wei has a tea set in front of him and he pours a cup and hands that to Zhao Yunlan, then pours himself a cup. This is the first time that Shen Wei prepares something for both of them on screen and they both partake. I just find that this little gesture really highlights how their relationship has changed over the last few episodes.
*I love how consistently the Shen Wei is shown not drinking alcohol, except that one time to spare Zhao Yunlan’s stomach. Every other time people are drinking She Wei has a clearly different vessel. Like for example when they have dinner with Uncle Guo everyone else has wine glass but Shen Wei has a tea cup. When Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei share a toast they make point of mentioning that its not wine. This seems like something that would be easy to overlook so it's nice that care was taken to get this right.
Maybe I spend too much time thinking about food it fiction -- but this show just uses it really well and that makes me happy.
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