The entertainment circle has always been a mystery to outsiders. We are curious as to how it is run, what causes an artiste to be frozen or promoted, it’s office politics amongst it’s producers, and the skills it takes to be promoted to be the “number one sister”. Do real life celebrities really risk all means to attain the reputation as the television station’s ultimate actress? Does beauty and fame really mean so much to them that they’ll rather undergo plastic surgery to maintain something that may not mean as much as they doubt it had at he end? Does some degree of superficiality exist in all actresses? Is it really that stressful that they have to take in illegal medication to suppress their stress and numb their minds? What are the potential harms to this?
These are all topics, factors, and themes explored in The Beauty of the Game. While this modern drama will engage you in ours of entertainment, forget not that it also has a moral side to the story at it’s latter episodes.
Characterization & Performances
Besides genetics, they do say experiences, particularly those related to emotional traumas have the legitimate power to change somebody. I really believe that. I really really do. A summation of innocence, curiosity, and friendliness, Ko Ching Man (Kate Tsui) is a rising actress who always had the childhood dream of making it big. She is just like everyone else out there. Through pageant, she steps into completely new world where she naively believes sympathy and friends exist. Through months of toughness and betrayal from those she initially relied on, Ko Ching transforms herself into a completely heart-wrenching, unsympathetic character.
Believe it or not, Ko Ching was my favorite character in the entire series. Yes, despite her turning evil. In fact, my favorite scenes were those when she conspired to backstab “Jin Fung Jeh.” While I love her hairdo and fashion style so much (to the extent where I might even make an individual post on it), her acting still needs nourishing. She still seems to be lacking emotions.
Portrayed as naturally aggressive, little is known about Keung Jin Fung (Christine Ng) background and past other than the fact that she was Lai Hung’s arch-enemy. It may be her natural tendency to be assertive in her goals or it may be the negative experiences she has encountered in life. I would prefer to believe the former as she expresses little signs of regret in her evil actions.
Obviously, among the threesome, Christine was the most mature in terms of acting. She gave a solid and firm performance throughout though TVB seems to have trouble finding her an ideal hairstyle.
Cally Tong’s (Sharon Chan) actions are still bizarre to me. The initial friendliness and kindheartedness in this character gradually faded away from her as she chose her career and popularity over her friendship with Ko Ching. While it’s understandable that she wants to break away from poverty, I don’t see her as being filial and wanting the best for her crippled father and pitiful mother. As stress builds up and things don’t go her way, Cally begins indulging in drugs, driving her down an almost irreversible path.
Having believed that Sharon was an underrated actress (and especially after having supported her for Most Improved for 2009), she seemed to do nothing but disappoint in here. Her character had potential. Cally was neither an entirely sympathetic or unsympathetic character. However, Sharon was unable to carry out the entirety of the character and appeared superficial.
Overall
Worth watching? Definitely. The last six episodes following Ko Ching’s revenge scheme to the point where she gives up her entertainment career are the best! Sadly, it was the lowest rated series for 2009.
What do you think?
What do you believe? Does the entertainment circle appear to be a bright career path that easily tempts naive and pretty (or at least, they believe they are) girls into when in reality it’s an irreversible, dark underground tunnel? Or do you think: as long as she can control her emotions, she will not be tempted by the lust her surroundings had to offer?
With the entertainment circle being one of the hottest topics, tell me what you think? Do you want to join? Are you so obsessed with TVB that you are dreaming of becoming an artist yourself? By what route will you take? Join a pageant? Or take the more traditional route of joining the Artiste Training Class?
I want to know badly! So tell me!
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