Drama Review: Swipe Tap Love《愛我請留言》(2014)
Story Background
Swipe Tap Love, a contemporary romance drama created by TVB
in 2014, has caught rapt attentions from the public. It was the time when
people used to send text messages, having phone calls and face-to-face
communications in 2009. Yu Chor Kin (Priscilla Wong) started her relationship
with Cheng Yat Hei (Tony Hung). It seemed that the love was more memorable and
qualified. Spanning over years to 2013, technology has already replaced any
‘visible’ communications. Ended their 4-year relationship, Yu met Lok Tin Sung
(Raymond Wong). They fell in love via smartphones.
Ordinary Romance
Drama
When it comes to romance drama, it is expected to have
standardized iconography. It is expected to have sensational plots pushing
the drama forward, like traffic accidents, incurable diseases, and kinship. Every
events are forced to happen. It is also expected to tell a love story between a
beautiful young lady and a rich and handsome young man. It is even expected that
love will help couples overcoming all obstacles between them together. The most
important element is that the story must have a happy ending. These kind of
texts were more likely popular among audience. However, compared to typical
romance dramas, it seems that Swipe Tap Love is too ordinary and out of
expectations. The romance series was told in a very natural and realistic way
which is true to heart. It does not emphasize on the appearances and wealth of
characters. It does not consist of dozens of obstacles. It is ordinary and also
extra-ordinary.
Encoding and
Decoding
The significant role of smartphones has contributed to its
normality. Creators encoded technological developments and outlined the
phenomenon of the public addicting into ‘invisible’ communications. It reflects
our everyday society that people are no longer using phone calls but social
media instead. Creators constructed a realistic online community on screen. It outlines,
for times, that even users are both online, they tend to text via social apps
rather than phone calls. This kind of communication is undoubtedly familiar to
the public nowadays, especially to teenagers. The feature resonates throughout
the city, and draw attentions easily. It also collapses negotiations and plugs
the gap between encoding and decoding.
Stereotyping
There is a character, Gau Fei (Kelly Fu) coming from the
mainland. It shows the intention of stereotyping mainlanders. The character is
shaped in a negative way. She has a very bad taste on fashion and make up. She
puts all sharp colors together for clothing. She applies green eye shadow and
red lip stick. She speaks Cantonese with strong mainland accent. She is a
materialistic woman willing to spend all her income on brand name purses and
high heels. Still, her dream is to marry a rich and handsome man. It
stereotypes the identity of mainlanders as uncivilized, poor-mannered people. I
remember a scene that when Sung Lau Kuen (Kaki Leung) was greeted by a staff in mandarin, she was overreacted. She
thought that she was insulted by the staff. In her point of view, Hong Kongers do
actually surpass mainlanders. The storyline of Gau hints Hong Kong-mainland
contradictions.
Conclusion
Swipe Tap Love is the most realistic and ordinary drama in
TVB romance ever. It reflects our life and values of love. It also constructs mainlanders' identity. This drama not only offered stories, but also life.
Reference
My Opinion on Swipe Tap Love.
(2014)
“Swipe Tap Love” Brings
Romance Back in Time. (2014)
愛我請留言 — 無記罕見的好劇本(2014)
影迷情琛——《愛我請留言》(2014)
為何喜歡《愛我請留言》(2014)
Student Name: Tang Wing Yan, Vivian
Student ID: 10518705 / 21423905
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