#3: Steve Neale and genre conventions

Lighting Up The Stars/ 人生大事 (2022).

    Death is often a taboo topic in Asian cultures. Death is like a bad, unlucky thing. Touching "death" in a Asian movie is a very risky thing, but Lighting Up The Stars was able to convey the message in a very subtle way.

   Although "Lighting Up The Stars" takes the theme of death, the film is not all about funerals and heartbreaking crying. By focusing on the stories of ordinary people, the film has inspired the audience re-considering the meaning of life in a unusual way - from death. The film's lesson that can be drawn is "Life and death is a big thing, so is love", so live meaningfully and responsibly with those you love.

The original in Lighting Up The Stars

     Although having the genre of comedy, the whole film takes "death" as the background and entry point, which is a very unusual aspect as death often means bad luck, and unhappiness. Referring to funerals and death, people often think of a mournful, quiet atmosphere, the film, however, extracts the joy that lay in "life": the noises, chaos, scolds of the small quarter.

    The film tells the story of two persons, Xiao Wen, a girl whose grandma just passed away and Mo Sanmei - one that was hired to arrange the funeral for Xiao Wen's grandma. Xiao Wen live with her grandma ever since she was a baby. Generally, a girl growing up with no parents like her is often portrayed as shy and maybe pitiful, especially when the only relative that loved her left, her grandma, passed away. However, in Xiaowen, we still see a lively girl. In her, still retains the innocence of a child. Her dress-up appearance is similar to Nezha - a famous character in Chinese tales, known for his stubbornness and naughty. Xiaowen's strong personality is reflected in the act of biting people as she was forced to leave without her grandma.

Conventions that presented in the movie.

    In the film, the situation, language, and actions of the characters are sometimes exaggerated, which is commonly seen in a comedy. The relationship between the two main characters, Mo Sanmei - the funeral director and the little girl Xiaowen, is sometimes dramatized to add humour to the film. There is a scene where Xiaowen messed up a funeral because she thinks her grandma was lying inside that coffin, and she didn't want to let her go. In real life, a small girl hardly ever has the courage to do that, but that action adds an emotional element to the movie, showing that she really loves her grandma, and also a bit of comedy.

    The somewhat unrealistic situations are also a common feature in comedies. In fact, Mo Sanmei has no obligation to raise and care for little Xiaowen, when she still has her uncle, aunt and mother (although her mother has not returned at that time).
    The main character Mo Sanmei is built as a typical "bad guy". He used to be in prison, and also a senior in the gangster world. Mo Sanmei himself is grumpy, disrespectful, and unscrupulous. These are all classic characteristics of a 'bad guy" in a movie. 

The genre I would like to work within my video project

   Drama, maybe teen drama. Because as a 16-teenager myself, I know I understand the topics, and themes surrounding this genre. Then making a film on these topics would suit me since what I invest in would be based on my life experiences, and all these tiny little things that I was able to observe and gather, I believed it would help me have a more realistic point of view, likely with more depth.