Starting off the new year with an observation about Western media BS, because why not?
Y'all ever heard of an Indian movie that came out this year called RRR? I haven't seen it yet, but its on Netflix and apparently its gained a huge cult following in the West due to its epic scale and over the top action scenes. Thing is though, the key words here are cult following. I would say its gotten about the same status as Ip Man or Kung Fu Hustle, movies that every film buff knows about, rather than being something like Parasite, Spirited Away, or Squid Game, which are basically household names. Like, you can show an average joe on the street a picture of Jung HoYeon and they'll recognize her, whereas I can't the say the same for any of RRR's actors. However, if you were to follow the Western press, you would think the movie is an even bigger phenomenon than Squid Game. Almost all Western journalists have been gushing about it and how this one movie alone is making the West is now undergo "Indomania," same as Koreanmania and Japanmania, before.
I compare this to the Western non-gaming press' reception to Genshin Impact. Now, love or hate that game, reserve your opinions on it for now, its success is undeniable at this point with its revenues, player count, and engagement on social media. However, very few in the Western press talk about it and when they do it drips with Sinophobia. BBC when it reported on the game, went out of its way to not even mention its developer, MiHoYo let alone its Chinese origins. The NYTimes went extra petty and published a hitpiece on the game, branding it as unoriginal and that it was potentially a vehicle for Communist propaganda. (What's worse is that they actually made that story front page news, while in the same week an Asian woman in NYC was beaten nearly to death and it only got a minor weekly mention.)
To reiterate, I haven't seen RRR, maybe I will one day if I got nothing to do. The director has clearly earned his success, so kudos to him. But its just the double standards here where countries whom the West deems friendly, get the luxury of this cultural promotion in the press even for something like a succesful cult film. Compared to China, where even a silly gacha game isn't spared by the geopolitical tensions.
Btw, Happy New Year!
